New Zealand ministers and top civil servants take pay cut amid corona crisis
New Zealand’s PM, ministers and public service chief executives – the most senior officials in each government department – will take a 20% pay cut for six months, in solidarity with those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
The news was announced by the country’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, on Wednesday and welcomed by state services commissioner Peter Hughes, who will also take a 20% pay cut along with deputy commissioner Helene Quilter.
Hughes said it was appropriate that the public service tightened its belt at a time when many New Zealanders and their families are facing unemployment and tough economic times. “Public servants have a critical role in the government’s response to COVID-19,” he said. “Our mission is to implement the government’s response and recovery effort, and keep the public service running for New Zealanders. This is a big job and no one else can do this.”
He added: “I am proud of the way the public service workforce has mobilised to respond to one of the biggest challenges New Zealand has ever faced. Many are volunteering to do more than their normal duties and coming up with innovative ideas and solutions to get the job done.”
Closing the gap in time of need
The pay cut will reduce Ardern’s salary by around NZ$47,000 (US$28,000). “If there was ever a time to close the gap between groups of people across New Zealand in different positions, it is now,” she said, as reported by The Guardian. “I am responsible for the executive branch and this is where we can take action… it is about showing solidarity in New Zealand’s time of need.”
Modelling from the Treasury has suggested that a prolonged and strict lockdown could see one in four New Zealanders out of work in the worst-case scenario, while the International Monetary Fund is forecasting that the New Zealand economy will shrink by 7.2% this year. In its World Economic Outlook, it says New Zealand will see the biggest economic contraction outside Europe, except for Venezuela.
A total of 1.5 million people have so far claimed the government’s wage subsidy.
About Mia Hunt
Mia has been editor of globalgovernmentforum.com since 2019. She has 15 years’ experience as a journalist and editor and specialises in writing for civil and public servants worldwide, including covering sustainability policy and related issues. She has led the Global Government Women’s Network since it launched in 2023. Previously, she covered commercial property having been market reports and supplements editor at Property Week and deputy editor at Retail Destination. She graduated from Kingston University London with a first-class honours degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
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I think 20% of her salary is around 90,000. I think she is on over 450,000 nzd.
Hi there,
Thank you for your comment. NZ$47,000 is the portion of her salary Ardern will forgo over the six months the pay cut is in place.
Mia