NZ First's Shane Jones wants ministers to have more power over public sector

Wednesday, 25 April 2018

Shane Jones at an event announcing funding for projects in Taranaki from the provincial growth fund. In an interview Jones complained about the time it takes for projects to get funding allocation and called for the line between government and the bureaucracy to be 'softened'.

Cabinet Minister Shane Jones, says he would like to 'soften that line' between governance and the bureaucracy, including allowing ministers to appoint top officials.

In an interview on the provincial growth fund Jones, the Regional Development Minister railed against a bureaucratic system he characterised as a 'treacle-riddled', slowing down process around funding economic projects, without evidence of improved efficiency.

'I'm looking forward to fighting an election to change the way that politicians relate to the bureaucracy,' Jones said.

'I know we have this separation of governance and the bureaucracy, but I'm really attracted to the idea where the Aussies have softened that line, and key ministers bring in their s…-kickers to get things done. That's always been my preference.'

Jones said his comments were not Government policy and were 'not consistent with the State Services Act' but were ones he would like to campaign on in the future.

Among other things the State Sector Act gives the State Services Commissioner the power over chief executive appointments, without influence from the Beehive, at least in theory.

Unlike many other countries, public servants are required to act in a politically neutral way.

The Public Services Association warned in December that the influence of ministerial advisors, Beehive staff which are appointed to serve the interests of their minister, are undermining this neutrality.

Jones was quick to promote reports of his comments.

'Surely I'm not the only one who would like to see less bureaucracy in this country? Meeting high governance and probity standards should not come at the expense of efficiency and pace in my books,' Jones said on his public Facebook profile.

The Taxpayer's Union's executive director Jordan Williams called the comments 'bizarre'.

'Shane Jones is suggesting we abandon our Westminster-style independent public service and adopt a corrupt American-style political appointment model. It's a recipe for unstable, crony, poor governance.'

Although Jones raised his inability to appoint a chief executive of the new Crown Forestry body, his main complaint appeared to be around the time it took to get projects through government funding processes.

Since his time as a minister in the Helen Clark-led Labour Government he had seen projects bogged down by process. Crown Irrigation Investments, set up with fanfare by the previous National-led Government 'achieved very little' before the new Government announced it would wind down the scheme.

'It takes an inordinately long period of time to either get projects through statutory system, or to get funding allocations made,' Jones said.

'We've gone out, we've fought an election, subject to observing the rules of allocating funding, from the state into the economy, we should just get on with it.'

He claimed there was no evidence that the difficulty of the process led to better outcomes.

'Why is sluggishness seen as acceptable? In this fund, the best thing for me to do is to drive for outcomes, be efficient and expeditious.'

National economic and regional development spokesman Paul Goldsmith said the failure of officials to discover that a project which had been awarded funding from the provincial growth fund was backed by a businessman facing a Serious Fraud Office probe was what would be expected from a 'slush fund'.

'Mr Jones has been so determined to shovel the money out the door as quickly as possible, basic due diligence on who is receiving the public money wasn't carried out.'