Act leader David Seymour says job losses in the public sector inevitable

Act Party leader David Seymour says there’s “no question” there will be a reduction in the number of public servants under the coalition Government’s watch.

Seymour spoke with Mike Hosking on Newstalk ZB this morning following criticism of the Government’s proposed public sector cuts.

Ministries are on a mission to cut spending by 6.5 to 7.5 per cent before the Budget in May.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has asked all departments to look for savings to “restore discipline” to taxpayer spending.

Correspondence from 11 ministries about their cost-cutting plans has been released to NZME under the Official Information Act.

One idea put forward at the Ministry of Transport was for staff to stay with friends rather than in hotels when travelling for work.

When asked specifically about that proposal by Hosking, Seymour said “it’s not a bad idea”.

He said despite increases in spending, public services have not improved.

“Ten billion dollars, five million people ... how did we get there is your question. The Reserve Bank and Adrian Orr and their infinite wisdom kept interest rates very low, and Grant Robertson turned the tap on.

“There’s no question there will be a reduction on a number of people,” Seymour said when asked about job losses.

The comments come during a week where Seymour has faced criticism for Government efforts to reign in public spending.

He’s also found himself embroiled in a social media spat with the head of a publicly funded anti-extremism centre over cutbacks.

Professor Joanna Kidman, a director of the Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, lashed out at the Government on Tuesday night.

Kidman wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that she could “only assume that this Government hates children, most of whom will be poor and brown”.

“There is so much evidence that military-style youth boot camps don’t work and are expensive,” she wrote.

Professor Joanna Kidman, director of the Centre of Research Excellence for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism, He Whenua Taurikura.

Kidman also added that the Government “wants to snatch children’s lunches” in response to Associate Education Minister and Act leader David Seymour describing free school lunches as “wasteful” public spending and arguing that the Government should cut them.

“Is this a government or a death cult?” Kidman wrote.

Seymour replied on X: “Some interesting views from a Jacinda Ardern and Labour appointee”.

Kidman has since made her X account private.

It is the second social media spat involving Seymour earlier this week, he and Health Coalition Aotearoa co-chair Professor Lisa Te Morenga exchanged personal barbs over the Government’s free school lunches programme.

Speaking to the Herald, Seymour said it was “really strange” for Kidman’s comments to come from an organisation funded to bring people together.

“If people want to have arguments about the merits of the school lunch programme or the Government’s boot camps for prisoners, there’s lots of arguments they can make if they’d like to without getting into these kinds of personal attacks. Once you start doing that you’re actually promoting division and extremism,” he said.

He said he believed in freedom of speech and the Government “should never lock someone up for their opinion”, but if someone entered a private contract, they took on obligations in terms of behaviour.

He said people who took government funding were allowed to criticise the government.

Kidman has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the Herald.

Act Party leader David Seymour speaking at Waitangi. Photo / Michael Cunningham