An Organisational History of the Ministry of Social Development and Its Predecessors, 1860–2011
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Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. This quote, from American philosopher George Santayana, captures the value of this very readable account of the largest and most politically contested of public service agencies. Since unemployment rose dramatically in the 1970s, almost every doctrine about the what, how and who of organisation has been tested on the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors. From centralised bureaucracy to decentralised divisions, then stand-alone agencies imitating private sector sales methods, this always controversial government function is now a unified agency focused on achieving outcomes. This book is a whodunnit of political and managerial fads and fashions and should be a compulsory read for would-be reformers, whether politicians, central agency analysts, lobby groups, community organisations or managers. ‘New’ solutions can be tested against the myriad structural solutions captured here. Dr Richard Norman, School of Management,Victoria University of Wellington This history of MSD provides a window of the relationship between citizens and their state. It presents many examples of the difficult balances faced in public administration, why it is hard to ever get it all right, and how even over long periods the accumulation of many initiatives can take you back to the beginning. Behind the many great stories is a sense of an enduring incompatibility between the worlds of the citizen, the administrator, the social worker and the politician. This history will be a great resource for anyone interested in public administration. Len Cook, Chair, Institute of Public Administration Tim Garlick has made a fine job of explaining how one government agency has experienced some of the major public service shifts over the last couple of decades. We need more studies that cover these vital years. Dr Bronwyn Dalley, historian, Wellington This authoritative history describes the journey of the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors over 150 years. Its role has changed dramatically from a narrow focus on child welfare and paying benefits, and later employment assistance, to leading a network of agencies in delivering government priorities to reduce long-term welfare dependency and improve outcomes for vulnerable children. This book places changes to the structure and operations of our largest government agency in the context of its changing role and current theories of public management. It will be an invaluable resource for agencies experiencing transformative change and for students of public management. Iain Rennie, State Services Commissioner SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS An organisational history of the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors, 1860–2011 Tim Garlick Steele Roberts AotearoA © Ministry of Social Development 2012 Typeset in Minion 10.5/13.2 Production by Matthew Bartlett Printed by PrintStop, Wellington ISBN 978-0-478-33558-3 (Print) ISBN 978-0-478-33559-0 (Online) National Library of New Zealand Cataloguing-in-Publication Data Garlick, Tim, 1983- Social developments : an organisational history of the Ministry of Social Development and its predecessors, 1860-2011 / Tim Garlick. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. New Zealand. Ministry of Social Development—History. 2. Public welfare—New Zealand—History. 3. Social security— New Zealand—History. 4. New Zealand—Officials and employees. i. Title. 361.650993—dc 23 Steele Roberts Aotearoa Box 9321 Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand [email protected] • www.steeleroberts.co.nz Contents Acknowledgements 7 Preface 8 Introduction 9 PART I: Colonial welfare and reform: Industrial schools, charitable aid and pensions, 1860–1930 21 1. Industrial schools 27 2. The Old-age Pensions and Pensions Departments 37 PART II: Command and control: Social Security and Child Welfare, 1925–72 49 3. Child Welfare Branch and Child Welfare Division 53 4. The Social Security Department 67 PART III: Organisational upheaval: The Department of Social Welfare, 1972–92 85 5. Entrenched divisions, 1972–75 89 6. New pressures, 1976–84 97 7. New directions, 1984–87 109 8. From administration to management, 1987–91 123 PART IV: Managing for outputs: The Department of Social Welfare’s business units and the New Zealand Employment Service, 1992–99 139 9. The business units, 1992–93 149 10. Strategic directions, 1993–99 159 11. Towards the Ministry of Social Policy, 1996–99 187 12. The New Zealand Employment Service, 1988–98 191 PART V: Turning the corner: The separate agencies, 1999–2001 205 13. The Department of Work and Income 211 14. The Ministry of Social Policy 219 15. The Department of Child, Youth and Family Services 227 PART VI: Managing for outcomes: The Ministry of Social Development, 2001–11 241 16. Social development and the Ministry, 2001–4 247 17. Leading for Outcomes, 2004–8 261 18. The ‘Great Recession’ and ‘Value for Money’, 2008–11 279 Conclusion: MSD at the crossroads? 2011 and beyond 295 Glossary 301 Notes 303 Select bibliography 343 Index 363 Acknowledgements n producing this book, I have incurred a number of debts. The largest is to Rob Brown, who Imanaged the project within the Ministry of Social Development and was a strong supporter of the undertaking from start to finish. Without his enthusiasm and persistence it is unlikely the book would have been completed. Desiree Brown recognised the potential of the work early on, and supported the establishment of the project. Peter Hughes and Iona Holsted provided high-level endorsement within the organisation, and allowed me to construct my own arguments and reach my own conclusions. Special thanks to the staff of the History Group at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Successive Chief Historians, Bronwyn Dalley and Neill Atkinson, both provided invaluable guidance and practical advice. I am especially grateful to David Green for his sensitive and careful editorial work in helping to prepare the manuscript, and his willingness to participate in a more flexible process than would normally be adopted. I also greatly appreciated the assistance of Gavin McLean, who gave us the benefit of his knowledge and experience. I record my sincere gratitude and thanks to all those who read sections of the draft manuscript and provided thoughtful comments and suggestions: John Angus, Neill Atkinson, David Bromell, Merv Dacre, Bronwyn Dalley, Ted Gallen, Tony Gavin, Don Gray, Iona Holsted, Alex McKenzie, Diane Noonan, Doug Skow and Justin Strang. Many thanks to all those who were willing to be interviewed and share their knowledge and observations; their names are listed in the bibliography. I owe much to MSD’s Knowledge Services staff for responding to my relentless requests for books, reports and articles, often at quite short notice. Many thanks to Adrienne Fletcher, Nita Glew, Marcus Harvey, Molly Limn and Philip Worthington. Thanks also to staff from Records Services who ordered countless files on my behalf: Porleen Simmons, Linda Carson, Ligia Raw and Allan Stuart. I also appreciated the assistance of Erin O’Brien from the Department of Labour, who helped me locate and access files and provided me with space to work. Thanks also to all the staff from Archives New Zealand and the Alexander Turnbull and National Libraries, particularly Jenni Christoffels for her help with the sourcing and clearing of images. Thanks to those who allowed me to use their photographs and cartoons: Debbie Edwards, Malcolm Evans, Allan Hawkey, Dylan Horrocks, Ngaire Scales, Tom Scott, Christopher Slane and Garrick Tremain. I also appreciated the help of those who put together the graphs and charts: Doris Chan, Mark Henderson, Kea Moore, Bhagavan Srinivasa, Lyn Wong and Donald Woolford. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the friends and colleagues who supported me throughout a project which I found at times to be very challenging. In particular, Simon Cooke listened patiently to a range of complaints and supported me through a number of my more despairing moments. Thanks also to Joe McCarter, Ross Mackay, David Mullins, Taija Peach and Alana Roughan. Most of all, thanks to Raewyn Martyn. 7 Preface his history was begun to help clarify the organisational changes in the Ministry of Social TDevelopment and its predecessors, particularly since the 1970s. The project’s wider potential was recognised by senior management, who saw a practical need for staff to have a better understanding of the history of the Ministry — to know where things had been tried before, to understand the origins of current and past approaches, and to recognise recurring issues. As the history documented a number of important developments that are not very well understood, it was recognised that such an account would also be useful for people outside the Ministry, particularly those with an interest in social policy and public management. I completed the manuscript for this history while employed by the Ministry of Social Development. The writing process was overseen by a steering group of senior managers, experienced current and former staff, and members of the History Group of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The steering group’s role was to ensure accuracy, balance and integrity. At no point was I directed by either MSD or the steering group to come to particular judgements or conclusions. Welfare has always been a contentious and divisive topic — even more so in recent decades. I am acutely aware that many of the developments I describe have not been universally sup- ported. Where possible, I have tried to resist providing my own evaluative assessments: my underlying approach has not been to judge, but to understand and to explain. Where judgement or editorial comment has intruded, my primary intention has been to explain attitudes or concerns which had an immediate impact on an agency or influenced later developments. If this account prompts further discussion and informed debate, then so much the better. 8 Introduction ver the last 25 years, the New Zealand public sector has experienced rapid and fundamental Ochange.