Press Statement

David Seymour - ACT Leader

“The Government’s anti-poverty agenda is paying dividends already with the public sector’s highest-paid bureaucrats getting a gold-plated office fit-out”, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

The State Services Commission (SSC) - where the average salary is $134,000 - today revealed it spent about $10,000 for each of its employees on an office refurbishment, half of that on new furniture.

“The average New Zealander works for about eight months to pay $10,000 in tax.

“They will be incredibly frustrated to learn their money has gone towards something as fuzzy as a more ‘collaborative operating model’ at the SSC.

“The culture of entitlement and extravagance in the public sector grew under National and continues unabated under Labour. The new State Services Minister Chris Hipkins has his work cut out for him.

“Senior bureaucrats need to learn that government departments aren’t their personal fiefdoms. They are only there to support hard-working Kiwis in the real economy”, says Mr Seymour.

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