Dave5

The Wellington agency is more than three times the size of the Productivity Commission it replaced, hiring 91 staff.

That’s despite ACT, and coalition partner National, campaigning to reduce the public sector wage bill, make 15,000 public servants redundant and slash “wasteful spending” in the sector.

The anti-red tape ministry was a flagship policy for [David] Seymour at last year’s election and was established in March.

https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350383567/ministry-regulation-staffers-earn-average-150k-year

Update: Even the Taxpayers Union thinks that the Milton Friedman Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good is a bad idea:

The Taxpayers’ Union also issued a statement in response to the news, decrying “bureaucratic blob” and calling it a test of Seymour’s credibility.

“This upstart ministry seems to be running in completely the wrong direction,” executive director Jordan Williams said.

“Seymour needs to lead by example, and has now set himself a tough task to demonstrate value for money from his new gold-plated department.”