'Sexism is alive and well in public service' says Rankin

In a statement after the verdict, Christine Rankin says:

"I'm very disappointed at the outcome but realise that the decision in court was on points of law. Often things are wrong that are not necessarily against the law.

So much has been said through the court and in the media.

People will either believe what they have heard or not, or they will line up politically. I don't intend to relitigate all that. I simply have something to say.

I have said there will be no winners - certainly not myself or any of the other key players.

But maybe if we face up to what really happened here and really look at it, there are some powerful lessons for our future.

First, I want to say that the importance of the position of State Services Commissioner has become more and more critical. Michael Wintringham was under incredible pressure from a highly politicised Government, and I believe he did not cope well with that.

If we are to preserve the integrity of the public sector then the commissioner requires more support and better procedure, because the potential for this type of conflict is greater than ever before.

Sexism is alive and well in the public service, and - judging by the hundreds of letters I receive - in New Zealand generally.

I was treated shabbily at times, by people who may have had the best of intentions, but their actions exposed deeply ingrained sexism.

That wasn't the reason I went into this, but I will be pleased if women benefit. If I were a man, most, if not all of this would not have happened.

There is an intellectual arrogance closely allied with sexism which says that only those from the right mould can succeed.

While there was an initial romance in appointing someone who had been on the DPB to the top job in welfare, once that romance wore off and the going got tough and the blaming started, so did intellectual imperiousness.

I found this, more than anything else, an irritating aspect of Government and public service attitudes.

But there are some positive points that can be taken from all this:

* Government departments, such as Work and Income, with the right combination of leadership and policy, can do extraordinary things.

* The achievements in the first three years was extraordinary. All targets for the past year were met in only eight months.

* New programmes such as student loans and allowances that had startup problems (not all of our making) now operate almost perfectly and at a much lower cost.

* But most important, thousands of long-term unemployed are in work and being productive for themselves and New Zealand.

The long-term unemployed have never before experienced the benefits of a lift in the economy, and Work and Income is the difference.

For three years, two days a week, I was out at the frontline, encouraging staff and structuring an organisation around them.

Time and time again I asked them to front - to challenge their clients, which can be tough to do - and to raise their performance. They did.

When it came to my turn, I also had to front, and I have."