Govt officials use ‘luxury’ retreats

The hotels have four-star ratings, the plush retreats have spa pools, and one has a tennis court – they are trips anyone would be stoked with. But what if such a trip was not a holiday but a work retreat and paid for with public money?

While some government departments run strategy sessions and leadership development in an office, others have been spending thousands of dollars on out-of-town trips, one even taking place in the midst of a wave of Covid-19 cases.

These strategy and leadership sessions are ‘‘away days’’ – a half, full-day or two-day session for government department leaders to get together, solve problems, develop skills and look to the future. Between March 2020 and April this year, more than $557,000 was spent by 31 government departments on away days, according to figures released to Stuff under the Official Information Act.

Five departments – the Department of Corrections, Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet, the Education Review Office, Inland Revenue and the Ministry for Primary Industries – had none, while the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had 16 in Wellington offices.

HUD was one of 12 departments which held away days in office buildings.

Overall, about half (49%) of away days were out of town. The Public Service Commission spent the most – more than $53,000 across 10 days – on venues, accommodation and meals but it also catered to the most people, 30 on average.

Four of those days were at Brackenridge Country Resort and Spa, in Martinborough. Offering ‘‘complete country indulgence’’, a week-night stay costs $520, rising to $565 on Fridays and Saturdays, its website says. The venue also hosted retreats for Stats NZ and the ministries of transport, environment, Mā ori development, and business, innovation and employment.

Denise Church, a former chief executive of the Ministry for the Environment who now runs a leadership consultancy and chairs a number of boards, said comfort was a must for high-level conversations, especially for large departments where leaders might not be familiar with each other.

‘‘A lot of their time is spent with their heads down, working on stuff already on their agendas. We are all busy with the day-to-day.’’ She said it helped some departments to leave their offices, literally to think outside the box.

Asked whether away days needed to be held at such venues, Church said: ‘‘I don’t think there is a formula, or a thing as too much . . . it is about commitment to having the most powerful conversations . . . what will make that happen?’’

Martinborough, an hour out of Wellington in the Wairarapa, was the favourite out-of-town destination for away days.

More than 85 of New Zealand’s top public officials spent a total of 31 days there.

The next most popular destination was the Big Bach on the Kāpiti Coast, with the leaders of the Crown Law Office and Linz spending six and four days there respectively. Seven days were spent at Silverstream in Lower Hutt between the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, Transport and the Public Service Commission.

Two retreat days were in late February, just as the country was experiencing historic highs of Covid-19 cases.

Eleven Ministry of Education leaders – the Secretary for Education and 10 deputy secretaries – spent $7521 at the Parehua Resort, a ‘‘charming country estate’’ in Martinborough. It has a Qualmark five-star rating.

The Ministry of Education was one of nine departments to spend more than $25,000 on away days in two years.

The others were the Crown Law Office ($26,629), Department of Internal Affairs (over $85,000 when including their facilitator budget, which began in late 2019), the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment ($30,551), Health ($29,452), Housing and Urban Development ($68,697), the Public Service Commission ($70,133), the Serious Fraud Office ($33,292) and Stats NZ ($54,867).

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment had the most expensive trip, spending more than $3900 on an allinclusive night at Brackenridge and $7500 on a facilitator. The Department of Conservation had the cheapest, three trips to Pounui homestead in Featherston and doing their own catering for $261.

‘‘I don’t think there is a formula, or a thing as too much.’’

Denise Church

Leadership consultant