Steven Joyce's rise within Government ranks continued yesterday, when Prime Minister John Key announced a new super ministry incorporating four departments.
The new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is set to be led by Mr Joyce, now the Minister of Economic Development, Mr Key placing much faith and trust in the man who has led National's past two election campaigns successfully.
Mr Joyce arguably becomes the second-most powerful cabinet minister with his new duties, bypassing Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bill English, with whom he already works closely.
While Mr English will continue to hold the purse strings, the future of the Government at the next election will now be in the hands of Mr Joyce, as he drives Mr Key's agenda.
Mr Joyce said it was the intention to have the new ministry coming into effect on July 1. The existing departments - Economic Development, Labour, Science and Innovation, and Building and Housing - would form the initial functional units.
"If we want more and better jobs for New Zealanders, we need to encourage more businesses to be based here. That means making it easier for businesses and companies to access innovative ideas, markets, capital, skilled workers, resources and the supporting public infrastructure."
The Government had a comprehensive business-growth agenda to assist business, and a single-focused business-facing government ministry would further boost momentum, he said.
The intention was for employees of the four departments to move across to the new ministry. It was not possible to identify how many jobs would be lost in the merger, Mr Joyce said.
In his speech, Mr Key made no mention of the ministers already holding the portfolios which will be subsumed by Mr Joyce. They are probably: Housing Minister Phil Heatley, also Energy and Resources; Labour Minister Kate Wilkinson, also Conservation; and Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson, also Customs and Land Information outside cabinet.
The super ministry announcement was just one of a series of wide-ranging objectives announced by the Prime Minister.
Also, he set 10 "challenging and specific results" for the public sector to achieve in the next three to five years, and lowering the cap on full-time equivalent positions in core government administration.
"The public sector of the future will be organised around delivering results. That means getting traction on difficult issues like reducing crime, reducing long-term welfare dependence, and reducing educational underachievement. At the same time, it will have a sharp focus on costs."
The cap on core government administration would be reset at a lower level of no more than 36,475 full-time equivalent positions, Mr Key said.
The cap would count most people working in government departments and some Crown entities, but did not include frontline staff such as teachers, police officers, hospital staff or prison officers.
Having a cap worked well in the Government's first term, he said.
When National was elected in 2008, it imposed a cap of just under 39,000 full-time equivalent positions. The result was the number of positions in core government administration stopped growing, and then dropped by about 2400 in three years.
"That's not a radical decrease, by any means. It does, however, reflect the fact that the public service is subject to the same pressures that are on households and businesses right across New Zealand," Mr Key said.
Targets
• Reduce the number of people who have been on a working-age benefit for more than 12 months.
• Increase participation in early childhood education.
• Increase infant immunisation rates and reduce the incidence of rheumatic fever.
• Reduce the number of assaults on children.
• Increase the proportion of 18-year-olds with NCEA level 2 or equivalent.
• Increase the proportion of 25-34-year-olds with advanced trade qualifications, diplomas and degrees at level 4 or above.
• Reduce the rates of total crime, violent crime and youth crime.
• Reduce reoffending.
• Improve interaction with government.
• New Zealanders completing their transactions with government in a digital environment.
