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Read the facts behind the myths about New Zealand’s public service in this PDF report

In world terms, New Zealand’s public service isn’t big. At 42,000 people, it’s just 1% of population. Compare that to Australia. There, 0.7% work for the federal government alone—not counting workers employed by Australian states or territories. Britain’s public service is 0.9%, plus authorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. (Source: www.apsu.gov.au; www.civilservant.org.uk)

In fact, New Zealand’s public service is slightly smaller than Australia’s when Australian state and territorial governments are included.

Read the PSA's article from the New Zealand Herald on the impact of a "razor gang" on public services.

Oh, but New Zealand’s public service is soaring, right?

Not really, no. Yes, it’s grown since 1999. But it’s still smaller than in 1990—even with almost a million more Kiwis since then:

In 2008, 42,000 public servants for 4.2 million people (1:100)
In 1999, 29,500 public servants for 3.7 million people (1:125)
In 1990, 50,500 public servants for 3.5 million people (1:69)

This century, public sector employment has grown slower than private sector. And today, government spending as a share of GDP almost identical to the rate in the late 1990s.

How is it growing?

It’s simply wrong to attribute growth in the public service to “head office bureaucrats”. For example, the Department of Corrections hired 730 new staff for three new prisons. Inland Revenue hired 370 staff for KiwiSaver—helping the almost 700,000 New Zealanders who joined in its first year.

Or take the Ministry of Education. If you crunch the numbers, you could make the point that the number of teachers is up by 12% since 2000—while Ministry staff has grown by almost 40%. Without knowing why, that might seem alarming. But the fact is in 2002, people working with special needs children became Ministry employees. They’re specialists such as educational psychologists, physiotherapists, speech language therapists and early intervention therapists—hardly the picture of “bureaucrats” that’s painted.

A similar thing happened at the Ministry of Health. You could say that since 2000, the number of doctors and nurses has grown by 28%, while Ministry staff is up by 51%. In 2001, though, the Health Funding Authority was disbanded and joined the Ministry.

As New Zealand’s population and economy grow, the need for strong public services grows, too. And service delivery accounts for 85% of the growth in the public sector—with support functions accounting for much of the rest.

Public service grows with economy

It’s too easy to pretend public service growth happens in a vacuum. In the real world, growth takes place more broadly than twisting facts to paint a picture of public sector growth out of whack.

In 2000, New Zealand’s GDP was $114 billion. But by 2007, it had grown to $166 billion—a rate of growth almost identical to staffing increases in the public sector. If deep cuts come, as the economy and population keep growing, public services everywhere will suffer.

Authorised for the PSA by Brenda Pilott, 30 Prospect Tce., Johnsonville, Wellington

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What's at stake The work we do Benefits to NZ Fairness at Work What parties say What Kiwis say Just the facts Contact Us	Just the facts Read the facts behind the myths about New Zealand’s public service in this PDF report In world terms, New Zealand’s public service isn’t big. At 42,000 people, it’s just 1% of population. Compare that to Australia. There, 0.7% work for the federal government alone—not counting workers employed by Australian states or territories. Britain’s public service is 0.9%, plus authorities in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. (Source: www.apsu.gov.au; www.civilservant.org.uk) In fact, New Zealand’s public service is slightly smaller than Australia’s when Australian state and territorial governments are included. Read the PSA's article from the New Zealand Herald on the impact of a "razor gang" on public services. Oh, but New Zealand’s public service is soaring, right? Not really, no. Yes, it’s grown since 1999. But it’s still smaller than in 1990—even with almost a million more Kiwis since then: In 2008, 42,000 public servants for 4.2 million people (1:100) In 1999, 29,500 public servants for 3.7 million people (1:125) In 1990, 50,500 public servants for 3.5 million people (1:69) This century, public sector employment has grown slower than private sector. And today, government spending as a share of GDP almost identical to the rate in the late 1990s. How is it growing? It’s simply wrong to attribute growth in the public service to “head office bureaucrats”. For example, the Department of Corrections hired 730 new staff for three new prisons. Inland Revenue hired 370 staff for KiwiSaver—helping the almost 700,000 New Zealanders who joined in its first year. Or take the Ministry of Education. If you crunch the numbers, you could make the point that the number of teachers is up by 12% since 2000—while Ministry staff has grown by almost 40%. Without knowing why, that might seem alarming. But the fact is in 2002, people working with special needs children became Ministry employees. They’re specialists such as educational psychologists, physiotherapists, speech language therapists and early intervention therapists—hardly the picture of “bureaucrats” that’s painted. A similar thing happened at the Ministry of Health. You could say that since 2000, the number of doctors and nurses has grown by 28%, while Ministry staff is up by 51%. In 2001, though, the Health Funding Authority was disbanded and joined the Ministry. As New Zealand’s population and economy grow, the need for strong public services grows, too. And service delivery accounts for 85% of the growth in the public sector—with support functions accounting for much of the rest. Public service grows with economy It’s too easy to pretend public service growth happens in a vacuum. In the real world, growth takes place more broadly than twisting facts to paint a picture of public sector growth out of whack. In 2000, New Zealand’s GDP was $114 billion. But by 2007, it had grown to $166 billion—a rate of growth almost identical to staffing increases in the public sector. If deep cuts come, as the economy and population keep growing, public services everywhere will suffer. Authorised for the PSA by Brenda Pilott, 30 Prospect Tce., Johnsonville, Wellington