The National-led government has been careful to tread lightly with cuts to core public sector jobs. They’ve promised that ‘frontline’ staff – the public servants that voters actually see and interact with – would not be cut. As Dave Burgess reports (Wellington feels pain of state job cuts) the reductions are beginning to bite in Wellington with the Public Service Association reporting over 600 jobs lost in the year to date.
The strategic politics of this in an election year are clear: look like you are cutting costs while not cutting services. The political risk is low when the main casualties are accountants, communications and policy advisors, but the consequences of public sector cuts taken too far can take years to impact and can be, literally, disastrous. For example, on the Standard, Jenny Michie points to Cave Creek, Pike River, leaky homes and finance company collapses as failures contributed to by lack of public sector resources – see:
Cuts and consequences.
After the Cave Creek tragedy, Prime Minister Jim Bolger commented that all the deaths could have been avoided with just ‘$20 worth of bolts’ – but this ignored the reality that having the expertise to know bolts were needed and making sure they were installed properly and in time would cost quite a bit more than that.
The latest round of cuts involve fisheries, a sector where the levels of research, analysis and monitoring of fish stocks and industry practices have been controversial for many years. So although Orange Roughy won't suffer if there fewer ministry newsletters published, getting poor advice on how to manage quotas can be (and has in the past proved to be) very costly.
The savings can also prove illusory over time. Where there is genuine duplication after mergers then progress can be made, but many public servants are only too familiar with waving goodbye to redundant colleagues one day only to see them re-appear as ‘consultants’ a week later doing the same work at double the hourly rate. The total costs will come out in the end – but, of course, after the election.
The need for public sector reform that focuses on innovation and not funding cuts is John Pagani's call in
How to save public sector jobs. He argues that aversion to the risk that is inherent in trying out new ideas is hampering better efficiencies in the public sector. He may be right, but three months out from an election pain-free spending cuts are the order of the day.
Clare Curran’s quasi-apology on Red Alert –
The importance of being Labour #3 - was mostly well-received amongst her blogosphere critics today, though, amusingly, Denis Welch had something different to report:
Cot case.
Today’s content:
Election
Election – Maori seats
State sector job losses
Asset sales
Clare Curran apology
Other
Bryce Edwards
Thu, 25 Aug 2011
