Gerry Brownlee MP
National Party State Services Spokesman

27 March 2007

More accountability should come with increased pay

National Party State Services spokesman Gerry Brownlee says public sector bosses need to be more accountable in light of figures showing they’re now paid more than their private sector counterparts.

“In a private company, the shareholders will hold the chief executive or the general manager to account. Under Labour, there appears to be little accountability no matter how serious the sin.”

Mr Brownlee says the Sheffield 2007 chief executive survey is a damning indictment on the lop-sided growth in the New Zealand economy, where the state sector has ballooned, while the private sector is being suffocated.

“We need good people in charge of our public services, so I don’t begrudge paying someone what they’re worth. But in the private sector, those pay rates are often linked to productivity – and on that score many of our public sector bosses are failing.

“And I’m not necessarily blaming them. The Labour Government has placed a very low premium on getting value for money out of the public service. Health and Corrections are prime examples, where we’ve seen a spectacular collapse in productivity and a clear lack of accountability.”

ENDS

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