Public service is broken, Premier says

Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley has expressed strong concerns about the inefficiency in the public sector, describing the public service as “broken” and needing urgent reform.

Speaking in the House of Assembly, Premier Wheatley emphasised that the bureaucracy plaguing the system has made the public service far less efficient than it needs to be, causing widespread public dissatisfaction.

“The public service is broken, and it needs to be fixed,” Premier Wheatley stated. He explained that the inefficiencies in the public sector are well-known to the public and recognised by the government. “We see the problems very clearly,” he said. “And we, as a government, are in the process of fixing those things.”

The Premier highlighted that the responsibility to address the issues within the public sector falls on the current administration. However, he stressed that they are not to blame for causing these problems. Dr Wheatley also noted that the inefficiency within the public sector manifests in various ways, impacting areas such as tourism, procurement, and infrastructure development.

He mentioned that several significant reforms, including the Public Service Management Bill, are expected to help improve the system. However, he stressed that more action is needed beyond legislation, calling for a concerted effort from all parties involved, including the Governor, Deputy Governor, Ministry of Finance, and other government departments.

“We all have to get together and have a real heart-to-heart about how we improve the efficiency of government because we’re not delivering public services with the efficiency that we need to,” he urged. One area where inefficiency has been particularly problematic is procurement.

The Premier explained that reforms to procurement threshold values would be made to improve the process. “We are going to bring the Procurement Act here, and one of the things we’re going to change are the threshold values. Threshold values for requiring a contract, threshold values for major contracts,” he said while noting that this will positively impact the procurement process and help address some of the public service’s inefficiencies.

Premier Wheatley’s comments echo growing concerns in the territory about the state of the public service and its ability to meet the community’s needs. Many residents have voiced frustrations about delays and red tape when interacting with government departments.