Government flinches from RNZ truth on public sector job losses

How many public sector jobs have really been axed?

When the coalition government came to power in 2023, it set out to slash public spending, pledging to “move resources out of bureaucracy and into the front line”.

As a result, jobs across the public sector were on the chopping block. Of course, economic pain was also being felt in the private sector, where jobs were also being culled.

The coalition’s cuts followed a 34 percent growth in the public service between 2017 and 2024, much of which was under the Labour government.

The moves were slammed by the opposition and unions, but Finance Minister and then Public Service Minister Nicola Willis said the public had not got bang for buck under the former government.

From April 2024 to the end of the year, RNZ kept careful count of jobs lost as belts were tightened, using information provided by the organisations themselves to understand the scale of the changes.

And in October RNZ asked every ministry, department, Crown entity, Crown agent, departmental agency and Crown research institute (113 in total) whether they had made cuts in response to the government’s cost-saving initiative – 56 had.

The process involved clarifying with organisations things like whether job loss numbers they provided were net or gross, to ensure we were consistent in our approach.

Earlier this month TVNZ’s Q + A host Jack Tame put RNZ’s count – around 9500 – to Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche.

“I’m not sure it’s the correct number actually, because I’m told it’s 2000,” Roche said.

Willis expressed a similar sentiment, saying the media – including RNZ – had reported incorrect numbers.

The Government walk this balancing act between admitting how steep their public cuts are while leaning into the DOGE Chainsaw fantasies of their redneck voters.

They don’t want you the middle voter to appreciate the carnage they are causing while winking at their reactionary small Government fetishists.

I think the Political Left in NZ have miscomprehended Nicola Willis and her Budget butchery.

Voters do not appreciate how much of a wide eyed free market NZ Initiative Acolyte that Nicola Willis is.

She believes as a matter of faith that if you cut back the state, the free market will step in and do the job cheaper.

There is no economic plan here because as far as the Minister of Finance is concerned, the savage cuts to public services IS the economic plan!

National takes today what tomorrow never brings.

 

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