12. CATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green) Link to this
to the Minister of Finance
Does he stand by his reported statement that there is “too much waffle coming from Government departments” and agree with the Prime Minister’s assertion that the public service is “bloated”; if so, why?
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) Link to this
Yes, I do agree with the Prime Minister. The full quote of what I said was “The previous Government’s decision to massively ramp up spending in the 2000s left behind a large, structural budget deficit, and a bloated public sector that by 2008 was crowding out the competitive sectors of the economy.” I can reassure the member that the Government is ensuring that the public sector delivers better front-line services, better value for taxpayers, and helps us to achieve a faster path back to Budget surplus, at the same time as meeting New Zealanders’ demands for consistently improving public services.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
What, then, is his response to the recent survey Constructing Workplace Democracy: Women’s Voice in New Zealand Public Services, which showed that 50 percent of women workers in the Public Service work many more hours than they are contracted for, but that only 14 percent receive any extra payment for this work?
I am not aware of the particular survey, but we do have thousands of very well-motivated, professional public servants. It is incumbent, particularly on the management of our Government agencies, to engage with the people whom the member is referring to, whether women or otherwise, understand why they are working a lot more hours than they are paid for, and put better processes in place so that they can meet public expectations for service at the same time as Public Service staff can have reasonable and balanced lives.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
Does the Minister think that receiving an average before-tax salary of $43,185, as the survey reveals women do, indicates a “bloated” approach to paying female public servants?
No, I do not. I think the survey will express what we know fairly well—that is, there is a predominance of females in the lower-paid occupations of publicly funded services. What I think is important is that we organise those services efficiently, so that those very committed public servants can see that their efforts are leading to an efficient delivery of services. Too often I meet front-line Public Service staff who believe that their management do not always know how their services work, and whose contribution could be viewed much more constructively in the time of consistent change that we will see over the next 3 or 4 years.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
Does he consider that the Prime Minister’s and his own recent derogatory comments regarding public sector workers will add to female workers’ stress, especially when the survey reports that 43 percent of women workers experience bullying in the workplace?
No, I do not think the Prime Minister’s comments will have that effect. But we do know that productive and efficient workplaces are places where the staff are happy to turn up to work, and where they can thrive and fulfil their own potential. My guess, actually, is that workplaces where there is bullying of the sort that the member is referring to are probably not well run. They probably have management who do not understand how the front-line services are working, and if they have poor relationships within that workplace, they probably offer a poor and inefficient service.
Catherine Delahunty Link to this
I seek leave to table the Victoria University survey report, prepared for the Public Service Association, Constructing Workplace Democracy: Women’s Voice in New Zealand Public Services.
Mr SPEAKER