Public sector cuts: The latest on thousands of jobs as redundancies hit the millions - The Front Page

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Thousands of jobs have gone, and millions of dollars have been spent on redundancy payouts – and it’s not over yet as the public sector continues to tighten its belt.

Budget 2024 set targets for $1.5 billion worth of cost-savings, with estimates for $1b in further savings over numerous financial years.

As the axe falls there are questions over whether the cuts will hit the front line – something the Government’s promised will stay intact.

Newstalk ZB reporter Azaria Howell told The Front Page Budget 2024 saw $3.71 billion had been scraped together, as agencies had been chasing down cost savings of 6.5 to 7.5%.

“Some agencies are seeing savings be reinvested or retained to support the frontline. One of those is the Department of Corrections.

“It was given a savings target of 6.5%, $108.6 million, and it found $110.5 million of savings, which is all going back into the department

When it comes to how many roles have been slashed the numbers are still rolling in.

“The tally is around 4000. Some of these are proposals, some are confirmed, and some of them are roles that have been cut because government work programmes have been cut. So things such as people working in Three Waters are no longer in those roles,” she said.

The price tags of redundancy payouts are starting to stack up.

“One of them notably is ‘mega ministry’, the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. Its total cost of staff redundancies was more than $8 million as of May 30.

“The redundancies at New Zealand Customs Service total nearly $2.7 million. Customs is planning on concluding its change process soon - a lot of agencies are looking to do that by July 1,” Howell said.

Nicola Willis has confirmed that the Government intends to raise performance-based pay for public service CEOs.

The policy is being called “a bit tone-deaf” by Labour as it comes as thousands of public servants are being laid off.

The Finance Minister has since revealed those bonuses won’t be delivered for at least another year.

“It’s a bit of a controversial one. People on the political left are slamming the proposals, suggesting that it’s not really fair with all of these people being laid off. Why should those at the top with the highest salaries be getting an increase?

“But the Finance Minister, and Public Service Minister, Nicola Willis is selling it by saying that this will get results. Now they’re focused on these results, they want to be a results-driven government.”

Listen to the full episode to hear more how agencies are trying to find savings, and why they aren’t slowing down post-Budget.

The Front Page is a daily news podcast from the New Zealand Herald, available to listen to every weekday from 5am. The podcast is presented by Chelsea Daniels, an Auckland-based journalist with a background in world news and crime/justice reporting who joined NZME in 2016.

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