It is actually not that hard to know what you are talking about — especially when you are the Prime Minister.
It is called being across your brief.
So when Christopher Luxon was challenged on Newstalk ZB over claims that advertised salaries for some government jobs had increased by 10 percent, his response was telling. He said he did not know and that it was not what the Government wanted to see.
Imagine that for a moment.
In the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, the Prime Minister appeared concerned by the prospect that somebody working in the public sector might actually have received a pay rise.
Except, of course, the headline figure being put to him wasn’t evidence that existing public servants had received 10 percent pay rises. It came from SEEK’s advertised salary data — salaries attached to jobs being advertised.
That is quite a different thing.
And that is precisely why being across your brief matters.
THE PEOPLE LEFT BEHIND
This Government has made shrinking and restructuring the Public Service a central part of its agenda.
There is an important distinction around the numbers. More than 10,000 positions have been reported as removed or targeted across the broader state sector during successive rounds of restructuring, but official Public Service Commission data does not show 10,000 fewer people in the core Public Service.
Core Public Service FTE numbers fell from a December 2023 peak of 65,699 to 62,654 by June 2025 — a reduction of just over 3,000 — before climbing again to 64,535 by March this year. The Commission says the earlier reduction was largely driven by agencies implementing the Government’s savings programme.
And now the Government has another round coming.
Budget 2026 documents confirm a further Public Service transformation programme and implementation of FTE reductions, while the Government has signalled thousands more positions are expected to disappear over the coming years.
So spare a thought for those left behind.
When a colleague disappears, their workload doesn’t always vanish with their swipe card.
Benefits still need processing.
Businesses still need support.
Civil Defence still needs to function.
Children still need protecting.
Ministers still need advice.
Government still needs to operate.
Someone has to pick up the slack.
AND WAIT — THERE’S MORE
Then came the second part of Luxon’s interview.
He signalled what he described as radical structural change to the Public Service should the Coalition secure a second term.
Think about the combination of those two messages.
On one hand, surprise that advertised government salaries might have increased.
On the other, another significant restructuring of the very workforce the Government has already spent three years restructuring.
You would be forgiven for thinking the bloke who spent years highlighting his credentials running an airline might have been across the brief before answering the question.
A chief executive wouldn’t walk into a board meeting, be handed a number he hadn’t verified and immediately draw conclusions from it.
You’d expect him to ask what the number measured.
You’d expect him to ask whether it represented existing employees or new vacancies.
You’d expect him to ask what kinds of roles were driving the increase.
You’d expect him to know the difference between an advertised salary index and an across-the-board pay rise.
That’s management 101.
WHO GETS A TURN NEXT?
There is another aspect to all of this that troubles me.
Politics increasingly seems to need somebody to blame.
For much of this term, Māori have found ourselves squarely in the political firing line as debates have raged over Te Tiriti, Māori wards, Te Aka Whai Ora, section 7AA, te reo Māori and the Waitangi Tribunal.
This time, at least Māori got the morning off.
Public servants copped it instead.
But who is next?
Beneficiaries?
Immigrants?
Students?
Solo mums?
Spin the wheel, Prime Minister.
Because eventually governments run out of groups to blame and have to confront something considerably more uncomfortable: their own record.
Public servants are not an abstract line in the Budget.
They are our neighbours, friends and whānau. They pay rent and mortgages. They buy groceries. They raise children. They are living through exactly the same cost-of-living pressures as everybody else.
And yes, sometimes they deserve a pay rise.
The Public Service Commission’s own numbers show the workforce has already been through significant upheaval, including major reductions at agencies such as the Ministry of Education, MBIE, Oranga Tamariki and the Ministry for the Environment.
If the Government wants further structural reform, then make the case for it.
Tell us what is changing.
Tell us what it will cost.
Tell us what services will improve.
Tell us what services might disappear.
And tell the people who will be expected to deliver those services what the plan actually means for them.
But don’t be surprised that public servants might want wages that keep pace with their bills.
And don’t treat an unverified number thrown across a radio studio as though it tells you what tens of thousands of workers are actually being paid.
Being Prime Minister is a difficult job.
Knowing what you’re talking about before commenting shouldn’t be the difficult part.
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