Government agencies are struggling to have “frank and honest conversations” with New Zealanders about their performance, says the outgoing Auditor-General.
John Ryan, who is about to finish up as Auditor General after seven years in the role, told Q+A that while New Zealand’s public sector does “a pretty good job” overall, it falls short in explaining its successes and failures to the public.
“One area that I would say the public service could really step up on is the way it relates to New Zealand about its performance, having really frank and honest conversations about that,” he said.
Ryan added: “Some of the things I really focused in on is letting the public know how well you’re going, having an honest conversation with the public about your performance – what went well, what didn’t go well – and taking the time to explain to the public the complexities and the challenges that you are addressing as a public agency.
“At the moment, that just doesn’t happen very well. It doesn’t happen very well, really, across most agencies.”
Ryan identified three key areas where the public sector underperforms: performance reporting, balancing short-term delivery with long-term planning, and inter-agency cooperation on complex issues.
“The public service is really focused on delivery, but they also need to be focused on that long-term situation as well,” he said.
“We know we’ve got another pandemic will arrive at some point. Are we ready for that?”
The Auditor-General also raised concerns about New Zealand slipping to fourth place in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, highlighting procurement processes as a particular area of concern.
“The public sector spends, I think it’s $40 billion or $50 billion a year on procurement,” Ryan said, noting that this area frequently experiences issues with conflict management.
Ryan warned that the greatest risk to public trust is “not connecting the public service to the public it serves,” and urged better communication about the sector’s successes.
“The public sector does wonderful work in many ways for New Zealand, and I don’t see that as amplified as some of the mistakes that happen in the public sector,” he said.
“It’s one-third of the economy. There’s 400,000 people in it or more. Things are going to happen that people don’t like. Things are going to go wrong. We always see those. We don’t see the fact that 99% of the time things actually go well and go right.
“And I think it’s the balance of the narrative. We still need to hold the public sector to account. Of course we do.
“They’re such an important part of our economy, of our country and our lifestyles. On the other hand, that’s not the whole story, and that’s what I think the public sector needs to tell better.”
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
