Labour continues to defend the growth of public sector staff headcounts while they held power, as thousands of public servants are now set to lose their jobs under the coalition Government's "unprecedented" cost-cutting drive.
Ministers have pointed to the growth in the number of public service workers under the previous government as justification for driving $1.5 billion in savings from agencies.
Many agencies and departments have given 6.5% or 7.5% cost reduction targets.
The opposition's public service spokesperson Ayesha Verrall told Q+A the cuts were "unprecedented" and a "political decision" for the coalition to "shrink the size of the public service in order to pay for its tax cuts".
"The public service has grown while Labour was in government. However, it has also grown in order to provide services that New Zealanders need. That is the fundamental conversation here."
The former Cabinet minister was later asked whether she believed Kiwi public services had actually improved by the same proportion as the growth in staff numbers.
"Probably not and that was probably reflected in the election result," Verrall responded.
"That is a really important area for us to be focused on. I think part of that is the really tough public sentiment we faced after Covid, but also about how we as leaders communicate about how we're changing public services.
"And how we set ourselves realistic goals to step through," she added.
"What I'm talking about is whether or not we set a small number of still very ambitious priorities for ourselves, as a government, or work on a wider set – but perhaps not be able to deliver on all of them."
The number of public service jobs grew at a faster rate than New Zealand's population under the previous Labour government.
More than 1000 job losses have been announced today as the Government continues pursuing cost savings across departments and agencies. (Source: 1News)
During the election campaign, National and ACT pledged to cut a "bloated bureaucracy" and agreed in their coalition deal to "reduce non-essential back office functions".
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has said the cuts are needed to end wasteful spending and to restore financial discipline, with a focus on cutting "back-office expenditure".
Pressed on the growth of headcounts, Verrall suggested the proportion of employed people who were in the public service "stayed approximately the same" over the six years of the Labour government.
"We have a lower public service for the size of our population compared to other countries smaller than Australia and smaller than the United Kingdom," she said.
Verrall claimed none of the differing estimates suggest unreasonable levels of growth.
"We could look at this in a number of ways and I think they all point to a very similar perspective, which is that New Zealand's public service has not grown in a way that is disproportionate to the amount of their work – however you measure it," she said.
The latest 1News Verian poll has revealed a majority of people agree with the Government's public service job cuts.
Thirty-four per cent of those polled said the Government has got its cuts right, with another 18% wanting the coalition to go further and cut more public servants.
ACT responds: 'It's the bloat that's unprecedented'
After Verrall's Q+A interview went to air, the ACT Party – a member of the coalition Government – hit back.
"'It's the bloat that's unprecedented," said the party's public service spokesperson Todd Stephenson.
"If the current public service cuts are unprecedented, that's only because the ballooning of the Wellington bureaucracy under Labour was also unprecedented.
"ACT's view is that the reduction in size of the Wellington bureaucracy must go much further.
"Putting things right requires a smaller, more effective government that is much smarter about solving the long-term challenges that have grown under multiple governments."
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
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