What it was like from the inside when public service cuts took hold

Wednesday, 6 November 2024

**Welcome to ‘Inside the cuts’ a new series by The Post. It documents various aspects of what it was like inside the public service when job cuts began occurring. Today we begin the series looking at internal ructions as news of the cuts began to leak. *Our paywall is down for 48 hours so new readers can get a taste of what a subscription to The Post really delivers.* Harriette Boucher and Anna Whyte report.**

On Thursday May 23, a week before Nicola Willis was due to hand down her first Budget, she received a text.

It was from Acting Public Service Commissioner Heather Baggott.

The Government’s public service cuts has been gathering steam and The Post had been running a series of stories documenting redundancies, restructures and cost cutting across ministries and Government departments.

On this particular day, RNZ had broken a story ‒ it was the Public Service Commission’s turn to shed some jobs. The commission was going to cut about 20% of its 200 positions, the news report said.

Baggott was not happy about the story getting out and alerted Willis at 7.53pm, via text message, linking to the RNZ story.

“Kia Ora Minister. You may have already seen this ‒ I’m very disappointed that one of our staff has spoken out to the media. While I have empathy for their situation, it is not ok. I will be looking into this.”

“Thanks for the heads-up,” responded Willis.

Baggott had already texted her senior leadership group earlier in the day.

“A very disappointing way to end the day seeing that one of our own has brought the Commission into disrepute by choosing to talk to the media,” Baggott wrote in an executive leadership team group chat.

“Very disappointing”, “yeah, I thought we would be better than that”, “it really doesn’t help anything,” and “thanks for flagging this. Very disappointing,” came replies from the group.

It is just one in a cache of internal emails and exchanges obtained by The Post under the Official Information Act, providing snapshots of what it was like for executives and staff within the various ministries faced with the prospect of job cuts. And particularly when news of those cuts became public.

The last reported data by the Public Service Commission in the year to June 2024 shows that over 2023 the number of FTEs (full time equivalent staff) slightly increased by 0.7%.

But the most up-to-date quarterly data shows a 2.7% reduction in headcount in the public service in the past quarter. And looking and ministries - and especially Crown agencies - shows where the deep cuts have been most keenly felt.

In Crown agencies the departments with the biggest percentage reductions in full time head count over the past year have been Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (10.7%), Public Service Commission (12.4%), Ministry of Culture and Heritage (21.8%), Ministry of Pacific Peoples (35.7%), Ministry for Women (12.4) and Statistics New Zealand (23.8%).

In terms of actual headcount the big departments: Ministry of Primary Industries, Ministry of Social Development and Statistics New Zealand has the biggest drops.

In Crown entities, the Productivity Commission has been abolished along with 21 staff. The Māori Health Authority has also been scrapped, with its 237 staff. NZ Trade and Enterprise’s headcount has dropped 13.8%. The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (17.4%), the Criminal Cases Review Commission (19.2%) and the Human Rights Commission (18.8) all had FTE reductions. The Health Quality and Safety Commission took a 22.9% reduction and the New Zealand Film Commission headcount fell over 25%. WorkSafe also took a 21% hit.

These are just the highlights of official figures to June. The actual figures are climbing all the time. Departments and agencies have also submitted ‘performance plans’ to their ministers in the past few weeks, detailing how their departments are meeting the Government’s strategies.

According to documents obtained by The Post, these across-the-board cuts created a febrile atmosphere across the service.

It gives a rare glimpse into the internal conflict and worry around frontline cuts, revealing a testy time in the public sector with staff upset with executive leadership, and the executive leadership upset with staff.

While the documents detailed Baggott’s disappointment with the leaks, lower level staff were unhappy with their bosses, with one email describing them as “overpaid rulers in the ivory tower”.

The documents, a series of emails, text messages, cover the period between March to August this year, when restructures and cuts were aimed at reaching the Government’s budget mandates.

The documents show staff and management feeling pitted against each other during the process, with both expressing a sense of being under siege by the actions of the other.

One email chain unveils anonymous submissions within the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), including one sent to the chief executive, Paul James in April. “What consultation was undertaken when the decision was made to make drastic cuts to the Digital Safety and Anti Money Laundering teams?” asked the employee.

It went on to say that reducing the teams was “widely short-sighted and callous”, and asks why there wouldn't be cuts to the Executive Leadership Team, who the employee said were paid too much for what they do.

“I’m really frustrated that the hard working people in the engine room of the Department are in danger of job cuts, but the overpaid rulers in the ivory tower seem to be safe from any accountability.”

Another submission on June 17 reveals a DIA employee upset with its minister, Brooke Van Velden, linking to a Stuff article that reports Van Velden expects, “the digital safety team to maintain the same level of service with the available resourcing.”

“Will someone inform her that no, the public won’t be getting the same level of service with the available resourcing? If there is another magical way to get the same amount of work with less people, I’m all ears.”

The employee wrote that the cuts would create the risk of more victimisation and less identification of offenders. “Will the minister be let known that less resources means less service and a less safe New Zealand?”

A following submission three days later asks for a response to the same query, saying they “suspect it’s being avoided”.

In a similar situation to that at the Public Service Commission, the Department of Conservation director-general Penny Nelson sent an email to all, also about leaks of job cuts.

“I know many of you, like me, are concerned for your colleagues, particularly individuals who have received significant public attention after the consultation document was disclosed to the media. I hope whoever leaked the document is reflecting on the impact that has had on others.”

Nelson is referring to the leak of the DOC consultation document, reported on by The Post the day before this announcement.

Nelson also took aim at the Public Service Association - the union representing public servants.

An email sent only two days prior reveals Nelson telling staff “I am extremely disappointed that the PSA has breached my trust and given the media detailed numbers. I am writing to them about this. We will continue to use our lines.”

The PSA declined to comment on Nelson's comment.

And at Oranga Tamariki, an OIA revealing an excerpt from a video transcript of an all-staff webinar in June shows the chief eecutive Chappie Te Kani telling off the leaker.

“I know there is a lot of anger towards groups inside Oranga Tamariki who chose to leak information publicly throughout this change process.

“I have no tolerance for such behaviour. Some have suggested that the act of leaking is an employee’s democratic right. It’s not. It’s an absolute breach of trust that has had serious and ongoing consequences which cannot go unaddressed.”