The size of the NZ Public Service workforce, as at December 31 2025, has just been released.
As opposed to the coalition saying they are frugal the lowlights are:
– Total Full Time Equivalents (FTEs) is now at 63,657. The Public Service workforce grew by 1.6% over the previous 12 months.
– The Ministry of Social Development grew by 2.6% to 9094 FTEs.
– Oranga Tamariki grew by 2.8% to 4713 FTEs.
– MBIE grew by 1.5% to 5892 FTEs.
– The Ministry of Education grew by 3.7% to 3976 FTEs – a very long way from the 2700 promised by National and ACT.
It would be very difficult to argue that any of those Ministries are high-performing. In fact – it is very easy to find data that proves the opposite.
For the 2024/24 financial year core government expenditure was 32.5% of GDP. A weighted consensus is that below 25% is healthy.
The percentage of GDP in New Zealand dependent on government spending is approximately 43%. The low for that statistic is Switzerland at approx. 13%.
New Zealand’s tax/GDP ratio, at 34%, is above the OECD average. It is also well above countries we can look at with envy … Australia 29.4, Korea 28.9, Switzerland 27.1, USA 25.2, Ireland 21.9, Singapore 13.7, Hong Kong 13.1.
As of December 2025, approximately 13.2% of New Zealand’s working-age population (around 427,236 people) was receiving a main benefit, marking a 12-year high. This means there is roughly one main beneficiary for every 6.5 people in the working-age population. Jobseeker Support accounts for about 6.9% of this population.
New Zealand’s recent productivity growth is dropping and per-hour output falling over 20% below the OECD average, ranking it 38th in GDP per capita.
The, also just released, GDP growth for the December 2025 quarter was 0.2%. It is very hard to get any genuine economic growth when the HUGE reliance on government spending crowds out the private sector.
It is an election year. Who will, with credibility, propose to shrink the size of government in NZ to a level that allows genuine comparison with the best of the OECD?
Alwyn Poole, a well-known figure in the New Zealand education system, he founded and was the head of Mt Hobson Middle School in Auckland for 18 years. This article was sourced HERE
8 comments:
This is surprising given the narrative in the msm of the coalition government's heartless public servant job cuts. Supposed cuts in the public service have also been the "go to" excuse for all the Green and Labour supporters for the WCC's woeful performance.
Why are you surprised? NZ is a deeply socialist-bureaucratic state that discourages entrepreneurialism and specializes in too many people sitting around or taking tea breaks.
Excellent article Alwyn.
Your next article should explore why Willis continues to borrow more than Robertson.
That should lead to a 3rd article on why taxpayers need a new, uncorrupted, honest, and moral centre right party to vote for.
I keep thinking about that really old show on tvnz " Gliding on" which was a comedy about nz government workers who just came to work to eat their lunch. Fast forward to 2026 and these same workers won't even come to work. They just want to sit at home in their pj's, do two zoom meetings and one email, then complain to HR about the stress they are under.
Shocking isn't it? And let's not all forget, increasing public servant numbers is reflected as 'growth' in the GDP stats. That last miniscule rise in GDP was to some extent on account of this.
And that other elephant in the room, all those 'consultation' and 'co-governance' measures, how truly 'productive' are they, and what chance now of us ever being 'efficient' and taxed less? Zero!
It’s all going to plan Alwyn, all going to plan. Once we have, say, 75% of the population employed by the govt our true worth as a nation will be clear. On the other hand we could try to do a Rogernomics on our political system. Come back Roger, all is forgiven.
The problem is most government departments are too multi-tiered.
Or in plain speak - too many useless middle management that produce nothing but claim credit for what the lower tiered public servants produce.
Purging that "dead wood" would be a big help
All those 2023 pre-election promises to cut back the public service? yeah, right. Judging by their inflated salaries and production output, it would be better for the countries finances to sack a lot of them and put them on the dole. Think of the reduced need for office space etc. For half their salary they can be at home, still in their pj's but not have to bother with wasteful zoom meetings and karakia in the morning. A win - win for all
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