PM Press Conference - New Zealand's "Big Society"?

Monday, 25 June 2012, 7:46 pm
Article: Mark P. Williams

Today, John Key outlined his 'aspirational' plans for the reform of the public sector. He was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Bill English. The PM spoke of setting fourteen ambitious and difficult targets to produce a more innovative, enterprising, driven public service focused on delivering what New Zealanders expect. He added that some of these targets are aspirational and will be extremely difficult to achieve, such as reducing crime, reducing long-term welfare dependency and reducing educational underachievement, adding that they were intended to stretch the ability of the public service in order to force change. He then handed over to Deputy Prime Minister the Hon. Bill English.

The Hon Bill English then spoke of shifting from a culture that focused on giving more money to one focused on getting results. He said that the biggest savings would come from longer-term outcomes such as "keeping one more teenager on the rails" and "having one more prisoner that doesn't reoffend".

Mr English spoke of a more open, transparent and adaptive public service, where Chief Executives would have significantly greater freedom to act. He said that he wanted progress towards these targets to be discussed publically in a way that would engage with those hundreds of thousands involved in the public service giving yearly reports on progress. He said that there would be "on-going, real-time accountability" which would be "written into" public service Chief Executive performance assessment. Adding to his conception of accountability and openness, he said that he wanted to make it easier for New Zealanders to interact with Government.

Questions

The Hon Bill English was asked whether these goals were achievable. He responded that some areas, such as those regarding educational achievement and child welfare, would require more involvement from families and communities as well as the public sector.

The Deputy Prime Minister was asked how he could resolve the apparent contradiction between talking about results and the aspirational nature of some of these targets; he insisted that he was not talking about purely aspirational targets but difficult targets which he considered to be achievable.

He said that he considered it to be strong motivation for change.

The Prime Minister then added that he considered these fourteen goals to be "pushing the boundaries" and going "where no previous government has gone before".

The Hon Bill English was then asked how he balanced his public sector reform with his earlier assertion that it is the private sector which creates jobs. He responded that these fourteen points would sit alongside a programme designed to encourage businesses to grow. Pressed further on how the current economic direction might affect this programme he responded: "There's new jobs being created. Certainly a stronger economy would make this kind of goal easier to achieve…But if the economy is going to be on reasonably moderate growth that doesn't mean we're going to give up on people who are long-term on-welfare."

The PM and Mr English were asked who would be ultimately responsible, the Minister in charge or the CEO--the PM responded that from the CEO's perspective it would be written into contracts.

The PM was then asked if there would be significant bonuses for CEOs getting people off long-term benefits and if this would be encouraging "an ACC culture"; the PM responded that what would be wrong was if it were done inappropriately

The PM was asked whether there would be space for pay cuts for poor performance of CEOs and whether it might "trickle down" to managers in departments. He responded that it was possible but that "in reality" the State Services Commissioner, the Minister and himself as Prime Minister would be asking tough questions and focusing intently on the outlined targets.

The Hon Bill English was asked how the flexibility. He responded that it was a question of encouraging a longer-term approach, a "three-to-four-year view" over attainment targets.

The language of both the PM and the Hon Bill English clearly echoed earlier speeches made by UK Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010 and his concept of the 'Big Society'. A similar emphasis on accountability through performance was present in both speeches and a similar emphasis on a rhetoric of fairness and of doing more with less. It remains to be seen if the Prime Minister's fourteen point plans will form the groundwork for New Zealand's own "Big Society".

Other Questions to the Prime Minister

The PM was asked about the vote to change the capital base of Fonterra.

The PM was asked about the zoning of schools being used to exclude children from poorer families. He said that he had seen no evidence to support it.

The PM was asked a number of questions about the referendum on asset sales. He responded that the General Election had made clear his government's position.

The PM was asked whether he felt that ordinary New Zealanders, Mums and Dads, would be able to afford the $1000 share package of asset sales. He conceded that it might be beyond many but that it was as broad as possible.

The PM was asked whether he would be reviewing Youth Placement vetting processes in light of the case which emerged at the weekend of a sixteen year old being sexually assaulted by a relative who was a convicted rapist. He said that Cabinet had not discussed it. Asked further if he would review previous cases he said that he could not rule it out.

The PM was asked how he felt about Parliamentary spending being used to gather signatures for petitions. The PM said that although "it might be within the law as it applies to parliamentary services" he was unsure if it was "in the spirit of what was intended for a citizens-initiated referendum". He added that it was important that people understood that the Green Party were hiring people to gather signatures at the expense of the tax-payer.

The PM was asked about the purposes of the geological surveys of world-heritage sites. He gave assurances that there would be no mining on world heritage sites and that the surveys were being done for other purposes.

The PM was asked about cigarettes and duty-free allowances between New Zealand and Australia. He said that raising allowances was dependent on international trade treaties.

The PM was asked whether he considered that it was feasible for many people who have been ACC claimants to have "suddenly been rehabilitated" or whether claimants might have been treated unfairly. He responded that in his experience most disputes arose because of pre-existing conditions which people were not previously aware of.

ENDS

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Mark P. Williams

Political Journalist and Independent Academic Researcher

Journalist and independent academic researcher with primary interests in politics and literature.

As a researcher I am a contributor to various academic publications, including Alluvium journal of 21st century literature, The Literary London Journal, The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, and Critical Engagements: Journal of the UK Network for Modern Fiction Studies (UKNMFS).

As a journalist, I have worked as Parliamentary reporter for Scoop Independent Media and International editor for the Scoop Review of Books.

Contact Mark P. Williams

• Website - MarkPWilliams
• Email - mark@scoop.co.nz