The Minister for Regulation sees a reduction in public service staffing as inevitable

Staffing numbers, catering at meetings, and hotel stays are all in the firing line.

Agencies are having to find cost savings on average of between 6.5 and 7.5 percent.

Staff have been told changes can be unsettling - and in the Transport Ministry, workers were asked their ideas on how to meet the budget targets - which included incentives for staying with mates rather than in hotels.

Minister of Regulation, David Seymour, says that's not a bad idea.

He says their job is to make sure they keep getting results, with a lot less money.