Office for Māori Crown Relations mulls staff cuts; further reduction planned at Justice Ministry and Corrections

Te Arawhiti chief executive Lil Anderson says the agency has 'worked hard' to bring costs down. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Ministry of Justice, Department of Corrections and the Office for Māori Crown Relations are undergoing job cuts in accordance with the Government’s directive to find cost savings across the public sector.

Thousands of jobs at agencies have been placed on the chopping block or slashed as a new public sector era starts to take shape.

Te Arawhiti, the Office for Māori Crown Relations, has confirmed consultation with staff has started on its “organisational review”.

Under the plans, 51 roles would be disestablished, some of which are vacant, and 38 new jobs would be created. There are 194 fulltime equivalent employees at the office.

People set to lose their jobs would have the first option to apply for the new ones.

Te Arawhiti chief executive Lil Anderson said this followed extensive conversations with staff.

“We have also worked hard to bring down our costs over the last nine months, including reducing our use of contractors and consultants.”

The department, which is hosted by the Ministry of Justice, was working “at pace to complete all Treaty settlements”.

A four-week consultation period is under way.

A joint statement from the Ministry of Justice and Department of Corrections confirmed 68 roles were to go across both teams.

The High Impact Innovation Programme team from Corrections was set to merge with the Sector Directorate team at the Ministry of Justice, with 25 roles up for grabs.

“These teams are tasked with working together to improve outcomes and efficiency across the whole system, including speeding up defendants’ cases being heard, minimising time spent on remand, and reversing the increased wastage of court time by reducing the number of court adjournments at sentencing,” the Public Service Association said in a statement.

Justice sector directorate executive Erin Judge said the Justice Sector Leadership Board, made up of top public servants from police, Corrections, Oranga Tamariki, Crown Law and the Serious Fraud Office asked for a review of cross-sector functions.

“Our Sector Directorate and HIIP teams are small teams of dedicated people and we fully appreciate these proposed changes will create uncertainty for them,” Judge said, adding the aim was to reduce duplication.

The Herald has previously reported the Ministry of Justice had been undergoing consultation with staff over a proposal to cull 175 roles.

Consultation on the most recent proposal, to merge teams and cut further jobs, was to go to July 19, with final decisions expected in August.

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 after multiple years as a student journalist. She has a keen interest in city council decisions, public sector reform, and transport.