Our modern system of government shields civil servants from any consequences of their policies. It’s a bit unfair, if you ask me, to have thousands of civil servants, each holding a tiny slice of formal power, who can lump all their failures onto the office of the prime minister who can’t even utter the word “no.” But, that’s what we have.

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Nathan Smith is a former business journalist and columnist at the NBR. He also worked as the chief editor at the New Zealand Initiative policy think tank. He is now a freelance writer and copy editor.