New Zealand’s Health Department to Slash Backroom Roles to Fund Tax Plan

Mr. Luxon was keen to stress front-line health workers would not be affected, but said the current public service model needed to be streamlined.

Around270 b ackroom jobs at Health NZ are set to be cut. Hannah Peters/Getty Images

Around 270 back office positions within New Zealand’s public health sector will be disestablished as part of the government’s efforts to claw back 6.5 percent in cost savings to fund their greater tax relief program.

Prime Minister Chris Luxon told reporters on April 2 that the government wants “medical doctors, not more spin doctors,” referencing the impending cuts that will affect administrative positions within the Ministry of Health.