Submission: Public Service Legislation Bill

The Council makes 13 recommendations in our submission on the Public Service Legislation Bill. Our recommendations include

  • Expanding the open government provisions, including adding a functional definition of the words “Open Government”.
  • Affirming that contractors working for government have rights.
  • Ensuring public oversight over government standards, rather than entrusting them to un-elected officials.
  • Requiring agencies demonstrate concrete achievements in strengthening the Crown’s relationship with Māori, rather than merely being encouraged to have discussions.
  • Requiring that progress on diversity and inclusiveness is measured and publicly reported, rather than having a vague and unmeasured objective.
  • Overhauling the proposal for astoundingly unregulated powers of chief executives to request that employees and job applicants undergo medical examinations.

Read our full submission (PDF).