Treasury moves toward triple-bottom line reporting
The government’s 2018 Investment Statement He Puna Hao Pātiki, indicates that the Treasury is moving towards a more holistic way of assessing the Government’s balance sheet, by incorporating principles from the Living Standards Framework alongside financial considerations.
Under the Public Finance Act, the Treasury is required to report every four years on the past, present and forecast future value of the Government's assets and liabilities. The 2018 Investment Statement reveals that the Government’s balance sheet has incorporated the Living Stands Framework principles into a section of the Investment Statement, including natural capital considerations.
“It is important that we continue to monitor this progress, as the Investment Statement allows New Zealanders to assess how the Government is managing assets and liabilities on their behalf,” Finance Minister Grant Robertson says.
“But it is also important for us to start taking a more holistic view of how we assess what the Government owns. In the past this document has looked at the Government’s balance sheet from a purely financial perspective. The Treasury is now starting to also look at the link between the Government’s investments and peoples’ wellbeing”.
The Government’s balance sheet reflects that the net worth of $117 billion as at 30 June 2017 is forecast to rise to $160 billion by 2022.