Mega-ministry MBIE told allowing more staff to work from home would not ease fuel supply, costs

MBIE was advised having public servants work from home fulltime was "very unlikely" to ease fuel supply issues or reduce prices and would be hard to justify. Photo / File

The Government’s largest ministry sought advice on allowing staff to work from home more often to reduce demand for fuel but was told it would not make a meaningful difference.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) – the lead agency for the fuel response – wrote to the Public Service Commission in March seeking advice on changing flexible work and work-from-home rules.

According to a proactively released commission report to the Public Service Minister, from March 27, the commission advised public sector departments and agencies should continue to use existing guidance around flexible working arrangements.

However, the commission said it would provide further targeted advice as required should fuel response phases change.

“The commission further advised that all services essential to the public are to remain on site and that timely and targeted advice on the application of the flexible working guidance by agencies will be provided, as levels change,” the report said.

A commission spokesman said there was “no reason at this stage”, with current fuel supply levels, to change working-from-home settings.

“Having public servants work from home fulltime is very unlikely to ease fuel supply or reduce prices, and it would also be hard to justify when schools, hospitals, courts and other essential services remain open.”

The commission spokesman said working-from-home guidance will be reviewed and adjusted if needed, if the fuel situation “worsens significantly”.

Public Service Association national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the commission was taking a “cynical” approach that did not make sense.

She said working from home was a “win-win”, which “helps conserve fuel for the national effort but also addresses the cost of living facing these public servants”.

MBIE’s chief operating officer of the fuel response Iain Cossar said the ministry sought advice because working from home was specifically mentioned in the 2024 National Fuel Plan as a voluntary way of reducing fuel demand.

“We asked the Public Service Commission whether they would consider changes to working-from-home settings for the public service if needed to save fuel.”

MBIE’s chief people officer Jen Nathan said the agency released its flexible working policy on March 30 after consultation with all employees.

“No changes have been made to our settings since then, including in response to a letter from the PSA asking for expansion of working from home arrangements on March 27.”

A public service mobility hub was also set up to support an all-of-Government response to fuel supply pressures, which sourced a number of policy staff to assist MBIE. A similar hub was established in 2020 to better support the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.