Source: Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi
- Public good test will force agencies to weigh impact on services, communities and Te Tiriti before cutting jobs
- 4 out of 5 public servants say job cuts have not helped deliver better for NZ
The PSA is calling for a mandatory public good test before government agencies and other publicly funded employers can embark on major restructures and cut jobs.
The recommendation is part of a new report – Reckless restructures; how to stop the damage caused by endless restructuring – to be launched today at the PSA 2026 Congress in Wellington (see Congress details below).
“Thousands of dedicated public servants have lost their jobs and the services New Zealanders rely on have been savaged, all in this blind rush to cut costs with no real plan for what would be lost,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, National Secretary for the Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.
“That’s why we need a public good test. Agencies should have to stop and properly weigh up the impact on services, on workers and on the communities who rely on them, before ploughing ahead with a restructure, not after the damage is done,” (see summary of criteria below).
“This is urgent – if the National-led Government is re-elected, it wants to slash another 8700 roles from the public service and merge agencies. Labour is yet to commit to stopping job losses if elected, and we have a potential king maker in Opportunity talking about cutting jobs.
“When restructures are rushed through as this government has done without any real assessment of the impact, it’s the public who ultimately pay the price.
“The evidence of this reckless approach is everywhere for New Zealanders to see. Emergency departments overwhelmed, nearly 3000 health jobs axed, community service organisations like RespectEd forced to close, 700 scientists and researchers cast out, over 300 DOC workers gone, the list goes on.
“Public servants know this – more than half tell us their ability to do their job has got worse, most say the cuts have not helped them deliver better for New Zealand (see survey results below).
“On top of this, there has been scant regard to the Government’s obligations to honour Te Tiriti. Time and again we are seeing the roles and teams that support better outcomes for Māori treated as expendable when agencies are told to cut costs.
“Enough is enough. We are losing our best and brightest and Australia is hiring many of them when they had more to give New Zealand. Cutting jobs and services to chase short-term savings targets, without any plan for how New Zealand deals with an ageing population, climate change, or our infrastructure deficit, is short-sighted and will cost us far more in the long run.”
At a minimum, a legislative public good test should be contained in the Public Service Act 2020 and apply to State services as defined in the Act; this would go beyond the core Public Service. In addition, it should be extended to cover local government, and to publicly funded services as a condition of public funding.
“If nothing changes, mark our words – there will be future Royal Commissions and other official inquiries that will set out the tragic impact of this dangerous approach to cutting jobs without an adequate assessment of the consequences.
“We can’t afford to keep making the same mistakes and failing to heed the lessons of the past.”
The PSA will pursue the public good test through bargaining with employers regardless of whether the next Government adopts it in legislation.
About Reckless restructures; how to stop the damage caused by endless restructuring
The report sets out what reckless restructuring by the Government has done to public and community services. It shows the human cost of treating cuts as an end in themselves, without understanding the work being done, the expertise being lost, or the consequences for our country. It also shows the net result is a public and community sector less able to protect people, uphold human rights, give effect to Te Tiri- o Waitangi and reduce Māori disparities, respond to crises, and deliver the support New Zealanders need.
Background: the proposed public good test
The PSA proposes a statutory requirement for public sector agencies and other publicly funded employers to assess any significant restructure against a public good test before proceeding. The assessment would need to cover a range of criteria including:
- Impact on the services the agency delivers to the public
- Compliance with Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the agency’s ability to meet its obligations to Māori under Te Tiriti
- Impacts on workforce capability, both within the agency and across the public and community sectors
- Health and safety impacts, both physical safety and the impact of workload stress on remaining staff
- Long-term, intergenerational impacts, including impacts on New Zealand’s ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change
- Impacts on population groups at risk of being disadvantaged in their access to public and community services, including women, Māori, Pasefika, migrants, rainbow communities and disabled people
- Consistency with undertakings made by the Government in response to a Royal Commission of Inquiry or Auditor-General recommendations
The PSA says the test should apply to core public service agencies under the Public Service Act 2020 and be extended to local government and publicly funded community services as a condition of public funding.
Member survey results (see report p22)
The PSA surveyed thousands of public servants working in government agencies. Of the 4300 who responded, most said restructures were not improving outcomes:
- 78% do not think the restructures that have occurred over this term of government have helped them to deliver better for New Zealanders. Only 5% agreed that restructurings had helped public sector organisations deliver better.
- 52% think that their agency’s ability to do its job has got worse over the year to March 2026
PSA biennial Congress details
The PSA is holding its biennial Congress over two days in the Capital on Tuesday and Wednesday. The event at Hnry Stadium will be attended by over 300 delegates from around the country under the theme Respect, Restore, Rebuild.
The following sessions are open to the media:
Tuesday
- 10.40am: Speech by PSA President Virgil Iraia
- 11am: Speeches by National Secretaries Fleur Fitzsimons and Duane Leo
Wednesday
- 8.40am: Jessica Hammond, Opportunity Party public services spokesperson
- 9.15am: Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Te Pāti Māori co-leader
- 11am: Rt Hon Chris Hipkins, Labour Party leader
- 11.45am: Hon Marama Davidson, Green Party co-leader
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.