Please stop changing the names of things. Please.

4 APRIL 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The $220,000 bill for changing the name of the Education Council is just another example of a needless, expensive public sector rebrand, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Louis Houlbrooke says, “We thought the lesson was clear when ATEED spent $500,000 on a new slogan. Then there was the Ministry of Children, which spent $418,000 changing its name to the Ministry of Vulnerable Children, and then back again.”

“Now we’re told it will cost $220,000 to change the name of the Education Council. Chris Hipkins tells us it’s okay because it’s a one-off cost. Mr Hipkins is wrong: the compulsion of politicians and bureaucrats to stamp their mark with glossy rebranding exercises is an ongoing affliction. It needs to stop.”

“Even the teachers’ unions that pushed for this change are now raising concerns about the cost.”

“It is perfectly possible to update the operations of an entity without bringing in PR professionals. Taxpayers don’t expect flashy branding from public agencies – they just want services that work, for a reasonable price.”
ENDS

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