Mike's Minute: Three good ideas from the Govt this week

Three prizes for three good calls this week by the Government. 

1) Financial literacy coming to a school near you in 2027, and not a day too soon. In many respects it’s the more valuable end of the education spectrum. It's education you can actually use. 

2) Nicola Willis and her cutting of the operating allowance from $2.4b to $1.3b. The $2.4b number already had headlines for being skinny, or unrealistic. $1.3b is rabbit out of a hat material. 

I assume she is telling the truth when she says she has found billions in savings, because you can't run a country on thin air. 

3) David Seymour, with more reality check reminders that we have too much Government. In his speech he alerted us to just how much - 82 portfolios, 41 departments and 28 ministers. 

If ever you wanted an example of bloat, there it is. 

The portfolio joke is about appeasing people. There isn't an issue or pressure group you can't appease by inventing a label. 

The real issue is ministers. The good news currently, as Audrey Young in the Herald pointed out this week in her famous marking of ministers annual outing, is most of them are getting good scores and most of them are decent operators. 

But it is not always the case and too often, with the last Government being your classic example, portfolios are used and/or invented to reward loyalty and/or give people pay rises. Whether you can do the job is secondary. 

Good governments are run by a handful of talent. In David Lange's day it was the Prime Minister, Roger Douglas, Richard Prebble and David Caygill. 

With Helen Clark it was the Prime Minister, Michael Cullen, Phil Goff and Annette King. 

With John Key it was Key, Bill English and Steven Joyce. 

This time its Christopher Luxon, Chris Bishop, Nicola Willis and Simeon Brown - multiple portfolios at the heavyweight end of the index. 

Unlike the real world, you will note Cabinet and Government never downsize. The public service can be downsized, but the Government never is. 

Sadly for Seymour, unlike the other two ideas this week, his isn't real. 

Financial literacy will materially improve our kids’ future. 

Willis and her austerity will materially improve our economy. 

If Seymour somehow trims a single minister or ministry, it won't be an idea - it will be a miracle.   

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