Chris Hipkins thinks that fixing the Labour Government’s addiction to spending on expensive consultants is as simple as sending a memo, National’s Public Service spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

“Chris Hipkins’ tenure as Minister for the Public Service reads of broken promises and blowouts in spending that only delivered worse outcomes for New Zealanders.

“This morning, Mr Hipkins claimed that he had ‘sent a memo’ to the public service, seeking assurances that they would rein in spending on contractors and consultants.

“Instead, spending blew out to $1.7 billion – up from $1.2 billion.

“This shows how ineffective Chris Hipkins was as a minister and how little respect he has for taxpayers’ money.

“This is a typical approach from Labour - simply sending a memo and then walk away, thinking that the problem has been solved.

“Alongside spending blowouts on consultants, the number of bureaucrats skyrocketed by almost 14,000. All of this might be understandable if this unprecedented explosion in spending and bureaucrats was actually delivering improved outcomes, but Labour has only taken New Zealand backwards.

“National will cut Labour’s wasteful spending on contractors and consultants by $400 million, which will be reinvested to support childcare costs for families that are struggling with Labour’s cost-of-living crisis.

“To achieve this, National will direct public sector agencies to end the culture of relying on contractors at a premium cost to do the regular jobs of public servants, stop enacting the costly and unnecessary restructures and mergers that Labour is obsessed with, and slash the endless working groups and task forces that are synonymous with this Government.

“Under National, public sector agencies will also be required to report their spending on consultants and contractors every quarter.

“There is no greater indictment on the lack of capability within the Labour Party than their decision to select Chris Hipkins as their new leader – a flailing Minister who consistently delivered worse outcomes at every turn.”

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