Foreign Affairs not tightening its belt just yet - Finance Minister

Wednesday, 20 May 2026

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) won’t have to find savings like many other departments this year, the Finance Minister has confirmed.

This is despite Mfat not being listed among the agencies excluded from the baseline savings exercise in Nicola Willis’ media release about her public service overhaul.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters laughed off questions about job losses at Mfat on Tuesday, saying “everything’s going to stay the same”.

The rationale for his confidence became clearer in Question Time on Wednesday, when Labour’s finance spokesperson, Barbara Edmonds, asked Willis if Mfat would be required to make savings for the budget.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was excluded from the 2% baseline reduction but has not been excluded from the out years,” Willis responded.

Read more:

• Peters laughs off questions about job cuts for diplomats amid cull of public service jobs

• Budget 2026: Where might the public service cuts fall? The big and small ministries facing the knife

• Budget 2026: Nicola Willis’ public service overhaul goes well beyond headcount

The media release sent out from Willis’ office on Tuesday lists more than a dozen agencies excluded from the baseline savings exercise. Mfat is not one of them.

Edmonds asked Willis if she agreed with Peters’ comment that “everything was going to stay the same” in his department.

“I agree with Winston Peters on the important things but on that particular statement, not really,” Willis responded.

“We are in a changing world and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to adapt with that world and that includes making the most of efficiencies available to it in the back office to better support our diplomats and frontline workers around the world.”

Willis said she and Peters had had “extensive debates” about funding for Mfat and while it was excluded from this year’s 2% savings exercise, it would be required to find 5% savings in each of the following two years.

“It is the case that the Minister of Foreign Affairs will probably, as has always been the case, continue to argue his corner that he won’t want to deliver on those savings but overall he has been asked to. That is what is in the Budget.”

Peters earlier confirmed to The Post on his way into Question Time that he wanted more funding, not less, for his department.

“Most definitely. We are competing with countries like Ireland, like Singapore, similar-sized countries [with] 2½ times as many people in the field that we've got.

“We're a trading nation, dependent on trade completely, and we need more people in the field. That's been my view in all the times I've been the minister.”

Also making her way into the House on Wednesday afternoon, Willis told reporters Peters’ department wasn’t above other agencies.

“Mr Peters and I differ on this. He would always have the diplomats have more money for their, for their budgets, for their business class flights and all of that stuff.

“My view is actually what the foreign affairs service can do, in the same way any other agency can do, is make sure that its back office is efficient, that it is not duplicating services across government, and yes we need great diplomats on the front line but they, just like every New Zealander, are accountable and that means spending taxpayer money well.”

Willis said among the things Mfat had asked to spend more money on was business flights - though she said it was up to Peters to explain why.