Still the Poor Cousin: how we choose (not) to talk about regulation

Abstract

Regulation is a core dimension of government activity, but this is often obscured by language that frames public agencies as service providers rather than deliverers and stewards of regulatory systems. This article argues that such framing does not reflect the nature and reality of regulation, and can compromise the management, financing, monitoring and reporting of government regulatory activities. Greater acknowledgement of the regulatory nature of many government activities would help to reduce these concerns and bring more focus to the need to treat regulatory systems as public assets that require active care and investment to deliver value for New Zealanders.