Claims Govt spending $250m on reviews

WELLINGTON: Taxpayers will end up paying nearly $250 million for the Government’s 182 reviews and working groups, the National Party claims.

But a spokesman for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has rejected National’s numbers and costings as wrong.

National leader Simon Bridges says the public are paying the price for the Government’s lack of a plan.

‘‘Government officials have released to National the costs of half of the 182 working groups and reviews so far, revealing an eyewatering average cost of $1.9 million per review,’’ Mr Bridges said.

The figures were obtained through written parliamentary questions and Official Information Act requests and averaged out.

Costings for a further 67 reviews were not or could not be provided but Mr Bridges said that even at a conservative estimate of $1 million each, the total cost would be more than $250 million.

No response had been received on the remainder, other than six which ministers said did not exist.

‘‘It beggars belief that the taxpayer could be stumping up a quarter of a billion dollars simply because this Government doesn’t have any of its own ideas,’’ Mr Bridges said in a statement.

National said it had been keeping a tally of the reviews and working groups set up under the coalition Government since it took office nearly a year ago.

It says that in the same period when it took office in 2008, it set up 72 working groups or reviews.

A spokesman for Ms Ardern said National’s claims were false and the numbers were wrong.

‘‘In June, when National made similar accusations, we undertook a piece of work which showed only 38 reviews were being undertaken at a cost of $34.5 million.

‘‘We don’t believe these numbers would have changed much in the intervening months,’’ he said.

‘‘Where we are doing review work, it’s because the public have called for it or there are genuine issues that need to be fixed. Often we are cleaning up the mess left by National.’’ — NZME