Be afraid
OPINION: Your old mate hears some of the recent uptick in farmer confidence has slipped since the political polls started leading a bit to the left, away from the current coalition of National, Act and NZ First.
He says departments lack clarity about their core business, hold endless meaningless meetings, are strangled by too many layers of management, too much duplication and no focus on outcomes.
Sir Brian has hit the nail on the head and the Hound wonders why past public service chiefs haven't come to this same conclusion decades ago.
This old mutt has been around a few government departments over the years and reckons it's a miracle anything useful gets done in some departments.
It was said that the late Mike Moore had the answer: a rubber stamp with one word on it - 'bullshit' a stamp he applied to the worst of the official reports he received.
