11. GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) Link to this
to the Minister of State Services
Is it Government policy not to cut job numbers in the core public service?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House) Link to this
The Minister of State Services has no responsibility for what is not Government policy but I can tell the member that it is the Government’s policy to cap the size of the core bureaucracy.
Hon Dr Michael Cullen Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I question the first part of that answer. It may be Government policy not to do something or to do something—so it is Government policy not to do something else, so the Government has policy for not something, as the member was trying to imply—
Mr SPEAKER
Louise UpstonWhat is the rationale for the Government’s policy to cap the number of people working in core Government administration?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
As the Minister of State Services said in the House earlier this week, after 9 years of a free-spending Labour Government, the number of back-office public servants is out of proportion to that of frontline staff. The Government is determining that the focus will go on to improving frontline services for New Zealanders.
How does the Minister reconcile that answer with the statement from the State Services Commissioner at the Government Administration Committee yesterday that Ministers are still working out what constitutes core Government administration; and how is it responsible to call for a cap on something that he has not even defined?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
I can tell the House that it is not the intention of this Government to go on some slash-and-burn exercise through the Public Service, as the Labour Opposition appears to want us to do. Careful consideration is being given to how we give effect to this policy. It is our policy to cap the size of the core bureaucracy in New Zealand.
Is the reason the Minister will not define what the core Public Service is that he wants to ensure he can move the goalposts so that his plans to cut jobs fit within his yet-to-be-defined cap; if not, what is the reason?
Hon GERRY BROWNLEE Link to this
The Government has a policy to cap the size of the core bureaucracy in New Zealand. As the member has already been informed at the select committee by the State Services Commissioner, that is a work in progress.