Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has joined forces with New Zealand First and said he is open to adopting some of their “anti-woke” ideas.
This comes after New Zealand First proposed new legislation that would end “woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets” in the public sector.
Luxon said he had tasked minister Judith Collins with overhauling the Public Service Act to ensure it was a “meritocracy”.
He said he would look at New Zealand First’s bill to see whether any of the proposals could be incorporated into the refresh.
“I’d just say, when we took the keys to the place, it was pretty woke, and it’s entirely appropriate that we look at what else we can do to make sure the public service delivers.”
“We want to make sure it’s a meritocracy, meritocracy, meritocracy… we need to make sure it’s all about meritocracy,” he added.
Later on, in the day Minister Judith Collins spoke to the media saying it was essential people were chosen for public sector roles based on merit and that they were informed that was the case.
“People work really hard, in my experience, and they do need to be looked at as humans, not just putting labels on people,” she said.
Labour Leader Chris Hipkins responded saying it was vital that the public service fairly represented the New Zealand population.
“That’s not saying that people aren’t appointed based on merit, they are… but it means we’re being more proactive in developing talent and making sure our public sector workforce actually reflects who we are as a country.”
New Zealand First proposed Public Service (Repeal of Diversity and Inclusiveness Requirements) Amendment Bill would remove requirements for public service employers to ensure their workforces reflected societal diversity.
Photo Credit: RNZ
