Senior National MP Chris Bishop said his party would consider the bill if it were pulled from Parliament’s ballot and put up for debate, saying that, overall, it believed in meritocracy and quality over identity politics.
However, he also said National wanted a “public service that is reflective of modern New Zealand”.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said the public service should reflect all New Zealanders. The former Public Service Minister, who introduced the current settings in 2020, said NZ First’s proposal was “ridiculous”.
DEI commonly refers to policies or frameworks to ensure the inclusion of individuals and communities with varying characteristics or from different demographics.
Diversity and inclusion are currently described as “essential” parts of the public service by the Public Service Commission (PSC), which has its own DEI plan and regularly reports on progress against DEI activities.
But NZ First wants “woke DEI regulations” removed from the public service. It is proposing legislation to ensure employment decisions are based on merit rather than DEI targets.
This is being introduced as a Member’s Bill, meaning it would need to be picked from a ballot before being debated by Parliament. It is not a Government Bill.
“This bill would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector,” Peters said. “New Zealand is a country founded on meritocracy, not on some mind-numbingly stupid ideology.”
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the bill "would put an end to the woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets in the public sector". Photo / Mark Mitchell
The specific changes the legislation would make include removing aspects of the Public Service Act 2020 that require the Public Service Commissioner to promote a diverse workforce.
For example, the legislation would amend Section 44 “to remove the Public Service Commissioner’s duty to develop a workforce that reflects societal diversity”.
Section 73 would be amended to “eliminate requirements for chief executives and boards to promote diversity and inclusiveness as part of being a ‘good employer’, including specific references to Māori involvement”.
The Public Service Act’s Section 75 is all about chief executives and boards promoting diversity and inclusiveness. This would be repealed under NZ First’s proposal.
When selecting a new chief executive for a department, a panel must currently consider requirements “relating to merit-based appointments and diversity and inclusiveness”. The obligation to consider diversity and inclusiveness would be removed.
“The public service exists to serve New Zealanders — not to be a breeding ground for identity politics,” Peters said.
“Removing woke ‘DEI’ requirements will give the public confidence that the right person is in the right job based on their skills, not their identity.”
Bishop, National’s campaign chair during the 2023 election, said he hadn’t seen the detail of the proposed legislation and the party would consider it if it were drawn from Parliament’s biscuit tin lottery.
“But what I would say in a general sense is that we believe in meritocracy and we believe in quality over identity politics. We’ve made a strong focus on that and clearly it’s a real priority for New Zealand First.”
Asked by the Herald if there was any value in DEI elements in the Public Service Act, Bishop said he hadn’t thought about it too deeply or considered the bill, but “I think you want a public service that is reflective of modern New Zealand”.
“Most importantly, you want a public service that is a meritocracy and focused on quality because we need, in government, the best advice we can possibly get.”
He said the three parties in government - National, NZ First and Act - had different policies but agreed on the fundamental issues for the country, such as the economy and law and order.
Hipkins said NZ First’s idea was “ridiculous, frankly”.
“We have a Public Service Act that requires the public service to reflect New Zealand and New Zealanders. I passed that, and I am very proud of it. I think Winston Peters is just basically trying to take a leaf out of Donald Trump’s book.”
He said Trump’s values are not consistent with those of most New Zealanders.
The move follows actions by the Trump Administration to roll back DEI policies across the US Government. One of the first executive orders the president signed was to terminate DEI discrimination in the federal workforce.
“Federal hiring, promotions and performance reviews will reward individual initiative, skills, performance and hard work and not, under any circumstances, DEI-related factors, goals, policies, mandates or requirements,” the order said.
The Trump Administration also directed agencies to sack staff working in positions related to diversity programmes.
Elon Musk (left) is a senior adviser to President Donald Trump. Photo / Getty Images
In an update on its work released last month, the Public Service Commission said DEI was about “reflecting and valuing the communities that Te Kawa Mataaho/Public Service Commission is here to serve, to build trust and confidence and improve services and outcomes for New Zealanders”.
“When we attract, retain, recognise, value and develop the skills and experiences of people across all dimensions of diversity (eg, gender, ethnicity, disability, rainbow, age), there are multiple benefits.”
The PSC said those benefits included greater diversity of thought, being better equipped to engage with different stakeholders, and lower gender and ethnic pay gaps.
It said it had been working in 2024 to support leaders “to develop inclusive practice and build overall DEI capability”.
The proposed bill is the latest move by NZ First to fight “woke” aspects of society. Last month, it introduced a Member’s Bill to prevent banks from refusing services to businesses because of environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks.
“This bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate radicals,” Peters said at the time.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
