Analysts analyse analysts' analysis

The Government appears to be hiring analysts to analyse other analysts' analysis, says National Party Deputy Finance spokesman John Key.

He is releasing figures today that show a big jump in the number of policy analysts employed by the Labour Government.

Answers to written parliamentary questions show the number of analysts has grown year-on-year for the past four years.

"Labour has employed 30% more analysts, adding 549 to the payroll, since 2000," Mr Key says.

"Government credibility suffers every time Labour claims it is merely replacing consultants, when it is quite clear that this is a significant bulking-up of state bureaucracy."

It comes on the back of statistics released earlier in the year which show almost 19,000 more staff have joined the Government's payroll -- now 300,000 strong -- since Labour came to power in 1999.

"Take the Culture and Heritage Ministry, for example, which is overseen by Helen Clark. It more than trebled its staff numbers between 2000 and 2002 while Treasury was cutting its staff.

"I'd expect the state workforce to rise to an even more bloated level in the next five years. If Labour stays in power the relentless growth of the civil service is bound to continue," Mr Key says.

The most recent figures show there are more than 34,400 people in the core public service of government departments. The balance of the 300,000 state workers includes teachers, hospital workers and the military.

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