Ministry’s $45,000 a month travel bill
The Ministry for the Environment spent $45,000 a month to jet its staffers around the globe.
Policy experts were sent on 116 individual international trips – to countries including Korea, Jamaica, Germany, France, Canada and the United States.
An Official Information Act request by the Taxpayers’ Union has revealed the ministry spent $769,955 on international travel between July, 2017, and December 10, 2018.
In a single return trip in October, 2017, it appeared the ministry had sent a senior policy analyst to Santiago, Chile, with the airfare totalling $23,826. However, a spokesman later clarified the trip was for two people. The most expensive business-class flights available with Air New Zealand to Santiago would set a traveller back between $9000 and $9500.
‘‘Even on the revised figures, only by spending other people’s money would you spend that much,’’ said Taxpayers’ Union director Jordan Williams.
In September, 2017, a senior analyst flew to Montreal, Canada, and back at a cost of $11,257, but a principle analyst travelling to the same destination, at the same time, cost $16,261 in taxpayer-funded travel.
The ministry spokesman said the price of travel to a single destination varied depending on several factors, ‘‘such as how early the fare was booked, which airline was used, whether stopovers were made’’.
‘‘In this particular case, the higher fare resulted from the person being a late addition to the team, and lower fares not being available.’’
In August 2018, three staff – a senior policy analyst, a senior analyst and a director – all travelled to Bangkok, Thailand. While the two analysts’ trips cost $4921 and $4833 respectively, the director’s travel bill was $14,112.
‘‘Our policy is that the most economical fare and direct route will be booked. That means that all flights are economy class unless total continuous flight time (including transit time) exceeds 10 hours. In this case, the traveller may fly business class,’’ the spokesman said.
A number of the trips appeared to outstrip the normal cost of airfares to those destinations.
Williams said sending policy analysts on first-class trips to international conferences was an ‘‘insane use of money for a ministry who tells Kiwis not to fly’’.
The ministry’s website advises New Zealanders looking to reduce their carbon footprint to fly less, work remotely and use video conferencing.