工党发言人David Parker表示：财政部为政府遮羞

　　就在政府公布了更多赤字的同时，国家党的议员们竟当着财经专业委员会的面阻拦投票，以阻止这个专业委员会对财政部的质询。　　尽管根据审计总长的审查结果有必要作进一步调查，国家党还是阻止财经专业委员会就政

　　尽管根据审计总长的审查结果有必要作进一步调查，国家党还是阻止财经专业委员会就政府担保金融公司押金的处理不当向财政部了解情况。

　　上周审计总长给财经专业委员会的意见表明：在上述担保计划启动的头5个月里，财政部没有针对金融公司是否仗着有政府担保而涉入更多的风险借贷进行监督。

　　财政部长上周在国会里证实：这个期间财政部甚至连一份关于由此计划而带来的国库风险迅速增长情况的书面报告都没收到过。

　　审计总长发现南坎特伯雷金融公司在加入政府担保计划之后的4个月里就把它自己的担保押金一下子拔高了惊人的25个百分点。

　　政府的担保金被用来增加更多新的高风险贷款――包括利息资本化和第二抵押权贷款，这些都加重了国库的损失。

　　审计总长没有接受财政部所谓不愿干涉金融市场的借口，总长向财经专业委员会指出政府提供担保这个举措就已经是一个极大的干涉了。

　　我国纳税人由于这项政府担保计划而遭到的净损失估计高达5亿之巨。实际亏损数额可能要更高。而其中极大部分的损失本来是可以避免的。

　　政府议员们对于财经专业委员会向财政部质询，或要财政部对审计总长的批评承担责任均表示拒绝，这显然是错的。

　　我们不应当假装各专业委员会在遭到政府议员们横加阻拦的情形下仍能履行好职责。

　　在接下来的两三周里，财经专业委员会没有安排任何会议，很明显这段时间可以利用来对财政部进行质询。

　　政府财经事务管理不善而导致上亿纽元的损失――是应当予以追究的。管理不善也是政府最近财政状况如此恶劣的原因之一。问题的症结不止在于财政部的无动于衷，还在于不当管理的代价实在高昂。

　　对于一直装出对经济很懂行的国家党政府来说，整件事当然令他们十分难堪。

　　David PARKER 

　　Finance Spokesperson                       

　　4 April  2012                                                            MEDIA STATEMENT

　　Treasury block a bad look for Government 

　　At the same time the Government was announcing more red ink in its Crown accounts, National Party MPs were block-voting to stop Treasury being called in front of the Finance and Expenditure Committee, Labour’s Finance spokesperson David Parker says.

　　“The Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC) has been blocked from following up with Treasury its mishandling of the Crown guarantee of finance company deposits, despite the Auditor-General’s findings showing it needed scrutiny.

　　“The Auditor-General’s advice to the Committee last week showed that during the first five months of the guarantee scheme Treasury did not monitor whether finance companies were engaging in more risky lending on the back of the Crown guarantee,” David Parker said.

　　“The Minister of Finance also confirmed in Parliament last week that Treasury did not even once report to him in writing during this period on the rapid growth in the Crown’s risk.

　　“The Auditor-General found that South Canterbury Finance increased its guaranteed deposits by an astounding 25 per cent in the four months after joining the guarantee scheme.

　　“The funds were used for increasingly risky new loans, including capitalised interest and second mortgages, which added to the Crown’s losses.

　　Treasury’s excuse that it did not want to interfere in financial markets was not accepted by the Auditor-General, who pointed out to the FEC that the grant of the guarantee was already a substantial interference.

　　“The estimated net loss to taxpayers under the Crown Guarantee Scheme is $500 million. The gross loss is even higher. A substantial part of that loss could have been avoided.

　　“The refusal of Government members to allow the FEC to take Treasury to task, or hold it to account in light of the Auditor-General’s criticisms,  is clearly wrong.

　　“We should not pretend select committees perform this role when the Government members block it from doing so.

　　“The Committee is not even meeting during the next two or three weeks, so obviously has the time available to question Treasury.

　　“Mismanagement of Government finances totalling hundreds of millions of dollars should be looked in to. It is one of the reasons why the latest Crown accounts are so poor. This is more than nonchalance from Treasury. It is costly mismanagement.

　　“It is of course embarrassing to a Government  which pretends to be a good manager of the economy,” David Parker said.