MBIE, Treasury diversity plans face scrutiny from Act MP, praise from union

Act MP Todd Stephenson is criticising diversity, equity, and inclusion plans recently published by two Government agencies, questioning whether they align with the coalition’s priorities and suggesting some may see them as “woke”.

Treasury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment have released diversity action plans in recent days - both calling for te reo Māori to be used more frequently in the workplace.

The agencies are standing by their plans, with confidence they do align with changes to the Public Service Act.

MBIE’s action plan states designing and planning initiatives to support “everyday use of te reo Māori” is a planned action for 2026/27. The agency’s plan also noted there would be targeted workshops for staff on its inclusion and belonging strategy.

Stephenson, Act’s spokesperson for the public service, told Newstalk ZB he had gotten complaints from public servants about “excessive cultural rituals” in the workplace.

Stephenson is questioning whether new Government agency diversity, equity, and inclusion plans align with the coalition’s priorities.

“We just want to make sure that actually what’s being delivered is services for New Zealanders, not internal navel gazing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Public Service Association union is defending the reports.

PSA Te Kaihautū Māori spokesman Jack McDonald said he thought it was “great” these agencies are presenting diversity plans: “It shows that those agencies are actually committed to representing New Zealanders. The public service should look like New Zealand; New Zealand is an incredibly diverse and vibrant country.”

“This shouldn’t be a controversial thing. It’s sad to see right-wing politicians try and scaremonger around this stuff,” McDonald added.

MBIE also said it would continue initiatives to address “identified leadership development gaps for Māori kaimahi [staff]” and “implement the Mahere Kaimahi Māori Strategy 2026 to strengthen outcomes for Māori kaimahi and embed te ao Māori across people systems”.

The mega-ministry also reported a “consistent” gender pay gap, showing average male salaries higher than average female salaries.

MBIE’s plan also said the agency wanted to improve workforce systems, including capability planning, recruitment and selection, and hiring manager capability, while ensuring these are “fair, consistent, and merit-based”.

Treasury’s workforce diversity action plan said building Māori capability remains a “high priority”. The agency’s plan said a permanent Principal Māori Capability Lead role was established to “provide strategic advice to further embed cultural capability”.

The agency has also been conducting quarterly Mihi Whakatau sessions, with support from its in-house waiata group, Te Puna Wai.

“A new Treasury karakia has been introduced by our Poutiaki that reinforces the Treasury’s values. Guidance for using Ngā Mokopuna a Tāne, our wharenui, further normalises te reo Māori and tikanga in daily practices,” Treasury’s plan stated.

The agency reported demand for its te reo courses remains strong, and staff continue to celebrate cultural events like Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, Matariki, and Waitangi Day.

One of Treasury’s planned goals was to support development of at least six current staff to lead mihi whakatau.
Treasury also reported having a number of employee-led networks, including for women, Māori, Asian people, LGBTQ+ people, and neurodiverse staff.

Treasury’s report noted its rainbow network had collaborated with other Government agencies to oganise a pride picnic, spoke at a cross-agency DEI panel, and hosted an annual bake sale.

The agency also reported using “diversity-focused platforms such as Kumara Vine and Mahi.co.nz to advertise some roles” to help widen its selection pools. Kumara Vine is described as “New Zealand’s leading job website dedicated to promoting Māori and Pasifika success”.

Treasury, like MBIE, noted the importance of ensuring managers were being supported to apply “merit-based” approaches to hiring, in its diversity report.

On Treasury, Stephenson said “they focussed a lot on the ethnic background of their employees,” and suggested the agency should instead consider the amount of staff who are economists.

While Treasury’s gender pay gap went down by 0.3% since September 2024, its mean ethnic pay gap increased by 3.1%, which the agency said reflects changes in workforce composition. Treasury’s average salary for both men and women sat above $100,000.

Stephenson claimed every hour spent designing and implementing the plan was an hour not spent delivering for Kiwis: “Some MBIE staff already say cultural training and rituals are already taking them away from their day-to-day work. The Government has a dedicated agency, Te Puni Kōkiri, to lead this work. MBIE and Treasury should focus on the jobs taxpayers fund them to do.”

Act has been proposing to consolidate 43 Government agencies into 19.

“Act will continue to call out issues where we see them across the public service,” Stephenson added. He’d previously written to former Public Service Minister Judith Collins, suggesting Government agencies were slow to adopt the English-first directive.

McDonald said he welcomed seeing agencies “continue to try and improve the way they use te reo Māori” and claimed there had been a “chilling effect” on the use of te reo under the current Government.

The unionist added Treasury’s Māori capability role was “critical” for upskilling staff in the Crown-Māori relationship.

“Where agencies are protecting and recruiting for these kinds of roles should be welcomed,” McDonald added.

Amendments to the Public Service Act were signed into law in June, reinforcing the principles of political neutrality and merit-based appointments.

The changes formally cut requirements for public sector bosses to “promote” diversity and inclusion, previously labelled “woke” by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

Treasury said its Workforce Diversity Action Plan (WDAP) had recently been updated to align with guidance and principles from the Public Service Commission to reflect the latest Public Service Act amendments.

MBIE chief people officer Jennifer Nathan said the agency’s workforce diversity action plan “supports a high-performing public service by helping us attract and retain capable people, strengthen leadership, and maintain fair employment practices. The plan helps ensure MBIE has the people and capability needed to deliver for New Zealanders”.

Nathan said MBIE’s plan was consistent with the requirements in the Public Service Amendment Act 2026, which reinforced the importance of political neutrality and merit-based appointments.

Public Service Minister Paul Goldsmith’s office directed questions to individual agencies and their relevant ministers.

Winston Peters was also approached for comment.

Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.