Dear Treasury,

I am writing to formally request information under the Official Information Act regarding the basis for the Treasury NZ UK Recruitment Campaign. I would appreciate the following information:

Reciprocal Agreement: Could you please confirm if there exists a reciprocal agreement between the UK government/Treasury and the NZ Treasury, wherein the UK government/Treasury matches the number of positions offered by the NZ Treasury to UK applicants and specifically advertises exclusively to NZ applicants?

Hiring Practices: I would like to understand the reasons behind the NZ Treasury's decision to look beyond New Zealand for recruitment purposes, rather than focusing on hiring and nurturing local talent.

Selection of Countries: Is the preference for recruiting from the UK rooted in historical factors, reminiscent of colonial times? Furthermore, I would like to know if unconscious bias may be at play, leading the NZ Treasury to perceive UK applicants as more desirable than candidates from other nations, including New Zealand.

Consultation with the Minister of Finance: Was the Minister of Finance consulted by the Treasury regarding this recruitment campaign?

Support for UK Nationals: If the Treasury intends to support UK nationals through a work visa program facilitated by INZ (Immigration New Zealand), I would like to know the basis for this decision, particularly given that the campaign targets the UK exclusively and does not accept applications from New Zealand. Additionally, I am interested in understanding how the Treasury justifies claiming labor shortages or meeting this threshold when local applicants are not considered.

Competitive Wages and Salary Bands: Will successful applicants through the NZ UK Recruitment Campaign be offered the same remuneration as domestic positions with similar job descriptions? Could you please provide information on the salary bands applicable to these positions?

Wages on offer by the Treasury: Does the Treasury not have the capacity to offer sufficient wages to attract a pool of suitable candidates from the domestic New Zealand labour market to work for the Treasury? Can it not afford to compete with other employers and offer higher wages/living standards?

Impact on Hiring Practices: Considering the Reserve Bank and the Treasury's own forecasts predicting an increase in NZ unemployment over the next 12 months, what kind of precedent does this recruitment campaign set for hiring NZ workers?

Consultation with other Organisations: Has the Treasury consulted with the PSA (Public Service Association) or PSC (Public Service Commission) regarding its intentions to bypass the NZ labor market?

What level of sign off did this program receive: please provide the signed briefing/memo that approved this program and advise what level of management within the organisation approved this initiative.

I kindly request your prompt attention to this request.

Yours faithfully,

Adam