Nicola's destruction

Today, Stuff led with a headline claiming that forcing public servants to return to the office was “the number one” fix for Wellington’s ‘icy’ economy.

No mention until much later of the 6500+ positions the Government culled or its slashing of government programs and spend.

That’s been the key differentiator in Wellington, and it’s not a secret either. Was Stuff paid for the promotional piece? I’ll never know but I hold up hope for our media.

Robert Walters’ NZ and Australia CEO told Newshub in June that he had never seen the Wellington job market as bad as it was due to the public service cuts:

"This just seems more invasive. And yes we knew that the public sector had grown significantly also over that period of time, but so had population."

Our best and brightest were already heading or looking overseas because there was “no point” looking here. More similar reports in April - “the Wellington job market is dire”, May -‘public service firings are having a flow on effect to the private sector,’ and pretty much every month on-wards.

In March, Louise Upton said losing our “best and brighest” was just part of the reality of poor economic conditions. A few days later, she said she “really feels” for public servants and them losing their jobs was “unfortunate”, but it was Labour’s fault of course, and National was only exercising fiscal restraint to help our economy.

Seymour backed that up.

Ironic perhaps then that under Labour, and immediately after, all economic indicators were pointing to a soft landing and projections - and in January, Treasury confirmed finances were in “better shape than expected”.

Yet the economic reality has nosedived under National’s poor prognosis and austerity government choices.

The key word is choice. But that choice is driven by an ideology that has been tried and failed elsewhere.

So why?

Today, I wondered if the Tory government here in NZ is purposely destroying our public service.

Last month, Willis had already directed no effective pay increases for the public sector. Pay, she ordered, must be sustainable, paid within existing baseline, and not lead or shift market pay.

Add to that, as I wrote before, public service beatings will inevitably continue into 2025 and beyond.

In other words, the government has a very tight $ budget window to meet its self-defined target, and it’s already used up a lot of it - not even accounting for inflation or population growth. Luxon and Willis’s supposed economic credentials are on the line so everything is up for sacrifice.

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So things won’t be great. They will likely cull more and force more austerity into health, education, climate, and public services - the very services Kiwis rely on the most every day.

And that will affect us all.

Today’s announcement that public servants should be expected to return to offices to work, was just another nail in the coffin of employees who have choices i.e. our most skilled, mobile, proficient and talented who aren’t bound in NZ for personal reasons.

Why would they stay under a continually oppressive cloud?

Ironic again that Luxon gave the motivation for removing WFH as wanting to develop “a cadre of talent” in Wellington. He wanted a “productive” public sector and said “I do not want to see working from home [arrangements] undermining that ambition.”

When pay is lowered or conditions aren’t great, many will stay for the flexibility of WFH - it has a value and worth for many.

But the actions and announcement today is another tone deaf - or simply - uncaring message from the Beehive to the service that supports our government.

Yet by destroying our public service and losing our best and brighest, they are merely ripping up long built up pools of talent that help NZ’s well-being and sustainability.

PS Just saw this from Amelia Wade:

In this year’s Budget Willis sucked $1.6 billion of savings - or cuts - out of the public sector.

Willis also set herself extremely tight spending parameters - future Budget allowances have been set at $2.4b, despite Treasury estimating $2.5b will be needed next year just to cover inflation and wage pressures.

PPS Luxon was on Newstalk a few days ago bashing Wellington and councils. He said: “Stop the dumb stuff! Get back to basics”

And he was well supported on the right - it’s a fantastic demonstration of where we lose the relationships between cause and effect.

Newstalk listeners think the reason the city is going downhill is because of Tory Whanau, bike racks, and pedestrian crossings, and Luxon and his cadre are the responsible, sane and competent ones - when in reality… $1.6bn out of the public sector in short succession, and the knock on effects to business and the like - is where the real meat of the problem is.

Sowing doubt and offering alternative theories is how criminal cases are won, and so too political causes, it seems.