Upheaval for public service

Sweeping public service changes have seen some of the country’s top civil servants shuffled between agencies, including the hugely powerful Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC), as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT).

State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes made the surprise announcement yesterday, saying he had decided to deal with the vacancies as a package to ‘‘remove uncertainty and maintain momentum in key roles and portfolios’’.

The biggest movers were DPMC boss Andrew Kibblewhite and MFAT boss Brook Barrington. Department of Corrections boss Ray Smith is also moving on, taking up a new role as the director general of Primary Industries.

Barrington will move across to DPMC, while Kibblewhite becomes the new secretary and chief executive of Justice.

Kibblewhite was the head of DPMC under National. There is not usually an expectation that they move on after a change of Government, even though they are expected to help implement the policies of the government of the day. His predecessor, Maarten Wevers, was appointed by Helen Clark and stayed on under National.

Barrington was a MFAT star and is credited with restoring order to a department that was in turmoil.

Justice secretary Andrew Bridgman will head the Ministry of Defence, replacing Helen Quilter, whose role expires in 12 months. His term does not start till June 2019, while Kibblewhite takes over at Justice in February.

There will also be change at the Department of Internal Affairs, where chief executive Colin Macdonald is stepping down. Culture and Heritage chief executive Paul James will take up that role in October.

Hughes said under the State Sector Act 1988, a vacancy or impending vacancy for a chief executive role could be filled in one of three ways: reappointment of an incumbent, transfer from one department to another or by advertising the role to find suitable applicants.

‘‘These appointments will be made by transfer.’’

The shake-up includes some of the highest paid jobs in the public sector: Kibblewhite’s total remuneration was between $610,000 to $619,000 in the 2017-17 financial year, while Barrington received $550,000 to $559,000 at MFAT.

The Corrections chief executive earned $520,000 to $529,000. Running the Department of Internal Affairs carried an even bigger pay packet, at $630,000 to $639,000.

Hughes confirmed the hunt was now on to fill vacancies created by the shake-up at MFAT, Corrections and the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.