Smaller, more efficient Government just what the doctor ordered

“Fewer departments, fewer bureaucrats, and the public service sucking up less taxpayer money is just what the doctor ordered,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“However, there must also be change at the top. Just over a year ago I called for radical simplification at the head of Government. That included no more than 20 Ministers, with one or two departments each, and no department with more than one Minister.

“My State of the Nation speech in February called for a smaller, more efficient Government. I said New Zealanders feel like hard work goes unrewarded, because bureaucracy sucks up any cream they create. Today’s announcement is just what the doctor ordered, a concerted effort to make Government simpler, smaller, and more efficient.

“ACT stands for less Wellington bloat, fewer Government departments, and less Government spending. Today’s announcement means the official Government policy is to cap the number of bureaucrats, delete departments, and save $2.4 billion.

“Reducing core public service FTEs to below 55,000 by July 2029 is a slower reduction than ACT campaigned on, but it proves our long-held position was right. The reduction means 8,700 fewer staff at departments and ministries compared to December last year, with frontline workers unaffected.

“This is the kind of ongoing discipline ACT has pushed for and demonstrated in Government. ACT Ministers have already secured around $14 billion in savings across Government Budgets so far. We have asked the tough questions, challenged waste, and pushed spending toward areas that actually improve people’s lives.

“Saving taxpayer money hasn’t always been popular. ACT has copped the most criticism for it, but the alternative is going broke as a country. New Zealand cannot protect its first-world status if government keeps growing faster than the people who pay for it.

“It is also the start of a long overdue culture change for the public service. The Public Service should reflect the public it serves. For years I’ve spoken to businesses forced to make tough choices, meanwhile the public service has grown through thick and thin using larger amounts of taxpayer money in unnecessary ways.

“There is more to come in the effort to make Government smaller, and more efficient. Tomorrow I will reveal how many regulators this country has. It will show that the public service headcount is only one part of a much larger problem. We have a twisted spaghetti of regulators who don’t just cost money to fund, but suck up people’s time and force others to give up completely.

“Like many initiatives to reduce government waste, the Government has not gone as far or as fast as ACT would. But it is going much further than it would have without ACT’s influence.

“The next chapter that ACT will campaign on is a smaller, more efficient cabinet that fits the reform of Government Departments.

“We are delivering change, and we are only getting started in our mission to give taxpayers a fairer deal. Every dollar not wasted on bureaucracy is a dollar that can stay with the people who earned it or be spent on the frontline services New Zealanders actually rely on.”