Shuffling the Deck Won’t Fix Public Service Inefficiency

The Taxpayers’ Union is sounding the alarm that recent reports of public service reforms are falling short of delivering the bold changes needed to tackle inefficiency and escalating national debt.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said:

“The proposed reforms are nothing more than a superficial reshuffle. Without cutting duplication and reducing waste, these changes will be just rearranging the deck chairs under a different logo.”

“We’re in a structural deficit, with no plan whatsoever to get back to surplus. If now isn’t the time to cut costs, when is? Former Minister Peter Dunne is right that a radical cost-cutting review is long overdue. Any efficiencies should go straight to tackling the national debt, which is fast approaching $300 billion as highlighted by the National Debt Clock.”

“Merging departments is fine, but what is the point if you’re keeping all the same functions? There’s still 16,286 bureaucrats than there were in 2017 - focus on cutting these first.”