Held under the theme “Leading Beyond Boundaries through Collective Action”, the Public Sector Leaders Conference 2026 brought together Heads of Ministries, Crown Agencies, Island Administrations and State-Owned Enterprises at Crown Beach Resort, Arorangi, last Wednesday. OPM/26101514
Central agencies aligned Cook Islands public service leaders around shared data on funding, workforce constraints and national goals to guide Cabinet advice and future policy priorities.
The Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), the Office of the Public Service Commissioner and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management have set out the evidence and next steps that will shape public sector priorities for the year ahead.
The three agencies co-hosted the Public Sector Leaders Conference 2026 at Crown Beach Resort, Arorangi, on Wednesday, October 14.
In a statement, the OPM said the public service workforce, the national budget and national priority setting are each led by a different central agency, but agencies experience them as one system. The conference was designed so that people, funding and priorities could be considered together, with Heads of Ministries, Crown Agencies, Island Administrations and State-Owned Enterprises working from a shared evidence base.
The Office of the Prime Minister presented the key findings of the National Sustainable Development Agenda (NSDA) Indicator Report 2022–2025, which assesses progress against 15 national goals and 72 indicators.
Karopaerangi Ngatoko, chief of staff, Office of the Prime Minister, said: “The Indicator Report, which will be publicly released in the coming weeks, shows that public service delivery is strongest where our institutions are strongest.”
“The challenges that remain, especially for our Pa Enua, cross the responsibilities of many Ministries. The Public Sector Leaders Conference is a key input to National Priorities Statement and will help us focus our collective effort where it will make the biggest difference.”
The Office of the Public Service Commissioner presented evidence from the National Workforce Development Plan showing that workforce capacity, more than funding, is now the main factor shaping what government can deliver.
“Open access to New Zealand and Australia, a small and ageing population spread across many islands, and the cost of housing all affect how agencies recruit and retain staff, and none can be addressed by one agency alone,” the statement said.
The key goal for the OPSC in the year ahead is to provide a reliable picture of the whole public service workforce by June 2027,” showing who we have, their skills, real funded vacancies and why people leave, with the Pa Enua shown separately”.
Myra Patai, chief executive officer of the OPSC, said: “Every priority we set needs people behind it.”
“Our ask of every agency this year is to help us build an accurate picture of our whole public service workforce by June 2027, because every other workforce decision depends on it.”
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) presented the economic context, providing a macro-economic lens across national development priorities, current government-wide pressures, and strategic alignment with the NSDA, Economic Development Strategy, and National Infrastructure Investment Plan.
Water, energy and food security pressures were also explored, alongside an examination of revenue and expenditure.
MFEM encouraged public service leaders to review delivery performance and expenditure throughout the year, noting that financial variances may reflect genuine savings, timing differences, procurement or project-readiness issues, workforce constraints, delayed approvals, external dependencies or insufficient funding and that identifying the cause early will support agencies to make timely and appropriate course corrections.
Garth Henderson, secretary of Ministry of Finance and Economic Management, said: “Underspending, particularly in capital programmes, suggests that some appropriations and delivery timelines may not reflect agencies’ delivery capacity.”
“At the same time, other agencies may not have the resources needed to meet essential commitments.
“Integrating performance and financial management will help leaders distinguish funding shortfalls from delivery constraints, identify problems early and take corrective action.”
Building on the evidence, leaders took part in facilitated sessions to identify what is important to focus on for the year ahead, what requires collective action and what opportunities exists to optimise public service delivery to be more efficient and effective.
“The conference does not itself decide priorities or funding. Its outcomes will be recorded in a Public Sector Leaders Conference Outcomes Statement, and leaders’ views will inform advice to Cabinet.”