The New Zealand Senior Official
This paper was developed by a group of Public Service chief executives chaired by Dr Mark Prebble, Chief Executive of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. While the paper was not presented at the PSSM conference, we wished to make it available because of its inclusion in the Commissioner's speech.
For New Zealanders to enjoy full lives, it is vital that they have the benefits of good government. The maintenance of good government requires world-class officials, working in all the institutions of government. Because the NZ official must be the best, it is important to be clear on the principles such people should maintain. The particular emphasis in these principles will vary across particular roles, but as we look at senior roles, at the interface between the neutral public service and the elected leaders, there are some clear principles. The attached list outlines the principles for senior officials in New Zealand, as identified by chief executives of the New Zealand public service. These principles include:
- Obey the Law
Public servants must obey the law, and ensure that their minister remains within the law. This does not mean that we all need to be lawyers, but good officials have a basic understanding of legal principle, and of legal processes (including concepts of judicial review etc). As international agreements become more pervasive, a basic understanding of international law is also needed. The official is well versed in specific laws appropriate to their job (such as the RMA for environment officials or the Defence Act for defence officials). There are also some core public service pieces of legislation that officials should have a familiarity with including the Public Finance Act, the State Sector Act and the Official Information Act. (For local government officials read the Local Government Act and the Funding Powers Act.) In addition, a public official should have a reasonable understanding of generally applicable law, especially in our role as employers, such as the Employment Relations Act, the Health and Safety in Employment Act and the Building Act.
- Behave with Integrity
In addition to the bare bones of obeying the law, all actions of public servants should reflect the highest levels of integrity and fairness and should be seen to do so. The obvious expression of this is that no public servant should take bribes, but there is much more involved in maintaining integrity. None of the actions of a public servant should be intended to further the interests of that person, nor of any special vested interest group. Public servants should be scrupulously honest in all use of public assets and services to ensure that there is no suggestion of underhand or irregular payment or profit for the public servant. Integrity also involves a dedication to the truth, and a tireless endeavour to improve policies and practices to the benefit of all New Zealanders. In addition, public servants should behave with integrity in their personal interactions in the workplace; all people are entitled to be treated fairly and with respect, and public service chief executives should be good employers.
- Understand your Minister
The public servant should always have a clear understanding of what the minister is trying to achieve in office and the pressures that the minister faces. This does not mean that the NZ official is politically aligned, but the official is politically aware. The official should have an understanding of parliamentary processes (council processes for local government officials). The official should understand the institutions of Cabinet, caucus, and party structures. The official should also be able to see these political processes within their economic, environmental and social contexts. The officials should have a basic understanding of economics and economic pressures facing New Zealand, and a similar level of understanding of social dynamics, including history and culture. In particular, New Zealand officials need a strong understanding of the Treaty of Waitangi, and its implications for the relationship between the Crown and Maori. Within that context the NZ official should have a reasonable understanding of the aspirations and programmes of different New Zealand political parties. As relations with Australia become more complex a knowledge of trans-Tasman dynamics is also valuable.
- Do the Job Well
The NZ official should maintain a very well run operation in which results are achieved and messes are avoided. Making progress may require the deliberate decision to take a risk, but carelessness or inattention to detail is not appropriate. This principle requires the NZ official to be a first class manager, and to benchmark performance with the best in the world. Public Servants should maintain a strategic focus on achieving outcomes and should ensure that their efforts contribute to the collective whole-of-government effort. Agencies in central and local government are not in competition with each other, nor with private or voluntary organisations. The aim of the NZ official must be to do the job well, in the best and widest interests of all New Zealanders.
- Private Advice not Political Debate
The NZ official should never be afraid to offer advice in private, but should avoid entering into political debate. This means that a senior official needs to be well versed in presentation, advocacy and negotiation. They need the emotional intelligence and strength to cope with a frustrated or angry minister while maintaining the performance of their staff. On the other hand it is frequently necessary for an official to explain policy or decisions in public and occasionally to lead public discussion of issues, but the official should avoid public political exchanges. The official's role is to advise on, implement and explain policy: not undermine it, nor justify it.
- Serve the Public
Public servants, at all levels, should always aim to provide the best practical service to their users. In addition to the service that senior officials provide for ministers, most public servants provide day to day services for their fellow New Zealanders. People deal with the government because they need to, or because the law requires them to. In both cases this implies a compelling obligation on public servants to provide an accessible and high quality service. The daily face of the public service is the thousands of staff around the country who provide services or enforce obligations. As these public servants go about their work, they should be positive, caring, thorough and continually aim to provide the best possible service.
- Take Pride in the Job
New Zealand officials should provide a role model admired and respected by staff in the agency. They need to have an enthusiasm for the job, be willing to provide a wide range of approaches and support innovation. They need to be excellent communicators and relationship managers to be able to lead their teams and manage a wide range of relationships. They must also be collaborators and be willing to work across boundaries.
Above all, as well as these principles, the New Zealand official should be imbued with a commitment to democracy. Our moral authority derives from our loyalty to elected ministers. The temptation to place a technocratic judgement above a democratic process is always present and should always be avoided. This requires an understanding of the liberal underpinnings of western democracy.
