Treasury decision sends ‘poor signal’ in public service shake-up

The appointment of a second non-New Zealander in succession to head the Treasury department reveals “deep problems” in the country’s public service, a leading academic has said.

Simon Chapple, director of the institute for governance and policy studies at Victoria University of Wellington, says the appointment of an Australian to head the Treasury “sends very poor signals to ambitious, well-qualified locals within the public service”.

“It tells these people there is no clear career path to the top based on competence, experience and performance, since deep local institutional knowledge holds no essential value to those making appointments,” he writes in an editorial published by independent NZ outlet Newsroom.