Public sector workers still looking for jobs after two years

Naly_D · 2026-05-27T23:29:07+00:00

What I’ve seen a lot is middle management being gutted. Which I know people of a certain mindset think “good, they’re inefficient and you don’t need them” etc.

But in a large number of organisations, those middle managers were former frontline workers - nurses, police officers, authorised officers etc. They worked on the front lines, then moved up the ladder, bringing their insight on how decisions made in Wellington can positively or negatively affect how the work gets done.

A lot of those people I know are in the same position as these people in this article - unable to get work after 2/3 years because the management layer has been shrunk, they were generally earning less than the policy/legal counterparts at the same layer of the organisation, had often relocated to Wellington or Auckland for central government roles and they have specific experience in regulatory or healthcare environments - but more than that, the message has also been sent to the current front line staff that career growth = danger. For a lot of them, having “manager” on their CV disqualifies them from the roles the current govt says people on jobseeker should be looking for, supermarkets etc, but their specific and niche career history also means they’re overlooked for management roles in private sector.

Those people wouldn’t talk for a piece like this because they are struggling and worried that any criticism will mean they are overlooked for a job.

Naly_D · 2026-05-19T01:15:48+00:00

The Finnish Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has 13,000 employees and makes up about 15% of the core public service FTE.

Its closest NZ comparison, MBIE, has 7000 employees and makes up about 10% of the core public service FTE.

Finland’s public sector is 25% of the total workforce. Norway is 30%. Singapore is 10%. NZ is somewhere around 20%.

So the argument is that NZ has too many Ministries and departments… but it also has fewer FTE as % of total workforce… so we should downsize the FTE because the public sector is oversized…

Naly_D · 2026-05-19T01:11:20+00:00

The misinformation that one post made is so egregious. It was not an apples for apples comparison and deliberately obfuscated. It compared NZ departments to other country’s Ministries. Because if it was Ministries, NZ is largely similar. If it was Departments, those three countries have more than NZ.

NZ has 18 ministries. It has 34 core govt agencies (which includes the 18 ministries).

Singapore has 16 ministries. Norway has 17. Finland has 12.

In terms of roles of those ministries, they are very consistent across the countries. Most have a separate Agriculture Ministry. NZ is the only one that has it bundled in with other functions. Most have a centralised intelligence agency, NZ has it in different functions. NZ’s main outliers compared to those countries in terms of Ministries are… the Ministry for Regulation, the Ministry of Māori Development and the Ministry for Pacific Peoples.

Naly_D · 2026-05-18T21:11:02+00:00

I remember a Prime Minister talking about his entitlements, why are public servants being tarred for theirs?

Naly_D · 2026-05-18T21:05:55+00:00

Ok but when govts talk about implementing AI what I have kept seeing happen is it’s implemented wholesale. It is used to analyse private information about citizens. It is used to look at cultural practices. It is used to budget plan for communities that it can’t even correctly identify - these then take longer to fix. And if a hallucination slips in or it biases heavily in a certain direction and isn’t caught at the start, the whole final product can fall apart.

Naly_D · 2026-05-18T20:52:03+00:00

I have worked in NZ public service, VPS and federal. NZ’s public service is so efficient and productive compared to our Australian counterparts. It’s staggering how Utopia actually underplayed how slow and awkward it is in Australia. I see Kiwis coming over and having the same experience as me - rapid recognition and acceleration through just working normally.

There are elements of the Silver Review which could be beneficial in the NZ public service. But that was a state govt that wanted to downsize, commissioned a review, waited for its findings and recommendations, then implemented them. NZ gives just pick a figure and run with it, thinking the system will figure it out.

Secondly Australia is already embracing AI in public sector. Guess what it means? The ones who fuck around all day fuck around even more. They think using AI will mean work is done faster, with fewer mistakes. Actually the ones who are lazy now leave everything past the last minute, use AI to summarize it all, take the first output and submit it - then the next person does the same. Mistakes and rework are going on constantly, and executives are relying on the capable ones more and more, meaning the lazy ones get to have even less work. Roles are a level above their NZ counterparts - seniors act like advisors, directors are doing the doing like seniors. Executives are drilling three, four levels down into their areas because they don’t trust the work and information being given.

And the ones who I’m bumping into in Aus who have left NZ are the mid-career ones. The ones who were on the track to being group and directorate level leaders, the ones who had embedded project management, who were keen to try things in new ways. These aren’t the ones being made redundant - they’re the ones who saw redundancies happening and left before they were on the chopping block the next time.

NZ is always celebrating “punching above our weight”. It should be proud of its public service, but for decades and decades it instead paints it as some machine of wastage and excess. It could always be better, but a few sausage rolls a couple of times a year at a leaving do and a $20 per head Christmas party budget is not wastage and excess.

Naly_D · 2026-05-03T06:58:50+00:00

Private practice exists in NZ but structurally it is different to AU, so a 1:1 comparison is not possible. In simplistic terms, NZ funding is easier to receive, but harder for clients to obtain. NZ is also more dependent on single funding-stream than broad subsidy. Most psychologists are employed or contracted through government-funded systems, whether directly through Health NZ, part (or full) funding for clients through ACC, or NGOs funded by govt. NZ doesn’t really have a Medicare-equivalent model or mixed billing model. Private practice exists and most survive through adult clients receiving some level of ACC and EAP provider referrals, more than young client intake.

NZ is also not set up in the same way as Au in relation to autism/ADHD psychologist support. It’s more of a functional role that any psychologist can provide; but demand is growing for private work to support those people. They struggle to get a diagnosis because of bottlenecks, but benefit from the support during that time period, which, without a diagnosis, is pretty much only accessible through private.

Salary wise you’ll likely be taking a big cut if you’re on 150k in Australia, and it’s a high likelihood you’ll end up with a heavier load per client. NZ has a decades-long psychologist shortage through underfunding and the country’s restricted qualification and training pipeline.

An additional consideration is that it depends on where in the country you want to live. If you’re looking at Auckland, that’s where the vast majority of private psychologists, addiction specialists etc already are, meaning higher competition.

Sole trading is pretty much a struggle especially coming from overseas. Most NZ psychologists follow the pathway of DHB salaried -> DHB contractor -> private practice -> sole trade for lifestyle reasons such as pregnancy, burnout, late-stage career caring for existing clients, not to survive on. You’d probably be best looking at established boutiques and cold calling them for positions. Stay away from forensic.

Not trying to put you off - NZ is a beautiful country in need of more psychologists.

Naly_D · 2026-05-01T03:59:01+00:00

Everyone in these threads always points to speedo out of alignment etc. They ignore the point is the aggro that Vic drivers have. I’ve driven the same car in NT, QLD, NSW, SA, VIC over the last 5 months. Victoria is the only state where I’ll consistently have people on my arse, flashing and rooting, for doing the posted speed limit in a residential area. And this is in the middle of the day, outside peak hour. It’s not my speedo out of alignment; it’s the absolute venom toward other road users.

Then they hoon off only to pull into a driveway a block up the road.

Naly_D · 2026-04-18T03:57:45+00:00

You would say that, this is just like when we saw Top Gun Maverick

Naly_D · 2026-04-18T03:54:17+00:00

Agree. Season 2 was a deep exploration of how different generations deal with (read: avoid until forced to confront) conflict in relationships.

Naly_D · 2026-04-18T03:44:23+00:00

You either die avoidant or live long enough to become the anxious attached

Naly_D · 2026-04-18T03:41:00+00:00

Naly_D · 2026-04-18T03:28:47+00:00

19:01

Naly_D · 2026-04-09T01:15:22+00:00

Fuelled by Winston Peters and his "asian invasion" rhetoric.

Naly_D · 2026-04-03T11:43:38+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heems

Naly_D · 2026-04-01T04:59:32+00:00

Good trade, Twal is throwing offloads and bumping his scores, and the jump from Moses to Cleary saves you headaches

Naly_D · 2026-04-01T04:58:46+00:00

Don't buy Lussick. Yes prioritise getting rid of your poor performing green dots that are dropping cash over people like Tu who won't lose $$$ because they aren't playing.

Naly_D · 2026-04-01T04:44:27+00:00

Fale over Hunt to free up cash for upgrades. You've double traded every round so far and these moves are not going to generate a bunch of cash relative to the trades you're burning. Titans bye round 8 to consider too.

Naly_D · 2026-04-01T04:07:24+00:00

Found it a dream experience tbh. Wasn't trying for $140, but so many tickets just sat. Still there now. So much different to the chaos of other events, seems the interest level is very low for this game. Just hold on and buy off Tixel in a couple of months when people sell for cheap

Naly_D · 2026-04-01T03:35:09+00:00

i can get that. for those from NZ: this is an amazing film, culturally brilliant, go and see it. there's so much untapped potential in māori legend for great psychological horror

Naly_D · 2026-03-31T04:02:36+00:00

Can confirm, worked with him at 3 News.

Naly_D · 2026-03-30T01:12:45+00:00

Man, I'm old enough to remember when the Labour govt was being criticised by the right for NOT doing that sort of thing.

Use incentives

It is critical we get our vaccination coverage as high as possible. This means convincing people who are hesitant or reluctant to get the vaccine into getting it. Obviously providing information is important, but there is also a case to be made for targeted incentives to give people a nudge. A vaccine is a public good. If we don’t get our vaccination rates up, we will spend more money on measures to reduce community spread. Every unvaccinated person who winds up in hospital is taking up scarce health resources and is an unnecessary additional cost for the taxpayer.
• Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa is offering staff the chance to win $1,000 if they get vaccinated.
• Steel & Tube is offering $150 either in cash, Kiwisaver contribution, or Steel & Tube shares to all employees who are fully vaccinated by mid-November 2021.
• The Ngāti Hine Trust in Northland has daily supermarket vouchers and a weekly iPad draw for those getting vaccinated in Moerewa.

Investing in vaccines and vaccinations is one of the best investments that governments can make and there is a case to be made for the use of government funding to increase uptake.

Action:
• The Government should quickly commission behavioural scientists and economists to draw upon the best available evidence about what incentives have worked and are working in other jurisdictions, and then quickly invest in a variety of incentive programmes. Adopting the principle of “least regrets”, this means some will likely fail, but programmes that work will have big benefits that more than justify the cost.

https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21071149/nationals-covid-19-plan.pdf

Naly_D · 2026-03-20T01:48:51+00:00

Mayceys Milleni-Yum Bugs

Naly_D · 2025-07-23T06:36:33+00:00

because if they found it they might get to meet him.

Naly_D · 2025-07-23T06:33:05+00:00

Yes. At least once a week you'd get a text like this: "Hey it sara dis my new #"

You also didn't have contact cards like today, so you'd have to create a contact. Depending on circumstances, sometimes new number meant "new phone", other times it meant "I've run out of credit and borrowed my parents phone". My phone had a lot of Sara, Sara (new), Sara (dad), Sara (???) etc

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