The Public Service Minister is admitting concern around the cost to rebrand some Government agencies, as an Act MP claims departments have been “slow” to adopt an English-first directive.

Act MP Todd Stephenson wrote to Minister Judith Collins earlier this month, saying the party had been getting a “significant volume” of correspondence with “growing concern” that coalition commitments were not being visibly implemented. The letter referenced the fact the Government’s main webpage had its brand in te reo Māori first.

“When Government branding does not reflect clearly articulated commitments, it creates the perception that either the direction is not being firmly driven or that departments are exercising discretion in areas where there should be none,” Stephenson wrote.

In a statement, Collins noted that in 2024, ministers agreed the coalition commitment between National and New Zealand First would be responded to on a case-by-case basis.

“This aligns with the Government’s priority that the public sector focus on frontline services. The Government expects agencies to be mindful of the fiscal environment and for taxpayer money to be spent carefully, including rebranding exercises,” Collins said.

The Act MP called for the Government’s own logo to reflect the commitment to have all public service departments have their primary name in English, except for those specifically related to Māori.

Minister Collins has requested advice on rebranding costs.

In a response letter to the Act MP, shared on social media, Collins wrote that ministers and agencies had been responding to the commitment on a “case-by-case basis.”

She added it aligned with the Government’s priority that public sector agencies focus on delivering more effective services, and making good use of taxpayer dollars.

Collins said she had recently become concerned at the cost of agency rebranding activities - a matter she had raised with Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche.

Roche reminded agencies of the need to be “mindful of the fiscal environment” and minimise unnecessary expenditure around rebranding.

Collins stated she wanted any branding changes to be made without incurring substantial additional costs.

Stephenson said his party did not support “costly rebrands involving consultants” or “flash new signage and stationery” - but said Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden’s digital-first rebrand at her agency cost $741. At the time, van Velden said she could’ve done the logo herself on a photo-editing application, prompting her agency to reduce the cost.

Stephenson called for the Government’s main logo to face the same fate.

“Act takes all Coalition commitments seriously and expects them to be delivered,” the Act MP said, giving an example of the change.

In an interview with Newstalk ZB, Stephenson said a digital-first update was “completely feasible” and could be done quickly without significant cost: “I hope that’s where Minister Collins and the officials get to.”

“Departments have been slow in following that directive,” Stephenson said. He suggested agencies could start with digital assets and phase other factors in over time.

“It is a bit disappointing that things have been so slow,” he said.

Green Party public service spokesman Francisco Hernandez suggested the debate was a “waste of time” and a “culture war” sideshow.

Hernandez said the coalition commitment was a “waste of time in the first place” and said New Zealanders had much more significant things to worry about, especially now in the wake of what he called a “fuel crisis”.

The Green MP added it was good the Government had not de-facto rebranded everything to have English first, as “the public service has bigger things they could be focusing on.”

“It would be good to see a Government that’s actually focused on real issues and not just wasting their time with pointless bulls**t like this,” Hernandez remarked.

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.