5 March 2009 Media Statement

National slashing frontline services

The decision to cut at least 70 jobs from the Tertiary Education Commission makes a mockery of National’s policy to shift public services to the ‘frontline’, Grant Robertson Labour Spokesperson on State Services said.

“National have refused to define what their policy actually means, and now they are cutting jobs that clearly provide frontline services to the tertiary sector” Grant Robertson said.

“Among the jobs proposed to be cut are those held by people who deal directly with tertiary institutions. This includes people based in Auckland, Rotorua, Christchurch and elsewhere around New Zealand, as well as in Wellington. These are people who are working on a daily basis to ensure all New Zealanders get value for money from the taxpayer dollars put into tertiary education.”

“We heard from National many times in the election campaign that they would seek to shift resources to the frontline. Here they are doing the opposite. National’s public services policy is a sick joke. They talk about a cap, but we are seeing cuts, and they have no idea what it is they are supposedly capping”.

“The proposed job cuts were announced to staff at the Tertiary Education Commission yesterday, but have not been the subject of any formal announcement by the National Government,” said Grant Robertson.

“It has been said that National wants to make sure that change in the public sector happens below the radar to make it difficult to see what is going on and to make it easier to force change and sack people. The public of New Zealand deserve far better than that. When services are being cut we have a right to know, and the Minister responsible should front up. This is a shameful approach.”

ENDS

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