2. Question No. 2—FinanceHon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister of FinanceQuestion No. 2—Finance2. Hon JAMES SHAW (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister of Finance: Does he think that an independent Parliamentary Budget Office will improve the standard of democratic debate?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance): I do. Having an independent referee who can provide clarity to the public about policy costings and the success of the Government's fiscal strategy will indeed support a transparent and an informed debate.Hon James Shaw: What are the proposed functions of the Parliamentary Budget Office and how will they assist Parliament as a whole and the Opposition in particular to carry out their constitutional roles?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: The proposed Parliamentary Budget Office will enhance fiscal responsibility accountability and transparency and promote better-informed public debate and strengthen parliamentary scrutiny. It will do this through its proposed functions to provide financial costings of party political policies on a voluntary basis and to assess compliance of the Government with its fiscal strategy. We believe that having such an independent entity will assist Parliament and parties in particular Opposition parties to carry out their constitutional roles and avoid falling into any holes of their own making.Hon James Shaw: Why did the Government decide that an Officer of Parliament was the best organisational structure for the Parliamentary Budget Office?SPEAKER: A very good question.Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I encourage all members of the Officers of Parliament Committee to enter this debate with an open mind because being an Officer of Parliament is the highest level of independence from Government that is offered in our system. It would mean that the Parliamentary Budget Office would be overseen by Parliament the same as the Ombudsman the Auditor-General and the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment. This would mean being independent from Government accountable to Parliament and in the best position to give New Zealanders confidence about the accuracy of party policy costings.Hon James Shaw: Are there other countries with an independent Parliamentary Budget Office or is New Zealand an outlier?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I am advised that there are 41 countries with independent fiscal institutions like the proposed Parliamentary Budget Office at a national level and some countries—for example Australia and Canada—also have them at state levels. Of OECD countries 28 out of 36 have an independent fiscal institution so it would mean that New Zealand was an outlier if we continued with the situation we now have but we now have the opportunity to catch up and create a truly independent Parliamentary Budget Office.Hon James Shaw: What reports has he seen about the response to the proposal for an independent objective Parliamentary Budget Office?Hon GRANT ROBERTSON: I've seen reports of support for the Government's proposal for an independent Parliamentary Budget Office from The New Zealand Initiative and the Taxpayers' Union. I thank this well-known bunch of socialists for their support. I have also seen wildly negative and inaccurate comments which don't appear to relate to this proposal but are rather being negative for the sake of being negative. I encourage the Leader of the Opposition and all members of Parliament to get on board with an initiative that will enhance our democracy.