Public sector management, electoral reform and the future of the contract state in New Zealand

The reforms to New Zealand's system of public sector management have attracted significant international interest since the mid-to-late 1980s. This article provides a brief description and analysis of some of the recent developments in New Zealand with respect to corporatisation, privatisation and contracting-out, and assesses the implications of the introduction of proportional representation in 1996 for the structure and management of the public sector: It is argued that New Zealand's reforms, notwithstanding their numerous strengths, have left many of the fundamental problems of public sector management unresolved adn that sharp political divisions remain over the extent to which a more commerical and contractualist approach should be applied to the organisation and delivery of key social services, including health care and public housing.