Past event: Long-term fiscal external panel sessions

The Public Finance Act 1989 requires the Treasury to produce a statement on the Crown’s long-term fiscal position at least every four years. These statements provide 40-year projections on the fiscal position, identify challenges that will face future governments, such as those arising from society's ageing population, and provide members of the public with information on evidence-based options for meeting those challenges. The next statement will be published in 2013.

In order to further strengthen the quality of analysis in the first two statements (published in 2006 and 2009), the Treasury has established an external panel of independent experts and commentators with whom it will test its assumptions and analysis. Objectives and schedule of panel.

The panel, chaired by Professor Bob Buckle, has helped to ensure that the next statement is robust and meets its objective to provide a range of viable options for managing the Crown's financial position in a way that protects the interests of New Zealanders now and in the future.

The panel met monthly from August to November 2012 and will meet for two more sessions in March and April 2013. Minutes of panel meetings, together with research papers presented to the panel, will be published on this site after each meeting.

Media generated from the External Panel sessions and findings

The members of the External Panel were:

Chair: Professor Bob Buckle, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Victoria Business School, Victoria University of Wellington
Geoff Bascand, Government Statistician and Chief Executive of Statistics New Zealand
Professor John Creedy, Professor of Economics, Victoria University of Wellington/Treasury
Diana Crossan, Retirement Commissioner
Hon Dr Sir Michael Cullen, Chair of New Zealand Post Ltd; Minister of Finance, Labour-led governments (1999-2008)
Professor Chris Cunningham, Director, Research Centre for Maori Health & Development, Massey University
Dr Brian Easton, economist and writer
Professor Norman Gemmell, Chair in Public Finance at Victoria University of Wellington
Mary Holm, financial columnist and lecturer
Colin James, journalist and analyst (whose contributions will be strictly analytical, not advisory)
Professor Nicholas Mays, Professor of Health Policy and Director, Policy Research Unit in Policy Innovation Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Dr Patrick Nolan, Chief Economist, Reform think tank, London
Alison O’Connell, Senior Associate, Institute of Policy Studies, Victoria University of Wellington
Professor Neil Quigley, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Victoria University of Wellington
Dr Susan St John, Co-Director, Retirement Policy and Research Centre, University of Auckland
Rt Hon Simon Upton, Director, Environment Directorate, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); Minister of the Crown, National-led governments (1990-1999)

Other attendees for particular sessions include:

Professor Michael Belgrave, Professor of History, Social Policy and Maori Studies, Massey University
Professor Ross Guest, Professor of Economics, Griffith Business School, and Adjunct Professor, Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)
Martin Wilkinson, Associate Professor of Political Studies, University of Auckland