Willis asks MBIE if Bowen House rents offer value
Public Service Minister Nicola Willis has asked MBIE whether its renting of Wellington’s Bowen House is “value for money”, after Speaker Gerry Brownlee criticised the mega-ministry for “gouging” Parliament.
Willis, who has responsibility for parts of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) related to the public service, said yesterday she had inquired with the ministry about how it was running the government tenancies for the high-rise building attached to the Beehive, after The Post reported on Brownlee’s criticism.
“Obviously, Gerry has expressed that view, and that’s partly why I’ve asked for some extra advice to find out whether in fact it is good value for money.”
She said she wanted to “assure myself that taxpayers are getting good value”.
Earlier this week, Brownlee said MPs and staff would not return to Bowen House for the coming years, as hoped, because the rental cost put to Parliamentary Service by MBIE had risen from $22 million for five years to more than $32m for five years.
The rental – including fees such as a capital charge, management fee, and depreciation added on by MBIE – amounted to more than $1600 per square metre.
Elsewhere in Wellington, comparable office space could be rented for between $650 and $800 per sq m.
“That is, to say the least, seeing Parliament gouged, and we are not in a position to be able to accept that level of rental payment,” Brownlee said.
Willis said she had only received initial advice on the matter, and was seeking further information “on how those costs sit relative to what we would expect would be good value for money in the renting of public agency space”.
“Of course, any government department does have costs it needs to meet, whether those are electricity costs, internet costs ... The question is about whether they represent good value.”
MBIE was tenanting Bowen House under the terms of a lease agreed to by Parliamentary Service, before it assumed responsibility.
A statement provided by a mega-ministry spokesperson said government tenants in the building would be charged “total occupancy cost”, which included the fitout of offices and costs such as “electricity, cleaning, security, ICT, facilities management, office supplies”.
The overall cost was “not directly comparable to a per-square-metre charge”, and was cost-effective for government agencies.
Parliamentary Service was hoping to house MPs and staff in Bowen House until a new parliamentary building could be constructed behind the Beehive. The $257m contract for this was signed last week.