Watchdog blasts uni over probe
Criticism for use of consultancy run by former National minister
The Auditor-General says the University of Waikato was dismissive of its public accountability amid a probe into how the university spent more than $1 million on an advisory firm run by former National Party Cabinet minister Steven Joyce.
In a letter to the university’s chancellor released yesterday, Auditor-General John Ryan found the university “does not seem to appreciate that it is accountable to Parliament and the public for whether it has followed appropriate processes when spending public money”.
Ryan also said the university didn’t consider it “necessary or appropriate” to comply with his request for an explanation of the work done by Joyce Advisory Services from the time a contract was first entered into in 2019.
“A public organisation that is spending public money should be able, and willing, to explain what that money has been spent on, to my office and to the public.”
The university’s vice-chancellor Neil Quigley said in a statement, the university admitted variations to the contract could have been better documented and accepted it was “accountable for the expenditure of public money and for the outcomes resulting from that expenditure”.
Joyce wouldn’t comment, saying it was a matter between the university and the Auditor-General.
Regarding the ongoing contract with Joyce’s firm, Ryan believed the university’s procurement policy hadn’t been properly followed and there was insufficient evidence to back up Quigley’s claim that Joyce’s firm was the only suitable option to deliver the services — a rationale used to justify not considering other firms.
In September, Quigley faced criticism for risking the university’s independence after documents revealed he went to considerable lengths to help National develop its policy proposing a new medical school at the university, calling it a “present” to a future National government.
In June last year, the Tertiary Education Union was “shocked and appalled” by the university paying Joyce’s company almost $1m between December 2019 and December 2022, at a time it was cutting staff amid financial pressures.
The initial contract was for three years with a total minimum agreed amount of $288,000.
It was extended in 2022 and by October last year, the university had paid about $1.1m with work ongoing.
Joyce’s firm had been contracted to provide services including serving on the board of the Division of Management, providing presentations on public policy and advising staff.
Ryan’s inquiries found the university invoked a provision within its procurement policy that enabled it to engage Joyce’s services without considering other options.
He criticised the university’s inability to sufficiently explain why Joyce’s firm was chosen.
The university’s policy included the requirement for the vicechancellor to approve procurement if it was done without assessing all options, but Ryan said this hadn’t occurred in this case with Quigley telling him there was “little point in him writing to himself ”.
“This misses the point that it is through comprehensive recording of procurement processes that the public can have confidence that good decisions have been made to spend public money.