Wasted energy
OPINION: Finance Minister Nicola Willis could have saved her staff and MBIE time and effort over ‘buttergate’ recently by not playing politics with butter prices in the first place.
The Hound notes Willis set the public service a target of eliminating $400 million in operating expenditure on contractors and consultants by 2024/25.
In 2023/24, savings of $274 million were achieved.
Last year the public service was on track, after the first quarter, to achieve savings of about $500 million - savings forecast to continue over the next three quarters, which means savings over the two-year period could total more than $800 million.
It shows operational expenditure by departments on contractors and consultants fell a further 46% in the September quarter on an annualised basis.
Great news, unless you're an overpaid consultant!
