The New Zealand Government’s core Public Service headcount has shot up by more than 28 per cent since the Labour Government took office, new figures indicate.
Between 2017 and 2021, the number of Public Servants has increased from 48,000 to almost 62,000 —the result of the Government’s push to reinvigorate the public sector.
The figures were obtained from publicly available data on the Public Service Commission’s website.
Journalists then gleaned a breakdown of staff types from Departmental annual reviews.
The Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) headcount increased from 3,424 to 5,118, a 49 per cent jump; Statistics New Zealand staff numbers went from 976 to 1,410 (44 per cent increase), while the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment grew from 3,450 to 5,301 (53 per cent increase).
The Government argues this makes up for a shortage of Public Servants under the previous National Government, which instead of relying on headcount contracted out services.
National’s Public Service spokesperson, Simeon Brown said the numbers were “absolutely out of control and the bureaucracy has ballooned massively under this Government”.
“New Zealanders are seeing more people working in Public Service Departments, but they’re not seeing the actual benefit of better outcomes in terms of the services that they need,” Mr Brown (pictured) said.
Minister for the Public Service, Chris Hipkins said the biggest increases had been in areas with front-line staff and the Government had been rebuilding the sector’s capability.
He also pointed out the figures would probably stabilise as a surge of COVID-related employees dropped out of the system.
Wellington, 11 September 2022
