Last week Don Brash detailed the massive rise in bureaucrats since 2017. Today Andrea Vance has broken that down further with data about just how many spin doctors the Ardern govt employes:
From the moment she took office in 2017, Jacinda Ardern promised her government would be the most open and transparent New Zealand has seen.
In her first formal speech to Parliament she pledged: “This government will foster a more open and democratic society. It will strengthen transparency around official information.”
Since then the numbers of faceless communications specialists have skyrocketed. The Government’s iron grip on the control of information has tightened.
This year, I have made more complaints to the Ombudsman than in any previous year. So far, every one has been upheld.
In my 20-year plus time as a journalist, this Government is one of the most thin-skinned and secretive I have experienced. Many of my colleagues say the same.