Senior New Zealand public servants' and chief executives' total collective pay is at the lowest level in six years and is expected to stay low based on the weak inflation outlook, the State Services Commission said in its annual remuneration report.
Public service chief executives earned a total of $11.58 million in the year ended June 30, the lowest level since the June 2008 year and $500,000 less than last year, the civil service overseer said in its report, reflecting reduced numbers of chief executives, cost control and a long-standing vacancy. The average increase for a chief executive was 2.8 percent in the year, with the outlook for future rises to be between 2.6 percent and 3 percent, as a result of recent collective bargaining.
"Chief executive remuneration requires a careful balance between ensuring we can attract and retain highly qualified and skilled leaders for New Zealand's public institutions while being prudent and restrained when spending public money," said Iain Rennie, State Services Commissioner, who was one of the highest paid public sector ceo's, at between $610,000 and $619,999.
"What we pay our public service leaders is generally less than what they would receive in a similar job in the private sector in New Zealand. To put what they earn in perspective: the average base salary of our public service chief executives is approximately five times the average pay of the employees in their department."
The report shows the disgraced former chief executive of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, Roger Sutton, earned between $590,000 and $599,999 in the year ended June. Last month Sutton quit the role amid reports of sexual harassment. At the time, Rennie said an investigation found that Sutton's conduct "did not always meet the standard expected of public service leaders" but he was unlikely to have dismissed him.
