Commenting on the incoming Government exploring plans to scrap Māori language bonuses for public servants, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said:

“If a role requires proficiency in te Reo Māori, then of course fluent speakers should be hired. But when proficiency isn’t relevant to the role in question, it is simply unacceptable that Kiwi taxpayers’ hard-earned money should be wasted encouraging skills which have absolutely no bearing on a bureaucrat’s ability to do their job whatsoever.

“Six years of untold levels of government waste resulted in spending increasing 70% whilst outcomes nosedived. Departments need to be looking for ways to trim the fat, and wasteful schemes like this must be first on the scrap heap.

“It doesn’t take a trained accountant to tell you that paying bureaucrats thousands of dollars a year in bonuses for skills which don’t improve outcomes does not provide value for money.”

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