9. NIKKI KAYE (National—Auckland Central) Link to this
to the Minister of State Services
What is the Government doing to ensure New Zealand’s Public Service provides better value for money?
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of State Services) Link to this
Last week the Government announced that it is looking at reducing a number of Government agencies to improve efficiency and responsiveness. These proposals include disestablishing five Crown entities and three tribunals, merging two Government agencies, and establishing shared-service corporate arrangements across the three central agencies. Such analysis of how services are provided will become a part of how the Government does its work into the future, as we move resources from the back office to the front line.
I have seen a number of reports that show that Governments around the world are looking at substantial savings in their public services to help deal with their billion-dollar debts. In the United Kingdom, 490,000 public sector jobs are expected to be cut by 2014-15; in Ireland, public servants’ pay has been reduced by up to 15 percent; in Portugal, only 50 percent of vacated positions are being replaced; in Spain, public sector pay has been reduced by 5 percent and recruitment frozen; and France is reducing 100,000 public service jobs by 2013. However, in New Zealand we continue to boost front-line services, and under our watch there are more police officers, more teachers, more nurses, and more doctors.