The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the Ministry for Regulation’s new report The State of New Zealand’s Regulatory Systems, saying it confirms what taxpayers and businesses have long suspected: New Zealand’s public service has become an tangle of regulators, legislation, and bureaucracy.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said:

“The challenge now is whether the Government act on it under their plans for the public service, or whether this becomes just another report gathering dust.”

“Having at least 267 organisations involved in regulation is an obscene number for a country of New Zealand’s size, and shows just how far the Wellington bureaucracy has been allowed to sprawl. Even ministerial oversight has become absurd, with Simeon Brown alone responsible for 32 regulatory organisations across his portfolios. ”

“The creation of MCERT must learn from the mistakes of MBIE. Mergers should eliminate duplication, simplify legislation, have clear Ministerial responsibility and reduce staffing numbers - not simply create even larger bureaucratic empires.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ target to reduce the public service to 55,000, saying it is a win for taxpayers – but that next week’s Budget must keep the same pressure.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said:

“Cutting the public service headcount is a big win for taxpayers. At long last, Minister Willis is putting some backbone into the books.

“But 55,000 must be the halfway mark, not the finish line. When National left office in 2017, the public service sat at around 47,000 FTEs - if that was enough then, it should be enough now.”

“The proof of the pudding will be in the eating: public service numbers must actually fall. But between last week’s decision to scrap Fees Free and today’s target to shrink the public service, it’s clear Minister Willis has been reading A Pathway to Surplus.”

“This is a step toward surplus, but taxpayers should not have to wait until the end of the decade for the books to balance. Next week’s Budget needs to go further and cut harder across the board to bring the books back to black.”

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Ministry of Social Development paid taxpayer-funded bonuses exclusively to Public Service Association members before their collective agreement had even been signed by the union. An Official Information Act request revealed 5,459 FTE received the $300 member-only benefit, costing taxpayers $1,637,700.

Taxpayers’ Union Lead Investigator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Among other bonuses for Te Reo capability and overtime allowances sits Clause 2.8.1, the ‘Lump Sum Payment': a union-favouritism clause dressed up as a good-faith benefit for union members but funded by taxpayers.”

“MSD paid out the more than $1.6 million to PSA members before the union had even signed the agreement, following a similar Health NZ deal earlier this year.”

“Only in the public service would a payout that effectively leaves taxpayers funding union membership fees even make it out of bargaining, let alone be paid out before any agreement had even been signed.”

“If the Ministry wants to hand out special payments to union members, then the responsible Minister should be signing off these agreements and justifying them personally.”

The latest Public Service Commission workforce data shows an uptick in public service employees since December 2024. As of 31 March 2025, there were 63,238 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff in the public service, reflecting a 0.4% increase from December 2024 and 15,987 more staff than the 47,251 reported in 2017.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator Rhys Hurley said:

“Today’s growth figures are alarming. This uptick in bureaucrats doesn’t mean better services, just more taxpayer money on an already bloated sector.”

“Time and time again, we’ve seen public service delivery getting worse, while unions cry foul at the thought of trimming backroom staff.”

“Bureaucratic bloat already saw a nearly 40% growth over the six years of the previous Labour government. Even with a slight decrease from the peak of 65,699 in December 2023, these numbers represent just a drop in the ocean.”

“Minister Willis cannot allow backroom staff numbers to continue rising when true efficiency hasn’t been achieved. It’s time for the Government to deliver on its promise of cutting wasteful spending by optimising the public service.”

The Taxpayers’ Union is challenging Nicola Willis to stick to her promise and rein in the public sector wage bill after Public Sector Commission figures reveal that public sector workers were almost twice as likely to receive a salary increase as those in the private sector in the first quarter of 2025.

"Nicola Willis promised to get the public sector wage bill under control, but the data shows that she has failed to do so," said Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf.

“In just three months, 20 percent of public sector workers received a pay rise, compared to only 11 percent in the private sector. Why do bureaucrats keep getting pay hikes when taxpayers aren’t seeing the same?”

“With the average bureaucrat’s salary now topping $101,000 and continuing to climb, the trend is clear: public sector spending remains out of control.”

"Willis’ promise to curb public sector wage inflation is looking more like a broken vow. With one in five public sector workers getting a pay rise in just the last quarter, it’s clear this government is not taking control of spending."

"New Zealanders deserve a government that keeps its promises and manages taxpayers’ money responsibly. It's time for Nicola Willis to take action, slash the bureaucratic wage bill, and stop making empty promises."

Responding to the Auditor General's comments in his 2022/23 annual report that “It is still too hard to to tell what New Zealanders are receiving for about $160 billion of central government expenditure each year, and whether or not this is value for money", Taxpayers' Union Head of Campaigns, Callum Purves, said:

"This report is a strong challenge to an outgoing government where spending was clearly out of control. The Auditor General's comments will echo the sentiments of many Kiwis who see the Government spending more money, feel the pain of higher inflation and taxes, but see little in the way of improvement to public services.

"Parliament's Standing Orders Committee has recommended an inquiry into performance reporting, but this simply does not go far enough. In the election, National promised to reintroduce targets across the public sector while ACT pledged to hold chief executives accountable for the performance of their departments. This report simply reiterates the importance of making good on these promises."