WELLINGTON, 3 August 2026
The Public Service Association says the Public Service Commission must learn from an independent review that found weaknesses in the process used to approve paid Facebook advertisements published during the October 2025 health and education strikes.
The review, conducted by Wellington barrister Jane Meares, did not conclude that the advertisements breached political neutrality. However, it found the campaign was developed too quickly, internal concerns were not properly elevated, and the final approval process lacked the level of scrutiny required for such a sensitive issue.
The PSA says the findings support concerns it raised at the time about the Commission using paid social media advertising during collective bargaining and industrial action involving public sector workers.
PSA National Secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said the review showed staff inside the Commission had raised legitimate concerns that were not adequately resolved before the advertisements were published.
“This review shows public servants at the Public Service Commission raised serious concerns, at several points, that were never properly resolved,” Fitzsimons said.
“Lessons must be learned about how to approach collective bargaining in good faith.”
Review identifies internal concern
According to the PSA, the review found some Commission employees were uncomfortable with the proposed campaign and questioned how it might be perceived against the Public Service’s obligation to remain politically neutral.
Meares wrote that concerns expressed by staff were not surfaced through the decision-making process as clearly as they should have been.
“Disquiet that I heard from a number of staff members was not surfaced in the way it should have been,” the review found.
The PSA said the Commission’s own integrity advisers had warned that unions and government agencies operate under different political neutrality obligations.
Unions are permitted to campaign politically on behalf of their members. Public service agencies, by contrast, must maintain political neutrality and be seen to apply that standard consistently.
The union quoted internal advice stating that the Commission, as the system leader for political neutrality, needed to model best practice.
Fitzsimons said that warning should have prompted management to stop and examine whether paid advertising was appropriate.
“The Commission should never have run paid advertising against striking health and education workers,” she said.
“They should have listened to these workers’ concerns and worked on resolving them. The advertising was inflammatory and unhelpful and should not occur again.”
Campaign reportedly developed in four working days
The review found the Facebook campaign was developed over approximately four working days.
The PSA said neither the integrity assessment nor legal review had been completed before the first advertisements were published.
The Commissioner and his chief adviser were also reportedly on leave during part of the approval period.
The reviewer did not find that these circumstances automatically made the campaign unlawful or politically partisan.
However, she concluded that the process did not allow enough time to properly examine the legal, ethical and reputational implications of using paid social media advertising in the middle of a major industrial dispute.
The review found that while internal analysis may have supported the conclusion that the Commission could publish the advertisements, staff were not given enough time or space to answer a different question: whether it should publish them.
That distinction sits at the centre of the controversy.
An agency may have the legal authority to communicate its position as an employer, but it must still consider whether the chosen format, tone and timing are appropriate for a politically sensitive public sector dispute.
Sign-off process lacked rigour
Meares also criticised the approval arrangements surrounding the social media tiles.
“The sign-off process for the tiles does not appear to me to have had the necessary rigour in the circumstances,” the review found.
The PSA said this finding demonstrated that the campaign was not subjected to the careful governance expected of the Commission.
Paid social media posts differ from conventional media releases or interviews because they are delivered directly to targeted audiences, often without the surrounding explanation contained in longer public statements.
Short advertisements can also be shared or viewed in isolation, increasing the possibility that audiences interpret them as advocacy rather than neutral public information.
The independent review released by the Commission found the advertisements and associated media statements did not breach political neutrality.
It nevertheless recommended improvements, including allowing more time for integrity analysis, strengthening approval processes and considering external peer review in high-risk cases.
PSA links findings to current dispute
The PSA says the report has immediate relevance because the union is currently in dispute with Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche over campaign postcards displayed in public sector workplaces.
The material reportedly calls for a change of government, reflecting the union’s view that a different administration would place greater value on public services and public sector workers.
Roche has directed the PSA to stop displaying the postcards in workplaces, citing concerns about political neutrality.
The union disputes his interpretation and says it has legal advice supporting its right to communicate politically with members.
Fitzsimons said it was inconsistent for the Commissioner to challenge union campaign material while the review had identified weaknesses in the Commission’s own approach.
“It’s a bit rich for Sir Brian to lecture us on political neutrality today, when his own integrity team warned him nine months ago that the Commission had to role model best practice, and he pressed ahead regardless,” she said.
“That standard has to apply to the Commission itself, not just to unions.”
Union defends right to campaign politically
The PSA argues that trade unions are not politically neutral organisations and have a legitimate role in advocating for policies and governments they believe will support their members.
“We stand by our right to inform our members about why we need to change the Government to one which properly values the role of the public service in delivering for New Zealanders,” Fitzsimons said.
The union is seeking an urgent meeting with Roche and says it remains willing to discuss the boundaries between union advocacy and the obligations applying inside public sector workplaces.
“We are always willing to have a genuine conversation about political neutrality,” Fitzsimons said.
“But that conversation has to be a two-way street.”
The Commission’s concern is likely to centre on the distinction between a union’s right to campaign and the use of government workplaces or systems for partisan political messaging.
The PSA’s position is that its members are entitled to receive information about employment and political matters affecting the public service.
Trust increasingly important during bargaining
The PSA says confidence in the Commission is particularly important because it is currently involved in collective bargaining covering agencies that employ more than 10,000 public servants.
The Commission holds a significant role across the public service and is responsible for providing leadership on employment relations, integrity and political neutrality.
Fitzsimons said the findings showed that trust in the Commission’s judgement could not be assumed.
“Trust in the Commission’s political neutrality matters more than ever, and today’s findings show why that trust cannot be taken for granted,” she said.
The October 2025 advertisements were published during a period of heightened tension involving striking health and education workers.
The PSA maintains that paid advertising attacking or challenging workers during industrial action damages the prospects of constructive bargaining and creates an unnecessary perception of political interference.
Review stops short of finding neutrality breach
The independent review does not fully endorse the PSA’s interpretation.
It stopped short of finding that the Commission’s advertisements breached political neutrality and recognised that the Commissioner had a legitimate employer role during collective bargaining.
That means the main findings concern process, governance and judgement rather than a formal finding of partisan misconduct.
The Commission has accepted the review’s recommendations and acknowledged that the campaign should have been handled with greater care.
The PSA, however, believes the findings require a broader change in how the Commission engages with unions and workers during industrial disputes.
For the union, the issue is not only whether the advertisements crossed a formal legal line.
It is whether the Public Service’s leading integrity institution acted with the caution, openness and consistency expected of it.
The report leaves the Commission with a clear challenge: improve its approval systems, listen more closely to internal advice and demonstrate that the political neutrality standards it promotes across the public sector apply equally to its own decisions.
