Christopher Luxon says he will look at New Zealand First's "anti-woke" bill to see whether it could be incorporated in government plans to ensure the public service was a meritocracy. Photo: RNZ / Reece Baker
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has joined New Zealand First's anti-woke crusade, saying he's open to adopting some of his coalition partner's ideas.
New Zealand First last week proposed new legislation which it said would end "woke left-wing social engineering and diversity targets" in the public sector.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Luxon said he had tasked minister Judith Collins - who was "definitely not woke" - with overhauling the Public Service Act to ensure it was a "meritocracy".
Luxon said he would look at New Zealand First's bill to see whether any of the proposals could be incorporated in the refresh.
"I'd just say, when we took the keys to the place, it was pretty woke, and it's entirely appropriate that we look at what else we can do to make sure the public service delivers."
Asked for examples of wokeness, Luxon cited the Labour government's focus on "Wellbeing Budgets", co-governance, and the target to reduce prisoner numbers.
He refused to point to any cases where he believe people had been wrongly appointed because of diversity targets.
"We want to make sure it's a meritocracy, meritocracy, meritocracy... we need to make sure it's all about meritocracy."
Speaking to media later, Collins agreed with Luxon's assessment, declaring herself to be "the least woke person" around.
Judith Collins said it was essential people were chosen for public sector roles based on merit Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Collins said it was essential people were chosen for public sector roles based on merit and that they were informed that was the case.
"People work really hard, in my experience, and they really do need to be looked at as humans, not just putting labels on people," she said.
"People want respect. They don't want labels."
Asked whether she believed in "unconscious bias", Collins said she did, having studied it in an executive course at Harvard University.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins told reporters it was vital that the public service fairly represented the New Zealand population.
"That's not saying that people aren't appointed based on merit, they are... but it means we're being more proactive in developing talent and making sure our public sector workforce actually reflects who we are as a country."
Winston Peters. Photo: Samuel Rillstone
NZ First's proposal is not a government bill, and will not be looked at by Parliament unless it is drawn randomly from the ballot.
The party's proposed Public Service (Repeal of Diversity and Inclusiveness Requirements) Amendment Bill would remove requirements for public service employers to ensure their workforces reflected societal diversity.
It would also scrap requirements for chief executives and boards to promote diversity and inclusiveness as part of being a 'good employer'," including specific references to Māori involvement and remove "mandates promoting diversity and inclusiveness in public service workplaces".
It would end the "obligation for panels appointing chief executives to consider diversity and inclusiveness".
The proposed bill follows radical moves in the US by the second Trump administration to purge its public service of anything it deemed to be promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
