Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
Commission staff raised political neutrality concerns that were not sufficiently heeded.
An independent review into the Public Service Commission’s paid Facebook advertising against striking health and education workers involved in the October 23 mega strike vindicates the PSA’s concerns about the controversial campaign.
The review shows the Commission’s own staff raised concerns about political neutrality early in the process, warnings that were not sufficiently heeded before a rushed, poorly governed campaign went ahead.
The reviewer, Wellington barrister Jane Meares, found: ‘Disquiet that I heard from a number of staff members was not surfaced in the way it should have been.’
“This review shows public servants at the Public Service Commission raised serious concerns, at several points, that were never properly resolved,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi. “Lessons must be learned about how to approach collective bargaining in good faith.
“The Commission should never have run paid advertising against striking health and education workers; they should have listened to these workers concerns and worked on resolving them. The advertising was inflammatory and unhelpful and should not occur again.
“The Commission’s own integrity team warned, before these ads ever ran, that unions are allowed to be political and the Commission is not; ‘we are the system leaders for political neutrality. We must role model best practice.’ Staff said it clearly. Management pushed ahead anyway.
“This report shows that the Commission ran a poor process, concerns were ignored, and decisions were rushed,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, who was interviewed as part of the review. “Bottom line, the Commission acted poorly in hatching this paid social media advertising against striking workers. Lessons must be learned.
“The PSA is currently in bargaining with agencies employing more than 10,000 public service workers,” Fitzsimons said. “Trust in the Commission’s political neutrality matters more than ever, and today’s findings show why that trust cannot be taken for granted.”
The PSA says this report is directly relevant to the Commission’s handling of its current dispute with the PSA over ‘change the government’ campaign material, after Commissioner Sir Brian Roche directed the union to stop displaying the postcards in workplaces.
“It’s a bit rich for Sir Brian to lecture us on political neutrality today, when his own integrity team warned him nine months ago that the Commission had to role model best practice, and he pressed ahead regardless,” Fitzsimons said. “That standard has to apply to the Commission itself, not just to unions.”
The PSA disputes the Commissioner’s views on the postcards.
“We stand by our right to inform our members about why we need to change the Government to one which properly values the role of the public service in delivering for New Zealanders. We are seeking an urgent meeting with him and we have legal advice supporting our position.
“We are always willing to have a genuine conversation about political neutrality,” Fitzsimons said. “But that conversation has to be a two-way street.”
The review found the Facebook campaign was developed in as little as four working days, with no completed integrity or legal review before the first adverts went live, while the Commissioner and his chief advisor were both on leave. The reviewer stopped short of finding the tiles breached political neutrality but found that even though analysis suggested the Commission ‘could’ run the advertising, staff were left unable to properly answer whether the Commission ‘should’ do so.
The reviewer also found the sign-off process itself lacked rigour: ‘The sign-off process for the tiles does not appear to me to have had the necessary rigour in the circumstances.’
Background on Facebook advertising issue:
19 December 2025 — Explosive document dump days out from Christmas exposes Govt’s cynical attack on striking workers: https://www.psa.org.nz/news-media/explosive-document-dump-days-out-from-christmas-exposes-govts-cynical-attack-on-striking-workers
1 December 2025 — PSA welcomes external review of Public Service Commission strike adverts – PM now needs to intervene in health dispute: https://www.psa.org.nz/news-media/psa-welcomes-external-review-of-public-service-commission-strike-adverts-pm-now-needs-to-intervene-in-health-dispute
The Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi is Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest trade union, representing and supporting more than 95,000 workers across central government, state-owned enterprises, local councils, health boards and community groups.