NZ Herald on Civil Service neutrality

Some worthwhile points in the Herald editorial today:

A certain righteousness pervades the Labour Party that leads it to believe its policies and political interest are indivisible from the public interest. That assumption underlay the election-card spending controversy after the last election and was evident in the explanation for the political hirings and firings at the Environment Ministry in recent years.

One can not over-estimate how much this is true.

The ministry, it was said, had become politically important because “sustainability” was to be a central theme of Labour’s next election campaign. The implications of that explanation have been overshadowed by ministers’ problems.

Since when did a department became an instrument of an election campaign?

Indeed.

Our confidence in their tradition has been shaken but not shattered by the present Government. Public servants whose personal sympathies probably lie with Labour for the most part have had few problems serving National Governments. It must be a great deal harder to preserve their proper distance from a Labour programme. The Government needs to help them. Instead, it seems hardly aware of the damage it has done.

The next State Services Commissioner needs to implement a culture change starting with CEOs.  Maybe they could publish helpful booklets such as “How to say no to your Minister and still have them respect you in the morning” 🙂