Labour says it would run a Royal Commission into the public sector to address issues such as bullying of civil servants by ministers and to combat the threat of "creeping corruption", state services spokeswoman Maryan Street says.
Speaking to the Institute of Public Administration in Wellington today Ms Street said the public service had lost much of its protections against corruption in recent years.
The public sector had "lost the courage required of a neutral professional public service" which could combat "creeping corruption".
She attributed that to "misuse of ministerial power", directing criticism at former ACC Minister and current Conservation Minister Nick Smith and Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee.
"Whether it's the misuse of a ministerial letterhead, whether it's telling Fish and Game that 'I'm going to curtail your legal mandate and funding unless you stop irritating me with your free and frank advice', whether it's saying to an airport security official, 'Look, I'm the minister, I'm running late, can I just get on this plane'."