The ACT party would issue “stop work notices” to public sector chiefs that would halt up to $1 billion of wasteful Government spending, its leader told a public meeting in Nelson.
David Seymour outlined the plans, which he said would also halve the number of staff needed at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), at the Trafalgar Centre on Sunday.
More than 350 people attended the early afternoon meeting, a figure Seymour later said was “astonishing” and about three times the audience he had in Nelson during the 2020 election campaign.
Some of the biggest applause came for his pledge to cut the numbers of bureaucrats, part of ACT’s policy to slash Government spending by $9.5 billion a year.
Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
ACT leader David Seymour listed “wasteful” projects the party would halt at a public meeting in Nelson.
Seymour listed “failing and wasteful projects” it would halt spending on if it was part of the new Government after the October elections.
They include the implementation of the Three Waters reforms, the He Waka Eke Noa climate action partnership with farmers, Auckland light rail, fees-free tertiary education and the Provincial Growth Fund.
Seymour said stop work notices would be issued “on day one” of the new Government, but would take several weeks to implement. Also in his initial firing line were Workforce Development Councils, industry transformation plans and the Government’s proposed Resource Management Act reforms.
He said other stop work notices would cover the Ministry of Education’s curriculum refresh and Let’s Get Wellington Moving.
Public service heads would also be required to provide briefings to incoming ministers detailing the size of their workforces, their cost, and their outputs.
“Ministers will then identify teams and activities they require departments to cut because they aren’t providing value for taxpayers or because they overlap with functions that existing elsewhere in the bureaucracy,” he said.
Seymour took particular aim at MBIE, saying it was home to countless pet projects and a workforce that had grown by 2400 people, or 64%, since 2017.
ACT would aim to reduce the number of staff at the ministry by up to 50%.
Martin De Ruyter/Stuff
Seymour got applause for his party’s stance on Government spending, crime and the Treaty of Waitangi.
He told the Nelson audience that “I guarantee you nobody would notice” the proposals being halted. He cited the example of 65 people working on the New Zealand space programme.
“Let’s just say they are not rocket scientists; you know they haven’t produced anything useful.”
Seymour also got applause for his other speech themes, accusing the Government of being too soft on crime, and divisive race relations.
He said ACT would introduce legislation covering the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi to spark a proper national debate. The eventual legislation would be voted on in a referendum.
He made a play for voters who were thinking about voting National to opt for ACT instead, saying their votes would still “go into the same pot” but would create a stronger brew.
Discussion about this post