Judith Collins: Public Service Minister on the reduction in contractor and consultant spending

The Public Service Minister believes cuts within the sector aren't the slash and burn they're made out to be. 

The Government has reduced its contractor and consultant spending across the public service by more than half its target. 

It says spending has fallen $915 million, compared to its goal of $400 million, and frontline roles in the public service have also increased. 

Judith Collins told Mike Hosking redundancy costs from job cuts also need to be seen in the context of overall savings. 

She says some agencies immediately got rid of some jobs because they realised they were coping without them. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
On a day we got figure showing we're still borrowing
money to keep the lights on. We are at least
cutting back on contractors and consultants. The government has saved
nine hundred and fifteen million dollars over the last two years,
double its four hundred million dollar target. Total workforce is
also down five percent to sixty two six hundred and
fifty four FTEs full time equivalents, with a six point
five percent increase in the front line appointments now due

(00:21):
to Collins is in chargeable of this as the Public
Services Minister enders with us, good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Oh, good morning mate.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
How much of this? All these savings are low hanging
fruit and it was easy to do well.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
I think there were quite obviously that the obvious ones
to go after first, and there were quite a few
jobs that were vacant. Their agencies immediately got rid of
some because they realized they were coping without them, So
that is true. I mean at the same time, though,

(00:53):
we've got this increase in the frontline staff, which would
be the people you're dealing directly with the public, the
six point nine percent, so that's actually quite quite a
good increase. At the same time we're dropping the back office.
So I think it's isn't the slash and burn that
the Public Service Association has put out a wildly hysterical

(01:16):
press release yes today saying that there's a slash and
burn and things like that, and I was celebrating job losses.
Now this is actually your money, my money, New Zealander's
money being better speent. And I think that's exactly where
it needs to be. And we need to actually continue
to keep a very close ironers and make sure we
get rid of all the nonsense stuff that's been going

(01:37):
on over the years.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
And when it comes to the nonsense stuff, is it
possible though, that there are fivetoms within departments that could
be doing business and spending money that the minister may
or may not know about.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
Oh? Absolutely, And I think it's very important that every minister,
every chief executive is being asked to look at every
job basically worried about worry that they're not worried about,
and asked is this our core business? Is it something
that we have to do. At the same token, I'd
say we've been an extremely busy government. It's quite transformational

(02:12):
in some ways some of the work that's been going
on and therefore that does take work, but it's pretty
amazing when you look at some of the costs I
mean that have been spent over the years, and it's
all borrowed money these days. So we've got to be
really careful.

Speaker 1 (02:28):
Yes, we do the roche business of bringing departments within departments.
Is that going to provide more savings over the next
twelve months or so, Well.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
We'll see. I mean, I think we're working on the
basis that we're looking closely at bringing in this sort
of community and housing transport one together. Whether or not
we actually fully go through with that, it's another matter
because we've still got to go through all the processes
and work out that's actually going to save money. I
think we all that MBY was put together and that

(03:02):
was going to all work together. In many places, that worked,
except for the fact that the numbers of staff went
from about three and a half thousand when we left
office in twenty seventeen to well over six thousand six
years later. So you've just got to be a bit
careful that you don't end up with big empires and

(03:22):
nobody actually really focused on the first job, which is
looking up for the taxpayer and doing.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
The job exactly. By the way yesterday's performance in the
House and the closing of proceedings, is that going to
end up potentially in front of the Privileges Committee or.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
Not, when you know, under chair of the Privileges Committee.
So that gives me my eighth portfolio to do. That'll
be up to the Speaker. I look, I heard some
accounts of it last night and we were who come
to Parliament to do a job, and we all have

(03:57):
to follow the rules, so you know, me follow the
rules and so but I'll deal with it if it
comes in the Commistee will the usual way.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Okay, I appreciate it. Having a good weekend. Judith Colin
Tuesday well, the Chair of the Privileges Committee, but also
the Minister of the Public Service. For more from the
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