Fiscal discipline missing at DOC.
On May 24th this year, the Deputy Director General of the Department of Conservation Mike Tully emailed other members of the senior leadership team and other line managers at the department.
This was soon after the Budget, where DOC did not get a significant increase in funding and is facing a multi-million dollar budget shortfall.
Mr Tully is pretty frank. He wrote: “To be transparent, the initial view shows that we do not have sufficient funding to cover our basic running costs.”
So essentially DOC can’t get enough money to operate. They also have $300 million worth of deferred maintenance that needs doing.
But despite this dire financial situation, the department is now prepared to pay staff a bonus of up to $3500 a person if they become proficient in Māori language skills. Yet the skills that DOC staff might pick up through becoming proficient in te reo are completely unrelated to their job.
In other words, they can do their job just fine without learning Maori language. Their HR boss – these days called the Chief People Officer – says that “DOC have no positions that require te reo Maori for the practical purpose of communicating in the course of work.”
So why, when you are in deep financial schtuck, do you go and spend money like this?
Even worse there is no budget for it and requests for information about how much it might cost will only be considered under the Official Information Act.
It is, to say the kindest thing, absolutely irresponsible spending on the part of DOC.
They have around 2500 staff. If everybody reached the top achievement level in te reo proficiency, it would cost DOC about 8 and half million.
Which is a drop in the bucket of DOC’s 600 million annual budget. But that’s not the point. That eight and a half million could go some way towards all that maintenance and repairs at DOC facilities that are needed all over the country.
This is unnecessary, wasteful spending being pushed by the idealogues who just don’t care about spending other people’s money.
Writer and broadcaster for half a century. Now watching from the sidelines. Subscribe to Peter William's Substack here
Waste, once, when applied to staff, was fatal. Doc has little purpose except as a Grrreen's tool. It grew out out Lands & Survey who had control of title over Crown Lands. With the mumbo jumbo climate change issues its waste may be also be to encourage the juvenile Grrreen voters. Spending Public Monies at this time for illicit purposes is common.
Tax Payers Union calling for NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2023 JONESIE WASTE AWARDS.
Should we nominate for the largest sum or the most overtly ridiculous example?
https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/jonesie_awards_2023?utm_campaign=230724_jonesies_nomination&utm_medium=email&utm_source=taxpayers
Since all native species carry a Maori name, many of which also describe their characteristics and habitat and given DoC's protection mission, competence in te reo Maori would be a useful attribute. While the acceptance level for this job training opportunity is difficult to predict, let's suppose the diversity within DoC's personnel is a microcosm of that present in wider society? If this is the case and the contempt of things Maori as expressed by Mr. Williams and others on this site is indicative, then the schemes uptake will be considerably fewer that the 2500 staff members cited in his article?
"Fiscal discipline missing at DOC."
Of course it is not just DOC ; it is the government .
The profligate spending of money that the government does not have , the debt that future generations will find it impossible to repay, are signs of the total lack of fiscal discipline of this government that can only be intentional.
The inflationary consequences of this borrowing for no gain , and inevitable robbing of the taxpaying public's' wealth, are not unknown , even to incompetent fools like Grant Robertson.
The Reserve Bank has no choice but to act as it has done , given the fiscal incontinence of the government.
And guess who is paying , in more ways than one.
This is not news. This cancer has been with us since soup bowls became the domain of governments.
The malignant growth that now exists within the guts of Wellington will continue to grow in direct proportion to those that not only feed it.... but also live off it.
Its going to take a skilled surgeon to remove the cancer as well as a dedicated team of theater staff to assist in the removal. After care will be the nations responsibility to make sure the patient remains cancer free and vigorously attend immediately to any early symptoms of abnormality or regrowth.
Those that were living off the cancer prior to its removal can be equally gainfully employed ensuring any future growths…