Business of Government: Balancing acts, Trumpism, mergers and more

NZ is towards the centre of polar opposites in its attitude towards the public sector. (Image: BusinessDesk)

Wed, 06 Aug 2025

The public service balanceThe first reading of the Public Service Bill revealed a policy tension between the desire for a public sector that is more responsive to an elected Government’s right to implement policy and the need to maintain political neutrality based on free and frank advice.The polar opposites are found in the United States' system, where many of the administration serve at the president’s pleasure and the old model of the UK system, where the public service was entrenched and long-serving.New Zealand has largely...

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