April 13, 2015
Salary cap makes it hard to find Taura Whiri CE
Maori Development Minister Te Ururoa Flavell says there is nothing he can do about a salary cap that is making it hard for the Maori language commission to find a new chief executive.
New Zealand First MP Pita Paraone, who was Te Taura Whiri’s acting chief executive until his return to parliament, says at a maximum $200,000 it’s the lowest salary for a chief executive in the public service.
The position has now been vacant for more than six months, with academic Dr Poia Rewi filling in.
Mr Flavell says when a candidate is found for the job, they must negotiate with the State Services Commission about their relative worth.
"I haven’t done any sort of homework on it to say whether that ranks with other CEOs but you can't equate in some senses Taura Whiri with a certain number of staff, which I would suspect less than 100, with another ranked agency such as the Ministry for Business, Employment and Innovation that has a couple of thousand working throughout the country. In that regard you're always going to be ranked against other departments and that just seems to be how it is," he says.
Mr Flavell says some people say MPs and Ministers get overpaid, but that’s in the hands of someone else.
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH TE URUROA FLAVELL CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjgwNDQ=
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