Reshaping the state : New Zealand's bureaucratic revolution

Between 1984 and 1990 the fourth Labour Government embarked upon the reform of the structure, operation, and role of the public sector. That reform was the most thorough in New Zealand's history, and the changes rank amongst the most radical and comprehensive undertaken anywhere in the world. Not only were the scope and scale of the changes remarkable (involving commercialization, corporatization, privatization, the restructuring of numerous departments, the introduction of a new form of financial management, major changes to industrial relations, and an attempt to provide culturally more sensitive and responsive public services) but they were implemented with breathtaking speed and vigour. This book provides a systematic and critical analysis of these changes. It explores the theoretical basis of the reform programme, the nature and content of the changes, the management of the change process, and the problems of implementation. Particular attention is given to three pivotal pieces of legislation: the State Owned Enterprises Act 1986, the State Sector Act 1988, and the Public Finance Act 1989. The book also examines the effect of the reforms and evaluates their costs and benefits. This work is aimed at teachers and advanced students of politics, policy studies, public administration, accounting, public economics and industrial relations, as well as public servants.