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State Services Minister Tony Ryall says New Zealanders will be proud their public sector continues to lead the world in integrity.

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2011 was released today and New Zealand is again ranked in first place.

“New Zealand’s consistent reputation for integrity in the public sector has been reinforced by this ranking. The lack of corruption makes us a desirable place to do business internationally and meets New Zealander’s expectations of fairness.

The Crown Entities Reform Bill has been introduced to the House.

This omnibus Bill provides for structural changes to the way the government is organised across the health and charitable sectors, including:

State Services Minister Tony Ryall has today released the fifth six-monthly update on the government's cap on core government administration.

Latest figures from the State Services Commission show the number of full-time equivalent staff positions in the core government administration, as at 30 June 2011, was 36,475 which is 2,384 fewer than when the cap was set as at 31 December 2008.

The Government today issued more information about its Better Public Services programme, which is focused on delivering better frontline services in areas that matter most to New Zealanders.

The information includes officials’ papers canvassing the need to reduce decision points and clutter in the public service; better sourcing of goods and services; and opportunities to rationalise Crown entities, Finance Minister Bill English and State Services Minister Tony Ryall say.

The Government has announced final decisions on changes that will further reduce the number of government agencies, State Services Minister Tony Ryall announced today.

“These changes will provide greater value for money, reduce duplication and improve coordination across the state sector,” Mr Ryall said.

“In May the Government signalled our intention to review a number of Crown entities as part of our overall programme of state sector reform. We’ve decided to proceed with the changes that a process of due diligence confirmed had value.

The Government is proposing changes that will reduce the number of government agencies as it seeks better value for money, less duplication and improved co-ordination across the state sector, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and State Services Minister Tony Ryall announced today.

The proposals include disestablishing five crown entities and three tribunals, merging two government agencies, establishing shared corporate services across the government's three central agencies and consolidating the services of a number of others.

The Government has established a new group to advise on state sector reform, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English and State Services Minister Tony Ryall announced today.

"As the Prime Minister said in his Statement to Parliament, the Government is committed to getting better value for money from public spending so we can deliver better public services to taxpayers with little or no new money over the next few years," Mr English says.

State Services Minister Tony Ryall has today announced that Learning State will be the new industry training organisation for local government.

From 1 April 2011, the Local Government Industry Training Organisation (LGITO) ceased operating and Learning State, the industry training organisation for the public sector, began providing industry training services to local government.

The Government’s Review of Expenditure on Policy Advice identifies several significant issues with the cost, quality and management of policy advice and makes 36 recommendations to address them.

The review, announced last year, will help the Government’s wider programme to control growth in the costs of public sector back office functions and deliver better frontline public services, Finance Minister Bill English says.

However, it does not recommend specific cuts to policy advice spending.

State Services Minister Tony Ryall has today announced the legal merger date for the Ministry of Fisheries (Fisheries) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) will be brought forward to 1 July 2011.

“Creating a single legal entity at the start of the government financial year reduces administrative duplication and cost, and enables the two Ministries to work as one as they go through the merger process," says Mr Ryall.

State Services Minister Tony Ryall has announced the appointment of Helene Quilter as the Acting Deputy State Services Commissioner.

The Deputy State Services Commissioner, John Ombler, has been appointed as the Acting Chief Executive of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. This will be a full-time commitment until the Chief Executive is appointed and is able to take up the position. 

Minister of State Services Tony Ryall has today released the fourth six-monthly update on the government’s cap on core government administration numbers.

Latest figures from the State Services Commission show that as at 31 December 2010, the number of full-time equivalent positions in the core government administration has fallen by nearly 2,000 or around 5% over the last two years.

By contrast, there has been an increase in the number of full-time equivalent employees working in frontline roles in the past two years.

Good afternoon and thank you for the invitation to speak today.

I warmly welcome new links between the NZ accountants’ professional body and it’s counterparts in Australia and the UK.

There was once a business owner who was interviewing people for a division manager position. He decided to select the individual who could answer the question “how much is 2+2?”

The engineer pulled out his slide rule and shuffled it back and forth and finally announced, “It lies between 3.98 and 4.02”.

State Services Minister Tony Ryall today announced the merger of the Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

"Ministers have agreed that the merger of these two organisations will deliver better results for New Zealanders by reducing back-office bureaucracy and lowering the cost of delivering government services.

"The merger is planned for 1 February 2012 to allow adequate time to engage with stakeholders, consult with staff and make the necessary planning and legislative changes.