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Privatisation

Libz Welcome Whitehead Wisdom

Libertarianz party leader Richard McGrath said his party will back any moves to shrink the public service, calling Treasury head John Whitehead’s address yesterday to senior bureaucrats a breath of fresh air.

He described PSA national secretary Brenda Pilott’s response to the speech as “patch protection”.

“The Libertarianz Party, since its inception, has advocated culling about 90% of the public service,” said Dr McGrath. “The state sector has grown like a cancer, with a 44% increase in so-called core bureaucracy in the last ten years. Every year, more and more useless non-productive jobs are created in the public service. The need for action on this is growing more urgent by the month.”

“Ms Pilott blames bad private sector management for the current economic correction,” Dr McGrath added.

“She fails to make any connection between government manipulation of the economy, the perverse incentives these interventions create, and predictable moves by the private sector to protect market share and profitability in the wake of this manipulation.”

“Ms Pilott believes productivity can be maximised by leaving industries and services as state-run monopolies. Unfortunately for her -- and thanks to Roger Douglas -- New Zealand is looking less like a Polish shipyard than it used to. Once again, Stalinist theories of economic management in our government departments are under scrutiny. My party welcomes this.”

Dr McGrath urged Prime Minister John Key to run with these proposals before the next election. “We need a massive cleanout of the state sector, in the fashion of Roger Douglas – but for the right reason this time: to advance the cause of free market capitalism.”

“The state sector contains many talented people, whose skills could benefit this country immensely if they were released from their make-work pseudo-jobs into the real world of private enterprise.”

“The Libertarianz Party would boost the number of employees in the defence force, justice system and police force. Almost every other government department would be closed down or sold - most immediately, others gradually as their functions were devolved and opened up to private competition.”

Libertarianz: More Freedom, Less Government
www.libertarianz.org.nz

ENDS

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