Scrapping targets ‘a step backwards to dumb government’

National leader Bill English says the decision to scrap a set of public service targets will lead to ‘‘lazy, dumb government’’.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday that her government would not pick up the Better Public Service targets brought in by the National government, but would instead set new targets around child poverty and other issues.

The first round of the targets was set in 2012, then revised in 2017.

The targets included cutting down long-term beneficiaries by 25 per cent, cutting the youth crime rate by 25 per cent, and reducing the rate of rheumatic fever in children. About two thirds of the 2012 targets were met.

‘‘[The targets] meant that when New Zealand’s public servants turned up to work they knew exactly what it was they should be doing to improve lives and to do their jobs better – and they, along with the government, were held to account because their results were measured,’’ English said.

‘‘It’s a step backwards to lazy, dumb government.

‘‘The public service was starting to get good at digging into our hardest long-term social problems: child abuse, family violence, serious criminal offending, and long-term welfare dependency.

‘‘Instead, we are likely to see a shift to higher-level, longer-term targets that apply to no-one in particular and for which no-one in particular can be held accountable and that’s not good enough.’’

Ardern made the announcement after a Labour caucus retreat. She is moving to set her child poverty targets in legislation, and said this approach would likely apply to other milestones her Government hoped to reach.

Public Service Association national secretary Glenn Barclay said his organisation understood the need for targets but had serious reservations about the Better Public Service goals.

‘‘We recognised that they were a genuine attempt to look at some of the complicated issues that government confront, and an attempt to overcome the silos within government,’’ Barclay said.

‘‘They suffered from the problem of all targets - that they could lead to unintended consequences and there was no extra resourcing put in. Members had to meet the targets and keep business-as-usual going as well.

‘‘What Jacinda seems to be saying is there is going to be a more systematic approach, and we welcome that.’’