Public sector spending and boards give Luxon a boost
With an unwitting assist from Rob Campbell and Steve Maharey, the National leader has made the state of the public service an election issue
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, March 10, by Catherine McGregor. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: teachers vote for a national strike; the behind-the-scenes drama over Jacinda Ardern’s electorate replacement; Bernard Hickey explores the future of sustainable farming. But first, a very good week for National leader Christopher Luxon, built on that favourite political punching bag: public sector consultants.
Christopher Luxon with his Backbencher twin. (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
How the cost of consultants dominated the political week
When Christopher Luxon announced a National government would introduce a child care rebate last Sunday, it was seen as a strike behind enemy lines, a policy attached to the cost of living crisis and made to appeal to women. Yet the real attack might not be the money National plans to spend on early childhood education, but how it plans to save money by cutting the number of consultants and contractors in the public service. As Toby Manhire writes this morning, Luxon and his team reckoned “they could save $400 million by derailing the gravy train, and they were radiantly confident people were going to like it”.
Public sector workers may actually end up with pay bump
National’s focus turned a spotlight onto the pay packets of those who aren’t on the consulting wicket. In the wake of the Rob Campbell saga, the failed TVNZ/RNZ merger, and the Steve Maharey scandal that wasn’t, Newshub found that hundreds of public sector workers received a pay rise last year, despite a supposed pay freeze for those earning over $100,000. Luxon thinks the pay freeze – more accurately a “wage restraint guidance”, as prime minister Chris Hipkins has pointed out – isn’t working, and those in senior positions may in fact need to be paid more to help retain and recruit the best performers.
‘An administrative revolution’
Luxon believes we’re spending a lot and “not getting good outcomes”. Last year Danyl Mclauchlan argued that the government’s managerial class – its analysts, managers, comms staff and consultants – had grown dangerously bloated. It wasn’t only departmental spending priorities that were to blame, Mclauchlan wrote, but also the entire political sphere that Labour had cultivated – one that was “increasingly therapeutic rather than material”, which emphasised “the politics of personal self-esteem, emotional wellbeing, self-expression, self validation [and] relentless positivity”.
The Public Service Association, meanwhile, has responded to Luxon’s claims by pointing out that New Zealand’s public service is proportionally the same size as that of the UK and Australia, and that NZ spends a lower percentage of GDP on public services than those nations. “We do agree with Mr Luxon on one point, he cites the need to use fewer consultants and ‘build that capability in-house’, but how is that possible when National plans to cut the public service?” said national secretary Kerry Davies.
A great week for Luxon – minus some stumbles and a concerning favorability poll result
Luxon might be onto a winner with the consultants line of attack, but the week wasn’t without its issues. On Wednesday, he mixed up the Ministry of Health and Te Whatu Ora, the organisation that former chair Rob Campbell claimed employed more than 200 comms people. A Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll released yesterday shows Labour pulling ahead of National in the poll for the first time in a year. While Luxon’s net favourability has increased by three points from -5% to -2%, Hipkins is at +33%, up six points from last month. Still, as Manhire suggests, this was the week National seized back the initiative, with a template on how to set the agenda. Barring any unforeseen disasters today, it’ll be “the National Party’s best week – or at least most effective – of the 66 since Christopher Luxon became leader,” writes Manhire.
Quality, local journalism is essential and shouldn’t be a privilege of those who can afford it. The support of readers like yourself helps to ensure The Spinoff remains freely accessible to all, regardless of their ability to pay. If you value what we do and want to support us, please consider becoming a member, making a new contribution or encouraging your organisation to donate.
Teachers to strike over pay and conditions
Up to 50,000 teachers will strike next Thursday in the sector’s biggest industrial action since 2019. The strikes have been organised by the Post Primary Teachers' Association (PPTA), representing secondary school teachers, and New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), covering primary and kindergarten teachers. Both unions say teachers are striking for better pay, higher staffing numbers and more funding for their schools. Most schools will close on Thursday as a result of the strikes, and nationwide protest marches are planned.
The race to replace Jacinda Ardern in Mt Albert
Camilla Belich and Helen White have a lot in common, writes Audrey Young in the NZ Herald (paywalled). Both are former employment lawyers, both were elected to parliament in 2020, and both are vying to be Labour’s candidate for the safe Mt Albert seat soon to be vacated by Jacinda Ardern. The difference? Belich is the choice of current Labour leadership, Young observes, while White is backed by the electorate committee. “One thing is clear: if White wins the selection, which begins on Saturday morning at Western Springs College, it will be an upset for the party hierarchy,” Young writes in an excellent profile of both hopefuls.
The future of sustainable farmlands
Is the environment changing faster than we can adapt to? The emissions trading scheme incentivised livestock farmers to rid their land of animals in favour of converting it for pine forestry. However, the silt and leftover slash used to make those forests are the same things that wrecked havoc on horticultural lands during Cyclone Gabrielle. Alison Dewes and John Burke are two farmers who feel they've adopted a much better, and more sustainable farming practice – converting some of their grass paddocks back into native forest and wetlands. They talk with Bernard Hickey in the latest episode of When the Facts Change about the benefits and hidden profits that have come with this decision, and how government could best write policy for farmers.
Click and collect
Two recent deaths from whooping cough could herald the start of an outbreak, a public health expert warns.
Some pharmacists are still prescribing the Covid antiviral Molnupiravir, despite official advice that it should not be used.
Another 14 Kaitaia College students appear to have food poisoning from the raw chicken served to students on Wednesday.
“Mum and Dad landlords are not the enemy,” says National’s Chris Bishop in a speech arguing build-to-rent will help solve the housing crisis.
Dunedin’s summer was the driest and sunniest in the country, the Otago Daily Times reports (paywall).
Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz.
If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.
Hūhana Lyndon tells Nadine Anne Hura why Māori providers need better resourcing in times of crisis. Sela Jane Hopgood reports from the first day of a Polyfest in full swing. Duncan Greive argues that the public service neutrality scandal is New Zealand “at its most beautiful”. Shanti Mathias and Lucy McLean explore how climate policy can affect mental health by talking to high-schoolers who attended last week’s protests. Super-producer Joel Little tells Alex Casey why he’s excited to be returning to the stage with his band Goodnight Nurse. Alice Soper discovers what inspired Bailey Te Maipi's passion for getting women and queer people into skateboarding.
Sporting snippets
Day one of the first test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Christchurch ended with the visitors on 305/6.
Fifa is set to drop Saudi Arabia’s tourism board as a sponsor of this year’s Fifa World Cup following a backlash from hosts New Zealand and Australia (paywall).
Four months out from the Cup kick-off, the Football Ferns are in dire shape, writes the NZ Herald’s Jason Pine (paywall).
Athletics NZ has received a warning from the world anti-doping watchdog over its failure to meet international testing standards, Stuff reports.
It’s Friday so…
Please enjoy this photo of Rain Epler of Estonian political party EKRE, who has just been elected to parliament. Yes, that’s his normal haircut.
