‘Where’s the strategy’ for super-ministry merger?

THE Government is putting the cart before the horse with its decision to create a super-ministry before it knows the potential costs and savings, Labour economic development spokesman David Cunliffe says.

Prime Minister John Key announced last week that the economic development and science and innovation ministries, along with the departments of labour, and building and housing, would be folded into a new Business, Innovation and Employment Ministry overseen by Steven Joyce. Mr Key could give no figures on potential savings or job losses, saying Cabinet had approved the merger in principle but there would now be a period of ‘‘due diligence’’, due to be completed next month, to decide whether to go ahead.

However, Government sources did not deny hundreds of jobs could be under threat from the expected ‘‘efficiency dividend’’, with the merged ministry initialling having 3200 staff. The most vulnerable appear to be those employed in legal, finance and human relations roles.

Mr Cunliffe said there could be value in the new ‘‘joined-up’’ entity and he did not want to take an ideological stand against it but previous mergers had proved expensive, and the order of decisionmaking seemed wrong.

‘‘In the commercial world people don’t do due diligence on their own existing assets,’’ he said.

‘‘I do think there is a real cart before the horse. Form follows function, organisation is a part of form, function follows strategy – where’s the strategy?’’ It was unlikely the merger would be a cheap exercise, Mr Cunliffe said.