Govt says public services must prioritise needs of ‘all New Zealanders’

Friday, 13 September 2024

Cabinet has instructed public service organisations to prioritise needs “of all New Zealanders” and has removed the target for 8% of government agencies’ yearly contracts to go to Māori businesses.

Public Service Minister Nicola Willis said it will ensure they are awarding Government contracts “on the basis of public value”.

“The circular makes clear that the targeting, commissioning, and design of public services should be based on the needs of all New Zealanders.”

The ACT-National coalition agreement stated it would, “issue a Cabinet Office circular to all central government organisations that it is the Government’s expectation that public services should be prioritised on the basis of need, not race, within the first six months of Government”.

ACT leader David Seymour said under the new policy, “all public services will be directed to those who are most in need, according to real analysis of all factors, rather than defaulting to race as a person’s primary characteristic”.

Seymour said a “colourblind” public service would be better at eliminating hardships.

“As an example, the new approach means the public sector can’t simply assume Māori have shorter life expectancy because they are Māori, as Jacinda Ardern once infamously said.

“Instead, they must drill into the data and ask, is this related to living rurally, is it to do with poor housing, or other known factors?“

Statistics New Zealand, using its death and survivorship rates based on New Zealand death rates, showed life expectancy for European males at 81, and females at 84.5, while for Māori males it was 73.4 and females at 77.

Willis said Government had been “concerned that in the absence of this circular, agencies may use ethnic identity or other forms of personal identity as a proxy for need, and therefore a justification in itself for targeted services”.

“The circular makes clear that when considering proposals for services targeted to specific population groups, agencies must provide a strong analytical case for any targeting, recognising that many variables can be used to identify and assess need, and that all variables should be considered before ethnic identity is automatically used to determine need.”

Green Party’s spokesperson for public Services Francisco Hernandez said the Government’s moral compass “has quite clearly gone missing”.

“The reality is that need and race are intertwined. Failing to acknowledge the structural racism that plagues our communities will see it only get worse while needs remain unmet.

“This is nothing more than a dog whistle and a distraction from the Government’s failure to address the critical issues we are facing as a country.

“We need to have a mature conversation about how we build a public service that caters for all our communities and ensures those who have been historically left behind and let down are finally empowered with the support they need.”