Cullen vs Cook

Former Government Statistician Len Cook's been worried about coming changes to the Stats Act.

I had not heard this story before. It's a shocker.

Former chief statistician Len Cook has made submissions to select committee and written media commentary condemning the new bill, and said people in power knew the influence stats had.

The idea the powers could be "transferred in full to other people, with no controls, with no limits" was "unusual in the world" and posed risks, Cook said.

In the late 1980s, when inflation was running at around the rate it is now, the government wanted to raise the tax on tobacco - and approached him about it, Cook said.

"Michael Cullen as Associate Minister of Finance requested the government statistician to remove tobacco out of the CPI and the government statistician said, 'I'm not going to do it'.

"I personally did tell him to get lost in somewhat trade union language."

He knew then he had the legal backup to guard his independence, Cook said - and believes the new Data and Statistics Bill risks that.

"The moment you transfer the authority and all the powers of the government statistician to someone who is more directly connected to a minister, and themselves has a role in keeping ministers content, is a very different thing."

These days, when government wants to juke the CPI numbers, it can just run a petrol excise holiday to artificially reduce fuel costs in the CPI...