Customs and DIA to cut 100 roles
Union says damage will be apparent ‘for years to come’
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More than 100 roles are set to be cut from the New Zealand Customs Service and Department of Internal Affairs in the latest public sector cutback announcements.
The Public Service Association (PSA), the union representing public servants, states 79 roles are proposed to go from Customs, with 41 on the chopping block at the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA); a number of the roles are called “critical” and “frontline” by the PSA.
According to the union, which gets consulted on the proposals, 11 staff at the DIA’S Digital Safety Group will go, including investigation and advisory roles in child exploitation and countering violent extremism.
The DIA’S proposal would also see the anti-money laundering group slashed from 51 people to 30. The union describes the roles set to be chopped as being under a team supervising more than 500 financial institutions, including casinos, law firms, accountants and real estate agents.
The DIA’S strategy and capability group is proposed to be disestablished entirely.
Job cuts at Customs include a plan to remove 22 roles from the trade, revenue and compliance service delivery team — the majority of whom are in Auckland and Christchurch. This proposal would see 11 out of 15 roles in the assurance team slashed, with the Christchurch assurance group disestablished in its entirety.
Twelve jobs in border operations at Customs are on the line, six in Auckland, five in Christchurch and one in Wellington.
The PSA states the plan includes disestablishing Christchurch’s supervising customs officer role, meaning staff based in Christchurch would be required to report to a specialist in Auckland, rather than someone locally.
Meanwhile, seven jobs under “operations, intelligence, investigations, and enforcement” are said to be on the line, including the chief customs officer and two out of three detector-dog training positions in Auckland.
Five roles dealing with maritime Customs operations would be cut, one each from Auckland, Whangā rei, Gisborne, Timaru and Invercargill.
The PSA said in a statement: “This will remove the daily Customs presence from Whangārei, Gisborne, Timaru and Invercargill ports and transfer the work to Ō pua, Napier, Lyttelton and Dunedin ports respectively.”
The announcements come on the back of 33 Customs staff accepting voluntary redundancy or early retirement in recent months.
The agency had previously confirmed it had been identifying and implementing ways to bring down costs, including travel, accommodation, contractor and consultant spends.
Customs confirmed staff are being consulted on “further proposed organisation changes” to meet the Government’s requirements on cost savings and future cost pressures “while ensuring Customs retains the ability to deliver frontline border services and critical supporting functions as well as delivering on Government priorities”.
“Final decisions will be made once the consultation process has been completed and feedback has been assessed,” the agency said in a statement, adding final decisions will be provided by the end of May.
PSA assistant secretary Fleur Fitzsimons called the plans “irresponsible and dangerous”, with online crime and scams getting more sophisticated and targeted.
“It has taken years for successive governments and our Customs officers to set up our internationally renowned border management. These cuts will harm New Zealand for years to come,” Fitzsimons said.
In an earlier statement, Customs confirmed further options were being considered, including reviewing existing vacancies.
Under the tab “what we do” on the New Zealand Customs website, the agency describes its main purpose as “to stop any dangers, hazards and threats entering New Zealand”.
“This includes everything from illegal weapons, objectionable material and drugs, to dangerous people and hazardous substances — anything that might threaten New Zealanders and their livelihoods,” the agency says in its own description, adding it also helps “protect and nurture” our economy.
“We protect New Zealand businesses against illegal trade and copyright infringements, and we enforce import and export restrictions,” the Customs agency adds, describing itself as “New Zealand’s gatekeepers”.
— NZ Herald