Justice Ministry proposes to cut 11% of workforce at National Office

The Government’s tough on crime promise will be undermined by its own spending cuts as the Ministry of Justice proposes to shed 123 roles in important areas that support the effective functioning of the justice system.

"The wheels of justice may turn slow and for good reason, but they are set to turn even slower," said Duane Leo Secretary for Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi.

"The proposed loss of roles at the Ministry of Justice again exposes how poorly thought through the Government’s rushed spending cuts have become."

The Ministry is proposing to reduce its workforce by 123 roles across a range of business groups. This impacts 11% of roles at the Ministry’s National Office.

"The Government has made law and order a top priority, promising more police, expanding prisons, bringing back the Three Strikes law and demanding longer jail sentences.

"That means more people who break the law will have to be processed by the justice system. On top of that, other New Zealanders have various reasons to connect with the justice system including the whānau of those ending up in court. We should be investing more, not less in Justice.

"Instead, as we have seen with many other restructures, the Government is blind to how its rushed spending cuts, could end up undermining the very policies it wants to trumpet.

"The changes as proposed will slow decision-making, and bottlenecks will grow as teams consolidate and managers become responsible for more and more.

"Worse, the Government risks a less effective justice system as it cuts advisors who provide information and support to those dispensing justice on the frontline and who provide the expertise to deliver the improvements to the system that are so desperately needed.

"Once again, we see the fiction of no impacts on the frontline. How can this lead to the better public services the Government promises? And all to fund tax cuts. It makes no sense," said Duane Leo.

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