goal to reduce the public service headcount to 55,000 by June 2029<\/a>, a cut of about 9000 roles. <\/p>\nWhen the Government took office, its first Budget included a baseline exercise delivering about $1.5b in operating savings. <\/p>\n
Asked about what would be done to create \u201cefficiency\u201d, Wong said New Zealand currently had a \u201ctangled welfare system\u201d administered by public servants. <\/p>\n
If that was simplified, \u201cthat\u2019s a lot of jobs that no longer need to exist\u201d, Wong said, adding that some could be \u201crepurposed\u201d or phased out over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve proposed a 10-year transition plan, so this is not happening overnight. We believe that the public service can be more efficient, but we\u2019d have to do that in a careful and planned way, not just arbitrarily cutting thousands of jobs.\u201d <\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The Opportunity Party leader Qiulae Wong leading candidates into the room before announcing their party list. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n
The Herald sought to confirm there could be job losses under this plan. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere could be, yes, and we\u2019d want to do that in a way that is planned and gives people time, so that they know what\u2019s coming, not just pluck a number out of thin air,\u201d Wong said. <\/p>\n
The tax plan says it will \u201ccut services by removing the bureaucracy of the current benefit system\u201d, allowing 2000 MSD workers to be repurposed \u201cwhere they can have more impact\u201d. <\/p>\n
Asked where they would go, Wong said they could be moved to \u201csupporting people into job pathways\u201d, rather than \u201cspending time ticking boxes on whether [beneficiaries] deserve support\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cActually, what are the meaningful things we can do to help them live a more meaningful and contributing life for New Zealand? If we decide that the cost benefit of that is worth it, then that\u2019s where we would put the money. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s better off, simply making savings in the public service, then that\u2019s an option too.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The]()
The Opportunity Party Wellington North candidate Jessica Hammond during their press conference. Photo \/ Mark Mitchell<\/p>\n
Jessica Hammond is ranked third on Opportunity\u2019s list. She\u2019s currently working in the public service, so the Herald asked if she thought her party\u2019s public service plans were realistic. <\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely, I think public servants like efficiency. We want to do well by the public of New Zealand … We don\u2019t want to do that with arbitrary cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the public service needed a \u201cpipeline of talent coming into the public service\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that this culture of being afraid of being cut all the time does not bring out the kind of behaviours that we need to face our new challenges.\u201d <\/p>\n
Hammond said that didn\u2019t make people \u201cinnovative\u201d, but instead \u201ccautious and defensive\u201d. <\/p>\n
Asked if there may be some in the public service who may worry they will lose their jobs under Opportunity\u2019s plan, Hammond said: \u201cPeople may feel that way\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, like I say, public servants are not against efficiency when it makes sense in the interests of New Zealanders,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not a foregone conclusion there\u2019ll be cuts. There\u2019ll be possibly redeployments. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think people working in MSD, for instance, like policing people\u2019s relationships. They want to do good by the people of New Zealand and we can help them do that.\u201d <\/p>\n
Savings from Oranga Tamariki <\/p>\n
One of the areas of savings in Opportunity\u2019s table is from Oranga Tamariki where they are expecting $152m of operating savings. <\/p>\n
Wong said Opportunity\u2019s tax plan is expected to produce tax cuts for 70% of New Zealanders. That comes from the Citizen\u2019s Income as well as changes to income tax brackets. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt will lift tens of thousands of families out of poverty,\u201d Wong said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat then has flow-on effects on how much we are having to look after those young people in our justice statistics, for example. That creates savings in those other agencies.\u201d <\/p>\n
Asked if she was saying that she expects the Citizen\u2019s Income to lead to less violence against children, Wong responded: \u201cYeah, I mean there\u2019s clear evidence that if people are better off, they are less likely to commit crime\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are more likely to be contributing taxes to society. That is why we have proposed this tax policy because it delivers a more robust, economic base for our country.\u201d <\/p>\n
The changes could involve staffing impacts at Oranga Tamariki.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of it might be roles, and I think if we have fewer people needing to work one on one with children in poverty, then that is a good thing for New Zealand. <\/p>\n
\u201cPart of it is also the systems and processes that go along with administering those programmes.\u201d <\/p>\n
Opportunity list<\/p>\n
1. Qiulae Wong | Mt Albert<\/p>\n
2. Daniel Eb | Kaipara ki Mahurangi<\/p>\n
3. Jessica Hammond | Wellington North<\/p>\n
4. Kayla Kingdon-Bebb | Wellington Bays<\/p>\n
5. Eden Skipper | Christchurch Central<\/p>\n
6. Jodie Kuntzsch | Nelson<\/p>\n
7. Sarah Lucas | New Plymouth<\/p>\n
8. David Bainbridge-Zafar | Dunedin<\/p>\n
9. Holly Knill | North Shore<\/p>\n
10. P\u0101p\u0101 Wharewera | Waiariki<\/p>\n
11. Bianca Beebe | Southland<\/p>\n
12. Romeo Tevaga | Upper Harbour<\/p>\n
13. Ben Wylie-van Eerd | Hutt South<\/p>\n
14. Rachel Ward | Tukituki<\/p>\n
15. Naomi Pocock | Hamilton East<\/p>\n
16. Helen Tait | Waitaki<\/p>\n
17. Cody Marsh | Northcote<\/p>\n
18. Adam Macrae-Martin | Ot\u0101huhu<\/p>\n
19. Mark Roach | Wait\u0101kere<\/p>\n
20. Robert Mason | Kenepuru<\/p>\n
21. Luke Ross | Remutaka<\/p>\n
22. Michael Carter | Tauranga<\/p>\n
23. Derrick Paul | Maungakiekie<\/p>\n
24. Matt Shepherd | Wairarapa<\/p>\n
25. Ben Lane | M\u0101ngere<\/p>\n
26. Chee Khiang (CK) Sng | K\u0101piti<\/p>\n
27. Finn Liley | Rotorua<\/p>\n
28. Evan French | Glendene<\/p>\n
29. Jamie Attenborough | Mt Roskill<\/p>\n
30. Matthew Harris | Rangitata<\/p>\n
31. Sacha Haskell | T\u0101maki<\/p>\n
32. Netra Ghimire | Palmerston North<\/p>\n
33. Cail Smith | East Cape<\/p>\n
34. Sam Plummer | Taup\u014d<\/p>\n
35. Blair Smith | Hamilton West<\/p>\n
36. Johan Chang | Auckland Central<\/p>\n
37. Almo Wong | Henderson<\/p>\n
38. Adrian Mee | Selwyn<\/p>\n
39. Paul Jackson | Epsom<\/p>\n
40. Kevin Huang | Pakuranga<\/p>\n
Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald\u2019s chief political reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some of the savings will come from Oranga Tamariki, the Government department that protects vulnerable young children. Opportunity\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552404,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[2246,8613,124,4480,5903,2082,42,3112,7240,13489,7494,5342,300,43,6452,25816,7234,2170,3109,93584,33966,12229,3599,4578,312,2552,25817,7496,223,2742,61,40,38,41,39,102,93585,4478],"class_list":["post-552403","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-2246","tag-billion","tag-could","tag-drive","tag-election","tag-for","tag-headlines","tag-job","tag-lead","tag-leader","tag-less","tag-losses","tag-money","tag-news","tag-opportunity","tag-oranga","tag-partys","tag-plan","tag-public","tag-qiulae","tag-repurposed","tag-result","tag-roles","tag-savings","tag-says","tag-service","tag-tamariki","tag-tax","tag-the","tag-thousands","tag-to","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-with","tag-wong","tag-workers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}