In the firing line

MBIE also known as the Ministry for Everything - has grown exponentially since it was conceived in 2012. What will the government's belt-tightening mean for its services?

- PAUL GORMAN

It's the Swiss army knife of the public service, a sprawling behemoth with 6400 staff across more than 40 locations, reporting to 14 government ministers and associate ministers covering 17 portfolios.

Monster ministry MBIE, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, has many working parts but, like the knife, some are used more often than others.

MBIE has its own intelligence-gathering unit, runs the national space agency and is the go-to organisation if you want to sell a new variety of plant or measure the quality of petrol or diesel going into your tank.

Its better-known functions include overseeing the country's immigration services, the public science sector and regional economic development efforts, as well as co-ordinating its energy planning and strategies.

One of its nicknames is "the ministry for everything" and it's become the ruling administration's landing place for work that doesn't quite fit anywhere else, such as being (controversially) put in charge of Covid-19 managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) measures in June 2020. It has also played a supportive role for displaced homeowners and businesses in the aftermath of Cyclone Gabrielle in February last year.

According to MBIE's briefing to incoming ministers late last year, its funding for 202324 is about $8.7 billion. This is divvied out to services spanning ACC, science, innovation and technology, regional development, energy, economic development, tourism and hospitality, commerce and consumer affairs, and housing - even the police have a stake. Just over $1.5b goes to MBIE's own departmental operations.

A quick look at MBIE's website shows its labyrinthine structure. The eight business groups are each headed by a deputy secretary or a deputy chief executive. Those groups contain up to nine sub-units apiece, called branches. The deputy chiefs report to chief executive and secretary Carolyn Tremain.