Expenses spotlight will divert public interest

Expenses spotlight will divert public interest from real issues

The Public Service Association (PSA) says publishing the credit card expenditure of public service chief executives will take attention from important issues and throw a harsh media spotlight on government employees.

“Rigorous processes around expenditure already exist across the public service,” says PSA National Secretary Brenda Pilott.

“Chief executives can only claim actual and reasonable expenses and all requests need to be supported with receipts.

“Publishing chief executives’ credit card expenses shifts the media spotlight from elected Members of Parliament, who are able to defend themselves publicly, to employed people who do not share that luxury.

“Information on expenditure is already available when there’s genuine public interest in it. While it is appropriate that the State Services Commissioner monitors chief executives’ credit card spending, the publishing of credit card spending league tables serves no useful purpose,” says Brenda Pilott

“Transparency International ranked New Zealand the least corrupt country in the world last year. The findings were based on surveys of how corrupt a particular country’s public sector is perceived to be.

“That positive perception is built on the sector’s integrity and impartiality; publishing chief executives’ credit card expenditure risks that perception because public servants would be breaking standards of integrity and conduct if they were to defend themselves against any intrusive media attention.

“The PSA supports and welcomes greater transparency in government but this move doesn’t represent greater transparency; it’s merely a distraction from the legitimate scrutiny of politicians and their policies,” says Brenda Pilott.

ENDS