8159 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Customs

8159 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Customs: What criteria, was employed by the Minister’s departments, ministries and agencies to assess the volume of redundancies in each department, if any, resulting from the Government's directive to reduce expenditure in the public service?

Hon Casey Costello: I am advised that the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) established a fiscal sustainability programme in 2023 to understand current and future cost pressures, including the savings required to meet the 6.5% reduction in baseline funding. Through the fiscal sustainability programme, Customs worked to identify cost savings from within discretionary operating funding and sought expressions of interest from staff for voluntary redundancy or enhanced early retirement, before commencing an organisational change process. Throughout this process, Customs focus has been on identifying options to meet the government’s priorities without impacting its ability to deliver key border services and critical supporting functions.