Ryan Bridge: Another example of bureaucracy undermining government policy

You've got to ask yourself who's running the show. There's been another example of bureaucracy seemingly undermining the government on its cost cutting plan which, remember, from outset they said wouldn't impact the front line. 

A Health New Zealand manager has done a PowerPoint to 90 staff about upcoming changes, and they indicated that jobs could be cut including 470 doctors and 1400 nurses. 

Who on earth thought that was okay? 

Did they do it on purpose? Is it a middle finger to the government and to the Commissioner Lester Levy? 

The truth is we don't really know at this point, Levy asks is this reluctance, is this resistance, or is this sabotage? 

Fair question. He's promising consequences. It's totally unacceptable, but it's not an isolated incident. 

Oranga Tamariki is another agency cutting funding left, right, and centre to services. 

The stories get in the press and then there's a back down. 

And we've had public service leaking against the government, loads of examples. At least six major leaks that I could recall. 

There was a Cabinet paper on the foreign housing investors, also the treaty principles bill. 

You can't know for sure the motivations in each case, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that there is huge resistance to the coalition government's agenda within pockets of the bureaucracy. 

They need reining in, examples here need to be set. 

And if the message falls on deaf ears, well, maybe they need to be marched out the door. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
You've got to ask yourself who's running the show. Another
example of bureaucracy seemingly undermining the government on its cost
cutting plan, which remember from the start, from the outset,
they said, no frontline job's going latest thing. You've got
a Health New Zealand manager who did a PowerPoint to
ninety staff about upcoming changes. They indicated that jobs could

(00:22):
be cut, including get this, four hundred and seventy doctors
and fourteen hundred nurses. What who on earth thought that
was okay? Did they do it on purpose? Is it
a middle finger to the government and to the commissioner
Lesta Levy? The truth is we don't really know at
this point, Levy says, and he's quoted a newsroom is saying,

(00:42):
is this reluctance, is this resistance or is this sabotage?
Fair question? He's promising consequences. It's totally unacceptable. But it's
not an isolated incident. Ordering a Tamadiki is another agency
cutting funding left front and center to services. I think
many keywis would consider frontline like counseling. The stories get

(01:04):
in the press and then there's a back down, and
we've had public service leaking against the government. Loads of examples,
at least six major leaks that I could recall. There
was that Cabinet paper on the Foreign Housing investors, the
Treaty Principles Bill, stuff that has been leaked. You can't
know for sure the motivations in each case, but it

(01:26):
doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that there
is huge resistance to the Coalition government's agenda within parts
of pockets of the bureaucracy. They need raining in. The
examples here need to be set, I think, and if
the message falls on deaf as well, maybe they need
to be marched out the door. For more from news

(01:48):
talks that'd be listen live on air or online, and
keep our shows with you wherever you go with our
podcasts on Iartradio