The changes will see public service jobs slashed by about 14% by 2029, in a shake-up the government says will deliver $2.4 billion of savings.
There are currently just over 63,000 full-time public servants, a slight decrease under this coalition government from the high of approximately 65,000 in the 2024/25 year.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis today outlined an overhaul of the public service designed to "reduce the number of government departments, increase the use of AI and other digital tools, and deliver significant savings".
Oliver Hartwich, executive director of the public policy think tank, told RNZ it was the right move.
"The substance of the announcement is precisely right. We have a public service that is way too complicated - we have 43 government departments and ministries, we have 82 ministerial portfolios and there is simply too much duplication in the system."
Hartwich said job cuts to the public sector were well overdue and, once achieved, there should also be a reform of ministerial portfolios.
"In the end, the principle should be, as in practically every other country, there should be one minister with one ministerial portfolio, responsible for one government department."
The union representative called for the government to make clear which public services which serve New Zealanders every day would be cut as a result.
He said artificial intelligence could help support workers but rejected that AI could ever replace the human element of these services.
"You can't automate a social worker visiting a vulnerable child. You cannot replace a biosecurity officer inspecting cargo at the border with a chatbot."
He accused the minister of using AI as a justification for job losses.
"It's not genuine in terms of improving services."
He hit out at the plans calling them "chaos dressed as strategy".
He argued a merger would delay critical work, cost money and scare skilled workers overseas.
On the streets of Wellington, where many public servants work, some people told RNZ the cuts were for the greater good.
Gary Murdock said the government needed to make them.
"I do think it will help the economy. It's much better, I think, that people find more productive private sector work rather than being just paid by the government."
Michael Phelps - not the swimmer - also felt it was a sacrifice the country needed.
"We probably have to have some cuts because the country just can't afford to keep going the way it is."
He believed previous governments had employed too many public servants.
"If we can't afford to have the public servants that we've got, then we've got to cut back on some of them."
But others were worried about the cuts and the impact they could have.
Martin Brown said: "I'm quite disappointed with this government's attitude to cutting a service without thinking about any of the ramifications."
He felt the government had not thought the decision through, questioning how it will create jobs for these people.
"They just chuck them all out and then see what happens."
Wellington mayor Andrew Little said the cuts were "naturally" going to cause anxiety for workers in the capital.
Little said it was important to wait for more details to come out to learn the significance of the cuts.
He remained optimistic, given the rest of Willis' announcement centred on the government's plans to use tech - and AI - more.
Wellington had a strong tech sector and if the government wanted to partner with tech companies - Wellington was the city for it, he believed.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
