Luxon sets nine ‘ambitious’ targets for public services
Monday, 8 April 2024
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says the Government has set nine “ambitious” targets for public services to improve hospital wait times, crime statistics, attendance at schools, and meet New Zealand’s climate commitments.
Luxon, who campaigned on focusing the Government on “outcomes”, announced the nine targets after a Cabinet meeting on Monday. The six-year targets spanned health, crime, welfare, education, and climate policies, and resembled a prior National government’s better public service targets that were abolished in 2018 by Labour.
“We're trying to focus the public service. I want to focus our ministers and our Government and I also want the New Zealand people to understand these are the things that they tell us are important,” he said.
“These are the ultimate outcomes that we actually need to be really focused on as a country.”
The nine targets to be completed by 2030 are:
95% of patients to be admitted, discharged, or transferred from an emergency department within six hours.
95% of people wait less than four months for elective treatment.
15% reduction in the total number of children and young people with serious and persistent offending behaviour.
20,000 fewer people who are victims of an assault, robbery, or sexual assault.
50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support Benefit.
80% of students present for more than 90% of the term.
80% of Year 8 students at or above the expected curriculum level for their age in reading, writing and maths by December 2030.
75% reduction of households in emergency housing.
On track to meet New Zealand’s 2050 net zero climate change targets, with total net emissions of no more than 290 megatonnes from 2022 to 2025 and 305 megatonnes from 2026 to 2030.
“Some are very aspirational and will be very difficult to achieve. But our Government was not elected to tinker or tweak while the big problems go unsolved,” Luxon said.
Target “progress reports” will be published every quarter.
Luxon confirmed the prior government’s “Implementation Unit” with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) had stopped work and a “Delivery Unit” would work in its place to drive delivery of the targets. He was unsure how many staff the new unit would have.
The Post reported last month that documents published under the Official Information Act showed DPMC officials sought a briefing from consultant firm Delivery Associates about creating a “delivery unit” in November, two weeks before Luxon’s National-coalition Government was sworn in.
Of particular interest was how a delivery unit would work with a prime minister’s office, as the Government “wants a central function to also track their 100+ targets”. The “cadence, style and approach” of a prime minister’s “stocktake” meetings with other ministers was also part of the session.
Attending the 90 minute virtual meeting were then DPMC chief executive Rebecca Kitteridge, Implementation Unit director Stephen Crombie, the deputy chief executive of policy Janine Smith, and at least five other officials whose names were redacted.