Each year, as we move towards Matariki, I gather the seeds of knowledge I found most valuable in the previous year and offer them to others. In 2021, I offered knowledge on good public sector governance, focusing on collaboration and anticipatory governance. I did this because I observed that the authorising environment was struggling with…

Drawing on pre- and post-election briefings I prepared for a small number of clients, this E-Tangata piece sets out my view of the 2023 coalition agreements and the implementation risks the government would need to manage actively. I argue that the electorate voted for minor change, not reform, and certainly not a culture war. I…

Public service policies: a webinar with the political partiesTe Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Public Service Association I chaired a webinar that gave members of Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi Public Service Association the chance to hear directly from politicians about their parties’ policies for the public service. Our discussion covered back-office cuts, the importance of…

In this lecture I trace the evolution of the public management model in Aotearoa through five models: rangatiratanga, the Old Public Service of the settler state, New Public Management, New Public Governance, and the New Public Service taking shape under the Public Service Act 2020. I read each model through nine component parts, from its…

Mātai Tōrangapū, Hononga Tāwāhi | School of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Canterbury asked me to give a guest lecture on the importance of the Public Service Act 2020. I begin with the State Sector Act 1988, which made chief executives accountable to ministers through purchase agreements and fixed-term contracts. Drawing…