Editorial: Will big be better?
OPINION: The shakeup to the science sector with the proposed merger of four ag related crown research institutes (CRIs) into one conglomerate has drawn little public reaction.
Never mind farmers are in some cases borrowing money from the bank to buy groceries and educate their kids.
While no one disputes that our public servants, like any workers, should be paid fairly; it's the culture of extravagance that irks and annoys rural New Zealand.
MBIE – the outfit that's supposed to decide what science for farming should be funded –continues to show an exceptional lack of judgement and a culture of extravagance. It hired plastic sheep to do whatever at its Christmas party – the mind boggles! It also has a history of spending up on its public relations and image – as many government departments do. The silly unreadable sign outside the building in Wellington is another example of poor judgement; yet this wasteful spend has drawn no real sanction.
If the standard of judgement in the PR area is anything to go by; farmers should be worried at the decision-making process around science funding. Are they that stupid? The CEO is still there and Steven Joyce the Minister responsible for MBIE has done nothing to change that. Why?
Stupid spending in other government agencies, and let's be fair in some primary sector organisations, has been the same. NZTE giving gifts to staff for merely doing their job again highlights how out-of-touch some mandarins are. Fonterra are no better heaping money on a CEO that some argue is underperforming. The banks also pay their CEO's zillions for what?
One wonders how many MBIE or NZTE staff have been outside their sheltered workshops in the capital; where people aspire to mediocracy. Have they ever been on a farm? What do they know about the real world in heartland NZ? It beggars belief that the Government has not clamped down on this sort of behaviour and sacked a few CEO's to get the message out there.
There are no perks in farming at present; so why should there be any in the agencies and businesses that serve them. It's an unacceptable double standard. One wonders what would happen if the public service – and some primary sector businesses – had their staff cut by half. Maybe efficiency would break out?
