Public sector managers growing at twice the rate of frontline workers

Figures unearthed by the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union reveal that the growth in public sector managers is almost twice that of frontline social, health and education workers.

Since 2017, the frontline workforce for social services, health and education has increased by 24.6% compared with a staggering 43.4% increase in managers. The number of nurses has only increased by 18.3% in the same period while the number of doctors went up 19.2%.

Over the past year, the situation has been even worse with managers increasing by 7.1% while frontline workers fell 3.5%

Taxpayers Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:

“With the number of managers growing at almost twice the rate of frontline workers, we have to question whom exactly these people are managing.

“The Government crows about its significant investment in social services, health and education, but it is instead taxing billions of dollars from hardworking New Zealanders to spend on bureaucratic jobs for Wellington’s managerial class that provide little value for the taxpayer.

“While the focus on the exorbitant consultant bill by the major parties in recent weeks has been welcome, politicians also need to take a closer look at the bloated public sector and pledge to significantly cut back on managerial positions.”

The Taxpayers’ Union has slammed the revelation that government agencies and State Owned Enterprises are spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars on lobbying firms as revealed by Radio NZ this morning.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:

“Taxpayers’ money should not be used to pay for sock puppets to lobby the government on behalf of government agencies.

“SOEs, and Government agencies already have special access to decision makers. Paying the well connected, insiders and lobby firms doesn’t offer value for the public – nearly always they are serving the interests of the agencies and their bosses.

“While media commentary is often on the apparent need for a register of lobbyists, that doesn’t fully address the problem. It is very clear that former MPs, Ministers, and Parliamentary staffers are profiting from their connections. New Zealand is unusual in that there are no controls on regulators, government staffers or MPs from leaving their jobs and going straight into lobbying. That is where New Zealand’s law needs to catch up.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union is pleased to hear that the Minister of Local Government, Kieran McAnulty, has invited concerned mayors to the Beehive to discuss the Three Waters reforms but believe he should meet with the country’s largest taxpayer and ratepayer organization too.

The Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, has written to the Minister requesting a meeting to share the views of taxpayers and ratepayers on the problems with the Government’s Three Waters reforms and to set out alternatives that maintain local control and democratic accountability while keeping costs to ratepayers down.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:

“We met with more than 10,000 people on our Stop Three Waters roadshow last year including elected local representatives and those directly involved with the delivery of water services.

“Our concerns that these reforms will lead to higher water costs, unnecessary bureaucracy, no local control and an undermining of democratic accountability were echoed those we met.

“The entire process for these reforms has been flawed and lacked proper engagement with those directly impacted, including when more than 60,000 of our supporters made a submission against the reforms but the Select Committee refused to hear them.

“We strongly urge the new Minister to engage with concerned mayors in good faith and meet with us so that we can put forward the concerns of all those who were not given the opportunity to present to the Select Committee.”

Reacting to the Q4 2022 GDP figures released by Stats NZ  Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, says:

“Today’s figures demonstrate why the Government needs to double its efforts to deliver better value for money and stop piling cash onto the inflation bonfire.”

“In general, higher government spending results in more inflation than allowing taxpayers to keep more of their own money.  With the economy now running backwards, now is the time for tax relief - funded by pruning wasteful government spending in Wellington. It’s affordable, not inflationary, and would improve the economy more than a ‘top down’ government-led approach.”

Bigger doesn’t mean better – Canterbury and Waikato Supercities are a bad idea

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union says that proposals from Hamilton and Christchurch City Councils to create new supercities are a bad idea that would increase costs for ratepayers, undermine local control and reduce democratic accountability.

The Union is also calling on the Government to commission an independent review of the Auckland supercity that amalgamated the former Auckland Regional Council and seven district and city councils.

The proponents of amalgamation claim that that it will reduce overheads and lead to efficiency gains, but this is not borne out in the evidence. A report by the Infrastructure Commission last year, for example, found no evidence that larger councils are more efficient.

Taxpayers’ Union Local Government spokesman, Josh Van Veen, says:

“Aucklanders know from bitter experience that the roads are worse, rates are higher, and our public transport system is even less co-ordinated than it was under the old regional and district council model.

“At the same time, decision-making is further and further removed from local communities. Large Council-Controlled Organisations spend billions of dollars in ratepayer money but are kept at arms-length from democratic accountability.

“Recent centralisations of polytechnics and health have also been a complete mess. Rather than generate economies of scale, they have simple created additional layers of bureaucracy on top of what was there before. Creating more supercities is completely the wrong approach.

“It is time for the Department of Internal Affairs to do what it promised 12 years ago and give the public an honest appraisal of Auckland Council.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union congratulates Wētā FX on their success at the Oscars with Avatar: The Way of Water but is disappointed that it is tainted by the millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies that franchise has received.

Taxpayers have forked out over $140 million in subsidies for the Avatar sequels, the first of which grossed almost $3.7 billion. In the five years to 2026, taxpayers will have paid more than $1 billion to wealthy film production companies, including one owned by Jeff Bezos – the world’s third richest man.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:

“The Government needs to explain why the film industry is special enough to receive favourable treatment over other industries. Every dollar taxed to fund these subsidies is a dollar that could have been spent improving public services or reducing the tax burden on Kiwis.

“James Cameron has publicly stated that the film is generating a profit so it is time for taxpayers to see a return on their investment.

“We urge the producers of Avatar to express their gratitude to New Zealanders by paying back the generous subsidies that have been provided by taxpayers over the years."

Today’s announcement that the Government is adjusting superannuation and main benefits for inflation highlights the need for a principled approach to income taxes.

“While those receiving taxpayer support get an adjustment, hard-working New Zealanders are going backwards each and every day,” says Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves.

“Indexing tax brackets for inflation is a principled policy that would ensure that people only pay more tax if they are actually earning more in real terms.

“Those lucky enough to receive a pay rise in line with inflation still end up worse off as they pay a higher proportion of their income in tax or are rocketed into higher tax brackets.

"After taxes, wages are not keeping up with inflation but the Government continues to ignore the obvious solution of income tax bracket indexation.

“Indexation would mean that, at whatever level income taxes are set, they remain at the same rate in real terms and are not increased by stealth.

"The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Government to index tax brackets to make our tax system more honest and shield New Zealanders from the ever-increasing cost of living."

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement of $1 billion of savings from dropping unpopular policies, including that ‘cash for clunkers’ scheme, but has said that this does not go far enough.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:

"This $568 million 'cash for clunkers' scheme was simply classic middle class welfare dressed up as climate action. The policy would have benefited those wealthier New Zealanders in the market for electric vehicles but wouldn’t have reduced net emissions by a single gram because transport emissions are already covered by the 'cap and trade' Emissions Trading Scheme.

“The Government has wasted billions of dollars on ineffective climate policy putting pressure on inflation and the cost of living. It is time for the remaining pointless climate policies to join this one on the scrap heap so that the Emissions Trading Scheme can do its job.

“Scrapping $1 billion of wasteful spending is, of course, welcome, but if the government is really serious about getting the focus back onto bread and butter issues, scrapping Auckland Light Rail, Three Waters and trimming the bloated public service would be good places to start. 

“Our research team can identify far more instances of wasteful spending. We will be writing to the Prime Minister offering to meet and help him trim it back. Ensuring Kiwi taxpayers get better value for money from Wellington should the priority for all politicians.”

Wellington City Council must slash waste to prepare for climate change

On Monday, The Dominion Post reported that Wellington City Council’s Environment and Infrastructure Committee has been advised to spend an additional $15.4 million on retaining walls to prevent floods and land slippage caused by extreme weather.

Taxpayers’ Union Local Government spokesperson, Josh Van Veen, says:

“Wellingtonian households are about to be hit by a massive 12.8% rates increase. We agree that climate adaptation must be prioritised. However, the money for retaining walls should come from the reallocation of existing budgets.

“The Council is spending millions on climate change mitigation in areas already covered by the ETS such as the $20 million Environmental and Accessibility Performance Fund and the Climate and Sustainability Fund, which saw thousands of ratepayer dollars paid to a church.

“This spending should be slashed and reallocated toward future proofing the city’s infrastructure.

“With the new Tākina Convention Centre opening in June, there is also an opportunity to rationalise Council property assets to free up capital necessary for investment while also reducing ratepayers’ exposure to risk from climate or seismic events.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on Michael Wood to get a grip on his department, the Ministry of Transport.

After Monday’s transport policy U-turn, the New Zealand Herald today revealed that a new ‘The Future of Transport in Aotearoa New Zealand: Who should pay for what?’ had suggested public support for a raft of new taxes and the promotion of public transport over roads. The survey, however, had just 436 participants and was self-selecting with even the researchers acknowledging that it had a skew towards cyclists.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said:

“It’s not good enough for Michael Wood to pass the buck here and refer questions on this paper that suggests new taxes and charges and deprioritizing roads back to the Ministry of Transport. In case he has forgotten, he happens to be the Minister of Transport. Mr. Wood has either had a change of heart since the Ministry commissioned this report or its authors have gone way outside their remit and he needs to get a grip on what his department is doing.

“The commissioning of this report simply confirms that the Ministry of Transport doesn’t understand New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme. Moreover, self-selecting surveys with emotive and loaded questions like these that are not representative of the New Zealand population are worthless and do not support good policy making. If the Ministry of Transport wants to find out what New Zealanders actually think on these issues, they would be better commissioning a scientific poll, which would probably be a lot cheaper too.”'