Performance Management Plans for Public Service Chief Execs Long Overdue

Responding to ACT’s plans to allow ministers to be able to publicly issue key performance indicators for public service chief executives, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:
 
“For far too long, too many public servants have been taking the taxpayer for an easy ride. If any one of us had spent years patently failing to do our jobs effectively, we would quite rightly expect to be sacked; it’s well past time that high-flying mandarins in cushy Wellington corner offices were held to at least the same standards as the rest of us.”
 
“In just six short years, Government spending has rocketed by nearly 70%. In that time, delivery on vital public services such as health and education has bottomed out. It’s clear that chucking billions at these departments hasn’t worked, and a major public sector cultural change is needed to start getting some bang for the taxpayer's buck again.
 
“Unlike ministers and MPs, the public lack any meaningful way of holding our public servants to account. ACT’s plan to introduce publicly-available key performance indicators for public service chief executives will hopefully be the first step of many towards dragging key public services back up to snuff.”