Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: Let's make a start on unwinding years of public sector bloat

As you’d expect, I’m a huge fan of Nicola Willis’ plan to cut down the size of the public sector.

This is the second issue I’ve been harping on about to her. The other one was, obviously, the fees-free year for university students. So I’m stoked that, on this show, we’re two from two in terms of agitating for cutting back on wasteful public spending.

Colinxy: The Public Sector as Political Actor - When Bureaucracy Forgets Its Job

The Principle We Pretend Still Exists

New Zealand’s public service is supposed to operate on a simple constitutional rule:

The government decides; the bureaucracy implements.

Not “interprets.” Not “nudges.” And certainly not “advocates.”

Yet every few months, we discover, again, that parts of the public sector have quietly redefined themselves as political actors with taxpayer funding.

David Farrar: Taxpayers funding lobby group

The Taxpayers’ Union reveals:

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that The Arts Foundation Te Tumo Toi has received $1,180,300 of funding from Creative NZ since 2021/22.

David Farrar: Collins on Public Sector

An excellent speech by new Public Services Minister Judith Collins to public sector CEOs. Some extracts: