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Dear John,
 
Thank you for being a regular reader of these emails which I hope are informative. 

In the last two weeks I have had two big events in the general news media, the first story was about my new role as Minister for the Public Service.

I am pleased that my key messages to the Public Service have been repeated.

As their Minister, I support the Public Service Chief Executive Officers’ efforts to deliver the best service possible for the employer we have in common – you - the New Zealand taxpayer.

In delivering for the taxpayer, the Public Service has done some very hard challenging work in the last year as ministries and departments have been right-sizing.

In the six years from 2017 to 2023, the number of people employed in the ‘core public service’ grew 34 percent, to 63,117 full-time equivalent employees. Total salary costs grew to about $6.1 billion a year. (The ‘core public service’ does not include defence, police, teachers, hospital staff or corrections staff but it does include MBIE, INZ, DIA and many more.)

We do not have sufficient taxpayers or economic growth to support the current level of public spending. Therefore, I will be supporting the Public Service to find new solutions and new ways of working to lower the costs while maintaining quality service delivery.

As the Prime Minister has made clear, a culture of saying ‘Yes’  is needed. Clearly, the Government and I back all Public Service leaders who take the initiative and inspire all of their staff to say ‘Yes’ and support providing efficient respectful service for their customers.

Public Service policies and priorities need to improve outcomes for individuals, families and communities across New Zealand. Taxpayers from sharemilkers to truck drivers and aged care workers need  to know that their money is being spent in a way that delivers the services they need in the best way possible. 

My examination of the Public Service Act makes me think it is too prescriptive and it is stifling the public service from being innovative so changes are needed to address the complex challenges that we face.

Innovation isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a must. It’s not just being open to new ways of doing things, we need to be doing it. As Benjamin Franklin said, ‘well done is better than well said.’ That’s the culture I’d like to see in New Zealand’s public services.

Defence 
As you may know there has been a great deal of news about the Chinese Navy conducting a voyage through the Tasman Sea and reports of live firing exercises too. At the time of writing, this activity was legal as the Chinese ships remained in international waters and within the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Our Defence Force has been active in monitoring the movements of the three ships as has the Australian Navy.

I am conscious that we are seeing increasing challenges to our security in the Indo Pacific region and that we cannot rely on the fact that we are at the ‘bottom of the Pacific’ as a reason not to invest in our Defence Forces. 

We need to have the capacity to support other countries to maintain open shipping lanes.  We need to have the capacity to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief in our own country and across the Pacific. Our Defence personnel must be able to be active in protecting critical fisheries and intercepting criminals dealing in illegal trades around drugs and other illegal imports.

Our aid is helping in Europe as our defence force personnel in the UK are currently providing intelligence and logistics and even first aid training for the Ukraine defence forces.

We have Defence Force people helping in multinational activities to counter smuggling, piracy, and terrorism in the Indian Ocean, Middle East and Africa and to generally help maintain peace and stability in areas like these.

I am supporting our Government to release an updated Defence Capability Plan. This will specify what support, resources and equipment are need in order to maintain our Defence Forces’ ability to work with our international partners as we strive to maintain the international rules-based systems and democratic values that we share. We need to have the ability to protect our fundamentals of a prosperous and free society.

A positive announcement for Defence Personnel here in New Zealand was made by Associate Defence Minister Chris Penk in regard to the replacement of the aging barracks at the Papakura Military Camp with new state-of-the-art soldiers’ flats. These have officially opened for junior ranks of our soldiers, sailors and aviators through the Defence Estate Regeneration Plan and they will transform living conditions for these younger members of the Forces. 

Already with the investment of $571million in Defence pay and projects by our Government, personnel attrition rates have dropped by around 50 per cent since December 2022. 

I am committed to continued and increased support for all aspects of our Defence Forces from personnel to resources, equipment and deployments.

Our Government is working hard to deepen relationships with traditional and like-minded partners and to build up our already strong relationships with Australia and Pacific nations.  We support continued free and open trade and diplomatic relations that follow international rules and democracy across the world and that maintain peaceful prosperity for all.

Parkfest 8th March 2025
Parkfest is being held on 8th March 2025 in Central Park, Opaheke Rd, Papakura from 10am-2pm. There will be music, entertainment and interesting stalls to visit. Admission is free and it promises to be fun.

See [Papakura Business Association]([link removed]) for more information.

Best wishes to all,
Judith,
Hon Judith Collins KC 

 

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