Gerry Brownlee MP
National Party State Services Spokesman

9 August 2006

Massive increase in Govt bureaucracy

A 64% increase in space leased by Government departments since 1999 and a 95% rise in policy and admin staff shows how bloated the bureaucracy has become, says National Party State Services spokesman Gerry Brownlee.

"This massive increase in space, calculated by National's researchers, flows from a massive increase in the number of penpushers.

"In six years Labour has ensured the bureaucracy has occupied the equivalent of 15 rugby fields of new office space.

"In total, the amount of space leased by Government departments and Crown entities has increased from 226,124 sq metres to 371,547 sq metres.

"That's the equivalent of 37 rugby fields - up from 22.

"At the same time, the cost of these leases has risen by almost two-thirds - 72.6% - from $36 million to $62 million.

"This is 15 rugby fields full of penpushers. This is driven by a Government obsessed with forming committees, writing reports and launching strategies.

"Other figures show the number of staff employed in a policy or administrative role by the public sector has almost doubled from 3,171 to 6,213 people since 1999 - an increase of 95%.

"Policy analyst numbers have also nearly doubled since 1999, from 1,047 to 2,064.
"None of these people are front line staff, so not one new teacher, one new doctor or one new police officer. They are all back office staff.

"The public want value for money from their taxpayer dollars, not more bureaucrats."

ENDS

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