The number of spin doctors and communications staff in government departments is on the increase again even after National swore to rein in the numbers.
National put a cap on the public service staff numbers in 2008 and also swore to cut back on communications and public relations staff after criticising the numbers employed under the former Labour Government.
It managed to get numbers down from 321 in 2008 to a low of 263 in mid-2011. However, numbers have gradually increased to 288 - an increase largely driven by the establishment of the Canterbury Earthquake Authority. Cera now has 26 communications staff - up from 18 last year and six in its first full year of existence. Of those, about eight are marketing staff for the central city rebuild. The numbers are also only for core government departments, so do not include staff employed by the Defence Force or Police.
Communications staff in big ministries including Education, Social Development and Inland Revenue have also increased over the past three years, partly because of mergers with other units. After the merger with the Ministry of Fisheries and high-profile food safety and biosecurity scares affecting exports, such as Fonterra's false whey contamination scare, the Ministry of Primary Industries has increased its public relations staff from 16.6 to 21.5.
Others have dropped staff, including Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Department of Internal Affairs still has the most with 44 - including about 35 press secretaries for the Prime Minister and Government ministers. By comparison, the Ministry of Health has just six.
