There is a photograph from earlier this year that I cannot quite stop thinking about. It shows the new Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, on the W train from Astoria to City Hall, iced coffee in one hand, the other extended to a fellow commuter. He is laughing. The tap-to-ride has just failed at…

This post draws on research I am preparing for a journal submission, examining thirty-three years of Cabinet Office circulars to trace how successive prime ministers have configured the cabinet committee system in Aotearoa. The hypothesis I am advancing is perhaps a little too simple: that cabinet committees constitute the primary mechanism through which governments furnish…

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

A plea from Ōtautahi. Can we stop using the phrase “bad apples” when discussing institutional problems? It is a tired cliché that has outlived whatever usefulness it might have once had. The idiom “one bad apple spoils the whole barrel” initially warned about how quickly rot spreads. Yet in contemporary discussions about institutional accountability, we’ve…

The collapse of the US administrative state is not just an American problem, it carries important lessons for Aotearoa New Zealand. As Washington grapples with political dysfunction and the erosion of public institutions, we should pay attention to how a weakened state apparatus invites economic instability, political turmoil, and diminished democratic control. For Aotearoa New…

Navigating the tension between bureaucratic expertise and democratic mandate A longer post than usual e te whānau. Also, it’s a little more policy wonk than my usual musings. I’ve been noticing something curious lately. The phrase “public value” keeps popping up in government strategies and official documents. It’s often sitting right next to its familiar…

Ngā Pūkenga o te Pokapū | Voices from the Centre is a series where I share reflections on Hāpai Public’s conversations with senior public servants, listening less for soundbites and more for the signals underneath: how the centre sees the system, where it’s heading, and what risks it is naming out loud. This week, Ben…

Child poverty was meant to be the Sixth Labour Government’s defining social outcome. All the machinery of state was re-tooled around it, with one target carrying the weight of political ambition. But as the Auditor-General’s latest report shows, ambition without governance and delivery doesn’t close the gap. The plan was clear in intent, yet undercooked…

Before I begin, I want to mihi to Hon Shane Jones. In the House yesterday, he reminded us of the first four rangatira who first stepped into Parliament on behalf of Māori. He did more than recite names: he called us to remember them properly, to see them as political actors who helped shape the…

I came across this report while reviewing public sector reform literature:Final Report: More Effective Social Services – The Treasury (2015) It’s not new, but it’s worth revisiting. Nearly a decade on, many of the issues it identified are still with us. The report is a sobering reminder of how hard it is to shift the…

The 2023 election delivered a message, but not the one some in Wellington appear to be hearing. Voters were not asking for austerity; they were asking for a course correction. It was, in my humble opinion, a vote to hold the previous government accountable, particularly for its handling of the pandemic and the years that…

I came across this report while reviewing public sector reform literature:Final Report: More Effective Social Services – The Treasury (2015) It’s not new, but it’s worth revisiting. Nearly a decade on, many of the issues it identified are still with us. The report is a sobering reminder of how hard it is to shift the…

Let’s talk about the latest concern over Aotearoa New Zealand’s ministerial portfolios. Some commentators suggest we should reduce them because “other countries have fewer.” This is a bit like suggesting we reorganise our national parks based on how Denmark manages its forests. Now, don’t get me wrong, the critics are onto something real. They’ve noticed…

During the January break, whilst others were sensibly occupied with finding the sun and avoiding the rain, I found myself pondering legitimacy and trust in regulatory systems. This wasn’t merely academic wool-gathering: ACT’s proposals for regulatory reform have made these issues pressingly relevant. Reading Giandomenico Majone’s classic work on regulatory legitimacy from 1999, I was…

When a government promises transformation, the smart money watches what they prioritise, not what they promise. Today’s Statement to Parliament is big on ambition – but separating the achievable from the aspirational will require a clear eye. Let’s cut to the chase. The infrastructure push has real teeth. Those 149 Fast Track projects aren’t just…

Yesterday, two speeches caught my attention in response to the Prime Minister’s statement to the House about his priorities for 2025. Chris Hipkins and Chlöe Swarbrick, both leaders in the opposition, stepped forward to share their thoughts about the future. Their words painted a picture of what they believe should change in our country. Both…

If you’ve been following this blog, or I have taught you, you’ll know I’m generally sceptical about the government’s capacity to deliver meaningful change. Only because, in my view, meaningful change is delivered by and because of communities. But occasionally, I see institutions that genuinely shift the dial. Te Puni Kōkiri is one such case…

Trust in public services is on the decline. This particular measure calls attention to a measure of ‘trust’ as the state is not doing harm. In addition, confidence in public services – due to an actual experience – is flatlining. A follower on blue-sky asked me why I didn’t comment on the private sector comparator….

If you want to understand whether a government is truly committed to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, look closely at how it values, funds, and heeds Te Puni Kōkiri – the Ministry of Māori Development. Te Puni Kōkiri holds one of the most complex and constitutionally significant roles in the entire New Zealand public service. Its…

As a political scientist and policy consultant observing Aotearoa New Zealand’s evolving landscape, I want to expand on this crucial concept of the interregnum we are in. Gramsci’s observation about the space between what’s dying and what’s struggling to be born perfectly captures our current national moment. This isn’t just about political transition but fundamentally…

I chaired a webinar for members of Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi: Public Service Association so they could hear directly from politicians about their policies for the public service. We covered back office cuts, importance of ministers working positively with the service and the role of government. Check it out.

The Ombudsmen asked us to assist him with his systemic investigation into Ara Poutama Aotearoa | Department of Corrections. He found four key issues affecting Ara Poutama’s ability to make the changes that oversight agencies have been calling for: the way the institution managed reports and recommendations from oversight agencies; insufficient attention to obligations under…

When we talk about merit principle in the public service, it is usually treated as if it were a universal standard: a fixed measure of who is the best candidate. It often doubles as code for unelected officials get to make merit-based appointments because ministers are unable to. But merit has never worked like that….

I love this whakataukī. It reminds me that understanding comes from knowing and welcoming the difference between similar things and people. I have heard a lot of korero this week about our golden age of public management. Many commentators assumed the 1980s public management reforms are our high point. Sadly, those people are wrong. Let…

Two years on from the Public Service Act 2020, I’m still asking: where is the change? We were told the Act would modernise the public service. It would be more connected, more accountable, and more aligned with the public good. It promised a shift away from the old siloed, transactional state of the 1980s, toward…

Every few years, someone revisits the public sector reforms in Aotearoa and declares them a success story. They point to contractualism, outputs, ministerial purchasing power, purchaser-provider splits and accrual accounting. Maybe they even quote Allen Schick’s 1998 piece, “Why Most Developing Countries Should Not Try New Zealand’s Reforms,” waving it around like an endorsement. It’s…