Dialogue: Pity our put-upon public servants

By CHRISTINE RANKIN

Poor old public servants. Always stuffing it up. They're a useless lot getting their ministers into all kinds of strife. Yeah, right.

But that's the impression you get. The past couple of weeks have seen at least three examples of the inadequacy of these poor wretches.

Tariana Turia's many woes, according to the Prime Minister, have been caused not by any lack of judgment on her part but by the inadequacy of the her office staff who used wrong letterheads, wrong envelopes and wrongly described her concerns to prison officials.

Yeah, right. Are we seriously expected to believe these sorts of things?

In trying to explain his nonsensical changes to the legislation that requires those receiving the DPB to prepare for work, Steve Maharey blamed case managers at Winz for causing the beneficiaries' entrapment in poverty.

He says case managers shove these people into any job to get them off benefits. He says the case managers don't understand the job market, don't understand their communities, don't refer these people to courses. He says this is not his fault, but the fault of the previous Government and its policy of work first.

That policy is based on good sense. Generally, people are not motivated to learn unless they have a reason. If they have a job first and get a sense of what they need to learn to improve themselves, then they will be more motivated for learning.

This is not the work of incompetent case managers, but case managers working in the best interests of the client.

I know those case managers well. Without exception they want the very best for the client. They manoeuvre and manipulate to get the best outcome. Despite what Mr Maharey says, computer courses and many different courses that can lead to good jobs, have been available and used extensively for years.

More people than ever have left the DPB register in the past 18 months. More people than ever have been placed in jobs by Winz in the past 18 months.

Isn't this a good thing? Apparently not. Mr Maharey seems to believe that they are far better off at home, on benefits, in poverty with no hope and no chance to prosper.

But I'm forgetting, this is all the fault of public servants, in this case incompetent case managers.

Yeah, right.

Margaret Wilson (I am truly not picking on her, she is just doing it to herself) claimed that she did not understand Susan Bathgate's working arrangements because the people in her office did not keep her informed. She has the Turia disease.

It is amazing to watch self-righteous people, previously full of scorn for those of us not seen to accept accountability, wriggling around and saying anything to avoid accepting responsibility for their lack of judgment or mistakes.

They build themselves up by knocking down others - particularly public servants.

This country has thousands of public servants who usually have chosen that profession because they want to contribute to their nation. Their working conditions are good, but their pay rarely comes anywhere near private-sector rewards.

They often cover gross mistakes made by ministers and take care when they speak publicly, such as before parliamentary select committees, to explain things in a way that always puts their ministers and the Government in the best possible light.

Every democracy needs a committed public service. In fact, a capable and honest public service is a national treasure. Many countries do not have that. Commitment and loyalty come from being valued and supported.

The past two years have been tough for the public service. It has, at times, been used blatantly for political purposes to cover up a range of incidents. While this might not be entirely new, I have never seen it at this level.

I believe that the people who make up the rank and file of the public service are intelligent, capable and hardworking individuals. They are an asset to be valued, not dumped on and blamed as a matter of convenience.

We need to look back to the Prime Minister with whom Helen Clark is most often compared - Robert Muldoon. He insisted that his ministers never blamed public servants and that they take responsibility, at least publicly -a long-held Westminster tradition.

I am sure that is what this Government intends to do.

Yeah, right.