Gap-closing benefits hard to pin down

By AUDREY YOUNG political editor

Government departments are not reporting benefits from "reducing inequalities" policies - formerly the Closing the Gaps programme - says a Cabinet committee document.

National says this is because there are no benefits.

The paper's conclusions raise questions about the effectiveness of targeted programmes, deficiencies of evaluation and reporting or possible obstructiveness by chief executives.

Failings in departmental reporting have been noted by Prime Minister Helen Clark and the Controller and Auditor General's office.

But the paper says there has been little improvement since weaknesses were pointed out a year ago.

"Few seemed able to point to evidence of tangible benefits or outcomes for Maori," says the paper, prepared by officials of Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia's department for the Cabinet social development committee.

"In general, there is not yet sufficient reference to evidence in departmental annual reports to suggest that the programmes being delivered are having strong impacts on reducing inequalities."

The paper does not single out individual departments.

But 12 are required to report on the effectiveness of their programmes for disadvantaged groups, with particular reference to Maori and Pacific Islanders.

They are the Ministries of Education and Health, the Department of Labour, the police, Housing New Zealand, Work and Income, Te Puni Kokiri, the Departments of Corrections, Internal Affairs, Child, Youth and Family Services, and the Ministries of Justice, Economic Development and Pacific Island Affairs.

The undated paper says officials, including some from the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, will look at the best methods of reporting on departmental effectiveness in reducing social inequalities.

The Closing the Gaps policy was launched with fanfare in 2000. Helen Clark chaired an oversight Cabinet committee for it.

The 2000 Budget dedicated $114 million over four years to programmes under the umbrella title - some new policies and some existing ones.

Helen Clark also threatened chief executives of Government departments that they would lose their bonuses or even their jobs if they did not close the gaps.

She also accused some chief executives of having been obstructive in efforts to monitor policy that affected Maori.

But she backed away from close association with the policy after a Pakeha backlash against what was seen as favoured treatment for Maori.

The policies were renamed "reducing inequalities" and the Cabinet committee was disbanded.

National MP Murray McCully, who obtained the paper under the Official Information Act, described it as "quite an astonishing piece of paper".

Helen Clark had said chief executives would lose their bonuses if they could not demonstrate they were getting "bang for their bucks".

"This piece of paper basically says there are no bangs for the bucks," Mr McCully said.

"This confirms what some of us predicted at the outset - that the public service Machinery would easily devour any additional cash and the people for whom it was intended that some benefit should occur have received no such benefit."

Asked if it might be a problem in reporting systems rather than the policies, Mr McCully said: 'If they can't identify them in a report like this to Cabinet, how are we supposed to believe there are any?"

He does not believe it would have made any difference if Helen Clark had remained in charge of the programme.

"I think she would have been even more personally embarrassed. But she could see all this coming and she got the parachute on.

"So we have to give her some marks for political intuition."

Mr Horomia could not be contacted.