Do you really want public servants to work harder? In my experience the harder they work the more they produce. Now this is not actually a good thing as mostly what they produce is new rules and regulations that stop the rest of us getting on with our businesses and our lives. If we fire them we have still have to pay them the dole, so best solution may be to keep them on the payroll but take away their travel budgets and their cell phones and cars and computers and absolutely forbid them to do anything!

I've worked in the Public sector for 4 years, but was always aware I could earn over 50% more in the Private Sector. With the recession, I chose to stay with what I thought was job security and pride in being part of delivering top services. I've now decided to take my skills to the highest bidder in the private sector. I have a work ethic, skills and experience that are of value so job security is not even a bogey to me The Public Service will return to it's position of total lack of delivery owing to under-staffing of state sector cuts the National Government is renowned for. Talk about throwing the baby out with the bath water.

A private Work and Income? Watch the fraud increase. Well done you pencil pushing fatso's, well done!

Rach @ #71 Good point. Did ANYONE read it ? Oops, that would be that WORK thing again, I heard it gives you swine flu, better let a journalist tell me what they thought they heard or read, as journos never lie and are unbiased, I'll believe everything they say, then I'll put my highly researched comment online for all the world to see, Geez I'm clever

OK, Comrades. Communist Party of NZ unite !! 9 years of Comrade Helen has made the public service the way it is. Quick way to save money ? Cut all funding to Maori,if they want services dedicated to them, they pay !!Healthcare, Police, compulsory Military Service only Govt funded, privatise the rest, cut the Welfare handout, flatten taxes. But whats that, the NZ cry, "we'll have to work ? Say its not so, who'll pay for my KFC ?"

This report you've referenced is interestingly, a media report. I can understand why you'd like to quote it like it's gospel, but you can't beleive everything you read in the papers. The paper that your article refers to takes into account a number of intrinsic factors, and cites a 17% difference. This difference is not between people in similar roles, but between people with similar attributes. Read the article, its very interesting, and slightly more accurate than the news report that covers it.

Thanks Rachel for the link. Would I be correct in assumng you are employed by the communications unit of Treasury? I ask this question because having read John Whitehead's speech it would appear that the media quoted the most intelligent part of it.

Take the growth of the public spending.

The major driver are politians and not public servants. For example it was a political decision not a public servant decision to increase the length of sentences. Keeping people in prision is extraordinarily expensive. All I can say to Sian Elias the Chief Judge -'You go Girl!'

When you look at how much you can interact with the public sector through the internet and call centres the evidence is pretty clear that a lot of effort is being put into delivering services efficiently.

Again, I reiterate, John Whitehead show us the evidence that services are being inefficiently delivered and then do something about it. Because if the current administration privatises the provision of public services and there is no gain, then it will suffer the same fate at the hands of electors as the 1984-1990 Labour administration and the 1990-1999 National administration.

Em, the title of that report rings alarm bells in my head (doesn't seem terribly objective). However I don't have reports to back up my claims, only empirical evidence based on a quick scan of a few of my friends, all of whom graduated from university at the same time. I am aware my sample is small, but it seems to me the ones that found themselves in the public sector are not remunerated any higher than those in private. Whats worse is they are stigmatised and less respected than their private sector peers.

Em # you are a complete fool. The public serice pays crap. Private is where the money is.

Lets look at it like this. lets outsource government depts to the private sector. Dumb idea. Private contractors charge ridiculous amounts, especially for anythin in IT. They dont have the pasion to care about the department becasue they arent really a part of it.

We have contractors who earn mega bucks at our dept and they do less than the normal worker but for 4 times the salary.

Em u are stupid

Have worked in both the public and private sector for more than 30 years.Prior to deregulation there was certainly a lot of slack in both sectors but I haven't seen much of it since. What I have seen is a lot of stressed-out,harrassed workers working ridiculous hours (60- 70 a week) for low pay and no recognition. Yet the gliding on image still endures because it takes a generation or more for public perceptions to catch up with social realities.