Judith Collins’ public service reforms may tread a fine line – Editorial

Public Service Minister Judith Collins is out to improve public sector chief executive and agency performance management. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Editorial

THREE KEY FACTS

• Judith Collins aims to improve public sector chief executive and agency performance management.
• Collins plans to amend the Public Service Act, arguing it impedes efficient public service.
• Reforms are to focus on clarifying roles, streamlining responsibilities and reinforcing merit-based appointments.

Judith Collins wants to improve public sector chief executive and agency performance management.

She is unlikely to find much resistance around the country to that idea, with many frustrated New Zealanders expecting better from the bureaucracy.

How Collins proposes to improve things is a little more unclear.

There are plans to amend part of the Public Service Act, which was passed by the previous Government to reform the public sector.

According to the Public Service Minister the legislation is currently impeding the public service from working at its best – and ultimately slowing down the economic machine.

Collins also argues the act diminished the responsibility of chief executives for implementing government policy.

“We don’t need to tell the chief executives of the public service which laws to follow. They just need to follow the law – like all other employers,” she said.

Anything that improves public agency efficiencies and public servants to do their best work for all of us should be encouraged. However, government and the public service are not businesses and we must be cautious about attempting to operate them like one.

We are lucky to live in a country where public service chief executives enjoy a strong degree of independence from the Government of the day.

The Public Service Commissioner recruits and appoints chief executives, who are employed by and ultimately report to the commissioner. It is the commissioner who holds them and their performance to account.

We should be wary of the potential consequence of any reforms where individual ministers are able to impinge upon that independence, particularly for their own political benefit.

The reforms have not yet been drafted but Collins has laid out what her priorities are, which include clarifying the role of the public service; streamlining chief executive responsibilities; reinforcing the principle of merit-based appointments; improving chief executive and agency performance management; utilising and improving tools to reduce silos; and better management of risk.

“I won’t personally be doing it – the Public Service Commission will continue to do it as usual,” Collins said.

This is reassuring from Collins and that degree of separation must be maintained.

“All money spent by the taxpayer is taxpayer money so I’m saying to public servant chief executives, I want the best person for the job and I don’t want you mucking around doing reports on things that you don’t need to do reports on because it’s not about your core business,” she said.

As Victoria University professor Jonathan Boston said, the role of the public service has been broadly the same for 100 years.

The bill is currently being drafted. We should keep a watchful eye on its wording.

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