Broke Department of Conservation Must Scrap Māori Language Bonuses

Commenting on the news that the Department of Conservation (DoC) has agreed to pay staff bonuses of up to $3,500 a year for Māori language skills, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:

“If a role at the Department of Conservation – or any other department for that matter – requires proficiency in te reo Māori, then of course fluent speakers should be hired. However, DoC freely admit that they have no such roles.

“Where it is not directly relevant to their job, public servants who want to learn te reo should, of course, be encouraged to do so, but in their own time. Like many, I attend te reo classes outside of working hours and for no bonus payment, why should it be any different for DoC staff?

“At a time when DoC is scrambling around trying to find ways to dig itself out of a multi-million dollar black hole, it is simply unjustifiable to be spending more of taxpayers’ hard-earned money on skills that are not practical requirements of the job.

“Refusing to answer basic questions on how much this policy will cost in the hopes of stalling through the weeks-long OIA process undermines transparent government. This ‘too-good-for-scrutiny’ attitude just goes to show how little respect many public servants have for the people that pay their salaries.”