Stuff asked the following question
A law has been passed requiring government departments to communicate in plain English.
That seems really sensible, making sure everyone can easily understand rules, regulations and laws. So why has it become a political football with promises to repeal it?
Stuart Smith
National MP
Kaikoura
Below is Stuart Smith’s response.
As an opposition MP I read government documents, reports and correspondence almost every day. I understand the need for Kiwis to be able to easily digest information that they receive from government departments, but frankly we should not have wasted parliament’s time with a bill to do that, nor should we have more taxpayer-funded bureaucrats entering the public service to ensure plain language is adhered to.
The first issue with this piece of legislation is that there was no evidence which suggested that public service communications were unclear or were hard to understand. Many government forms and day-to-day communications are already available in plain English, and most are also available in a wide variety of languages for those of whom English is a second language.
We have a Public Services Commissioner who ensures that the public service is working well and is serving the public in an appropriate manner. There is no reason why the commissioner couldn’t simply write to departments and ministers outlining the expectation that plain English is used, rather than a legislative overreach which results in more communications staff and less actual outcomes for New Zealanders.
Ultimately the Plain Language Legislation is a solution looking for a problem.
There was no outcry from the public for this change and it is going to result in more Wellington public servants, soaking up taxpayer money for no real reason. Our public service has already grown by 14,000 since 2017, and legislation like this will see it balloon even more. It will simply add more sand into the gears of bureaucracy.
It’s baffling that this is a priority for the Labour government when we have an enduring cost of living crisis, our health system is in disarray and ram raids are occurring on a regular basis.
Our public service departments and ministries should be whole-heartedly focused on the delivery of outcomes for New Zealanders, not wasting millions of dollars on extra communications staff arguing about language. National will focus on delivery of public services that New Zealanders expect, and not waste taxpayers hard-earned money on needless bureaucracy.