Christchurch Council is in hot water for employing high priced consultants to help redesign the earthquake shattered central city.

It's not the consultants under fire in this case, but their employers and the way they went about contracting them. Still the question should be asked, why, if Christchurch has an entire planning division in its employ, should consultants be needed?

The same goes for MFAT, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It has annoyed the Govt by employing a consultant to do a report on the future of diplomacy.

When National came to power Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully announced the appointment of John Allen, former CEO of NZ Post, to the role of CEO of MFAT. Allen was appointed as an outsider, untainted by the arcane methods of the Department and its ingrained seniority.

Allen was in effect an outside consultant, brought in to shake-up the Ministry and reorient the way it operates. For a consultant to have been needed to outline the future of diplomacy suggests Allen is not up to the job.

It also suggests a bit of old fashioned defensive positioning, in which a consultant is used as a fall back when things don't go so well. The consultant can be easily blamed, and all will be as it was before.

While consultants can play a useful role in helping organisations change, it would appear in this instance it is a case of a consultant too far.

Trans Tasman www.transtasman.co.nz broke the story

MFAT’s decision to hire a consultant to do a study on the future of diplomacy has caused a great deal of discord within the Ministry, and riled Ministers who have been calling for efficiency gains.

The initiative did not take account of the fact MFAT has to deal with the external environment with practices and procedures which are recognised internationally, and cannot be assessed from a NZ domestic perspective.

The study which Trans-Tasman understands was undertaken by Doug Martin of the Wellington consultancy Martin Jenkins was too introspective, and drew on the views of a UK “expert.”

The results produced “massive scepticism” in the Beehive which sent a very firm message back to the Ministry to “lose” the recommendations.

Ministers are said to be disenchanted with how the so-called “change programme” within the Ministry is being obscured by “visions” and bogged down in studies by committees and consultants. The Beehive wants to cut down on what some call a “consultancy binge.”

Foreign Minister Murray McCully says he was “disappointed” with the Martin review which didn’t have any involvement from Ministers. The priority is to get efficiency gains particularly in back office functions within the Ministry."

The old adage holds true in this case. If you want something done, do it yourself. No matter how many committees and consultants are involved, there has been little progress in reforming MFAT.

Perhaps this is like an episode of Yes Minister, when the well entrenched staff at MFAT simply run rings around the new "outside" CEO and the new Minister.

Has John Allen lived up to his hype? If the Minister wants increased efficiencies in MFAT, he will have to take a lead role. Reforming the state sector is a massive job. Obviously some of the Govt's appointees are not up to it

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