OPINION: The Hound suggests that the new National-led government has plenty of scope to deliver on its – and coalition partner ACT’s – election promise of trimming the fat in the public service.
The jump in the number of bureaucrats under the Labour government from 2017 is clearly evident in figures recently released by the Public Service Commission.
This shows the number of Wellington public servants – excluding health and education workers – has increased by 7255 since 2017.
That’s an increase of 35.64%.
Meanwhile, the average public service pay was $97,200 which suggests that increase in the government’s annual wage bill in Wellington since 2017 has grown by $705 million.
There’s also been an increase in the number of public servants in Auckland – growing by 2800 to 12,810 since 2017.
Anyone suggesting there is no room for cuts here is delusional!