This paper examines the current state of the constitutional convention of ministerial responsibility and its public service corollaries in New Zealand. It assesses the implications for them of the latest reform initiative in the New Zealand public service: Better Public Services. It concludes that the Better Public Services initiative does not disturb the constitutional underpinnings of the public service. But neither does it address the problem of the paucity of free and frank advice and wider problems of the quality of policy advice. Addressing those problems requires commitment by Ministers and leadership in the public service.