53190 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for the Public Service

53190 (2025). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for the Public Service: Did the Public Service Commission's communications strategy regarding the industrial action held on 23 October 2025 that was discussed with the Prime Minister contain references to paid social media advertisements?

Hon Judith Collins: The Public Service Commission’s communications strategy was provided to my office on three occasions: On 10 October 2025, my office received the Commission’s communication strategy, which did not include social media plans. This is the version that was discussed with the Prime Minister and myself. On 14 October 2025, my office received the Commission’s updated communications strategy which outlined that it would use targeted social media to reach audiences most affected by the strikes as well as the wider public. On 17 October 2025, the Commission sent my office an updated communications strategy which outlined that it would use targeted (paid) social media to reach audiences affected by the strikes as well as the wider public. On the evening of 13 November 2025, my Office discovered that it had in fact been informed on 17 October 2025 that the targeted social media campaign was paid. The information published on social media was publicly available factual information. The messages were distributed via a channel previously used by the Commission. The Commission has paid for targeted social media before, most recently in 2022.