Throwing boulders in glasshouses

NewstalkZB reports:

Labour believes ministerial staff are looking for better options.

Figures released under the Official Information Act shows 150 ministerial staff have left since National came to power, 47 of them went last year

Labour Leader David Shearer isn’t surprised at the turnover and believes the departures are about self interest and self preservation.

” A number of people that I’ve spoken to have said that they felt it was time to get out before this government came to an end – I think a lot of people are looking after their own careers and getting out while they’ve got the chance to get out.”

You know. If I was advising the Leader of the Opposition, who was onto his third chief of staff in 18 months, I’d suggest he doesn’t comment on a story about staffing.

I’d also suggest that trying to claim credit for Ministerial staff leaving because they are despondent over the Government’s chances would open you up for ridicule when you are at barely 30% in the polls and the Government is at 49%.

Finally I’d also point out the story is meaningless without knowing how many staff in total work in ministerial offices.

As it happens it is around 275, so 150 staff leaving over four and a half years is around 33 staff a year.  That’s around a 12% annual loss rate. I’d say that is lower than many employers. Also considering working in a ministerial office is often a 50 – 60 hour a week job with huge stress and less pay than comparable private sector jobs – well a 12% annual loss rate is actually quite remarkable.

I survived a total of eight years in Parliament, and I was one of the longer serving staff.