MoBIE due diligence a farce

"The so-called due diligence for the new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is a farce designed to legitimise a purely political decision," says Labour’s Economic Development Spokesperson David Cunliffe.

The State Services Commission recently released Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce’s due diligence report after long delays. But crucial sections of it were withheld under the Official Information Act.

"I am appealing that decision to the Ombudsman. I believe the Minister is hiding behind section 9 (2) (f) of the Official Information Act to avoid public scrutiny. New Zealanders deserve to have all the information put in front of them so they can judge for themselves whether this merger will actually provide any benefits.

"The whole process has been a farce. Cabinet decided to proceed with the merger on March 12, subject only to a supposed due diligence paper, that as we can see now was superficial.

“It fails to provide us with evidence of any benefits. So-called ‘efficiency gains’ appear to be plucked out of thin air. The cost of the merger is now shown either. There are no redundancy, IT or other costs detailed.

“National has signed off on a major catch-22: there is no organisational design, so it is impossible to cost the restructure. It is also therefore impossible to establish that the benefits outweigh those costs. Downside risks are also on touched on only in passing and are not quantified.

"This is, in the end, not a real due diligence at all. It is a face-saving exercise designed to rubber stamp a political decision made months beforehand.

“Once again, ordinary New Zealand taxpayers will be left picking up the tab for this farce,” David Cunliffe said.