A Māori governance expert says the Public Service Commission may need to give ministers guidance on the difference between governance and operations.
Professor Ella Henry from AUT’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Law says some of the directions ministers in the coalition Government are giving their departments go beyond setting objectives and goals, which is the aim of good governance.
She says part of the reason the Public Service Commission exists is to protect state services from government interference and over-control by ministers.
“What we see at the moment is a number of MPs who are very new to Parliament, I think in some cases, and who may not necessarily understand that difference between Parliament and operations, between Parliament and state services. What I’m intrigued about is that State Services SOEs not seem to be saying very much about this,” Henry says.
