Public sector cuts: 303 jobs to go at Ministry for the Environment

In the latest of a sweeping series of cost-cutting restructures across the public sector, the Ministry for the Environment today announced plans to cut 303 roles by July next year – about 30 per cent of 993 positions filled currently. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Ministry for the Environment’s workforce is set to be slashed by a third, in proposed cuts a union says will jeopardise vital work on combating climate change and cleaning up our rivers.

In the latest of a sweeping series of cost-cutting restructures across the public sector, the ministry today announced plans to cull 303 roles by July next year – about 30 per cent of 993 positions filled currently.

The cuts – put to staff for consultation from today – would be partly met by ending about 150 fixed-term contracts by October 31.

The rest would come through voluntary redundancy – which 45 employees have already taken up – and proposed redundancies of permanent staff, with a number of these delayed until June next year.

Ministry chief executive James Palmer said that, before the change of government, and after a period of “rapid growth”, the ministry was on track to shrink by a quarter over the next few years, as time-limited funding for waste, water and resource management programmes came to an end.

“Throughout 2023, we took steps to prepare for that decline, instituting a hiring freeze last year, and employing a number of people on fixed-term contracts,” Palmer said.

“We also reviewed our operating model, finishing the year with a structure designed to make the ministry more effective and efficient, with a smaller number of senior management roles.”

Nevertheless, he acknowledged the changes proposed today would be tough on many staff, who’d delivered “high quality and specialised work”.

“My focus, as we enter three weeks of consultation, is on ensuring our people feel they are being treated fairly, are well supported, and have access to clear information on which to base their next decisions.”

The Public Service Association has hit out against the flagged cuts – arguing they made “no sense”.

“In the face of climate change impacting communities, our freshwaters being degraded, and our unique biodiversity under threat like never before, the Government is gutting the very agency on the frontline tackling these challenges,” the union’s national secretary, Duane Leo, said.

He accused the Government of “turning a blind eye” to the country’s environmental challenges, “and again ignoring the evidence of its own experts so it can fund tax cuts”.

The union noted last week’s Budget slashed the ministry’s funding by $316 million, with impacts on programmes across climate change, freshwater protection, waste minimisation, biodiversity and environmental reporting, as well as funding for the Climate Change Commission.

Ministry for the Environment chief executive James Palmer.

“The very people charged with monitoring environment standards and analysing data are also under threat in this proposal,” Leo said.

“The Government promised evidence-based policy, but clearly does not value the gathering of evidence to help us better safeguard the environment.”

Environment Minister Penny Simmonds said in a statement: “Before the election, the Ministry of the Environment’s baseline was projected to start decreasing this year, after nearly tripling in size over the past six years to deliver major reforms and a range of additional functions.

“Over the past year, the Ministry has taken steps to prepare for its decreasing baseline by introducing strict recruitment controls, employing most new staff on fixed-term contracts, and held about 200 of 1230 funded roles unfilled. MfE has also reviewed its operating model, reducing the size of its leadership team by more than 20 per cent, and instituting a new structure based on key functions.

“I appreciate it is difficult news for those affected. However, we inherited an economy in recession from Labour and the belt-tightening that’s happening now isn’t limited to the public sector – the private sector has been grappling with it for some time.

“As outlined in Budget 2024, funding continues to be available so the Ministry can provide policy advice and implementation on fresh water, waste, RMA Reform and other key areas; provide evidence, data reporting on the state of the environment; and meet Crown commitments under the Treaty of Waitangi.”

The Herald also approached the office of Public Service Minister Nicola Willis for comment.

Separately, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) told NZME it was working toward cutting costs to reach a break-even position next financial year – representing a saving of $4m per financial year.

“Options are being considered by the EPA’s leadership and board in June,” a spokesperson said.

The authority was looking at areas where spending could be reduced – and it had already moved to cut its use of external consultants, restricted new hires, down-scaled some programmes and sought to limit its long-term investments programme.

Since late last year, it had disestablished one position, which wasn’t related to the Government’s cost savings directive.

“We currently have 32 vacant positions. Most of these roles will not be filled.”

The latest cuts come after NZME reported how leaked documents suggested the squeeze on the public sector would go well beyond the Budget.

Agencies have been chasing cost-savings of between 6.5 and 7.5 per cent on average – some finding less and some slashing more, to strike the Government’s desired balance.

Agencies under the latter directive are tasked with cutting more from their budgets if their staff numbers have seen a more significant increase since 2017.

Labour’s environment spokeswoman Rachel Brooking hit out at the cuts claiming they would undermine previous work to clean up fresh water and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“More than 300 proposed job cuts at the Ministry for the Environment will leave us in the lurch as we try to become more resilient to the effects of climate change, as well as undo all the work done to ensure a healthy environment for future generations,” she said.

“The cuts come as the Government is trying to push through fast track legislation that works against the environment instead of with it, make sweeping changes to the Resource Management Act that will allow destructive coal mining, and undo years of work to clean up our rivers.”

The pending cuts come as the Government faces criticism for the Fast-Track Approvals Bill.

Critics have emotively labelled some of the coalition Government’s policies as a “war on nature”.

On Saturday, Forest & Bird, Greenpeace, Communities Against Fast Track (CAFT), Coromandel Watchdog, WWF-New Zealand, and Kiwis Against Seabed Mining will hold a ‘March for Nature’ down Auckland’s Queen St in protest.

They announced the June 8 protest against the Fast-Track Approvals Bill and what they claim is the coalition Government’s “war on nature”.

“How we look after our environment is something that all New Zealanders care deeply about,” Forest & Bird chief executive Nicola Toki said.

“Along with the climate crisis, the world faces a biodiversity crisis, and New Zealand is already ground zero with the highest rate of species extinction in the world.

“That’s why resource management reform needs to have widespread public support. It needs to provide stability and certainty and be able to endure. The fact that tens of thousands of New Zealanders filed submissions opposing the Bill proves that’s not the case with this proposed legislation.”

Jamie Morton is a specialist in science and environmental reporting. He joined the Herald in 2011 and writes about everything from conservation and climate change to natural hazards and new technology.