The Taxpayers’ Union is astounded at the staggering cost of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise spending $809,450 seven ‘Regional Team Meetings’ over two years, but the cost breakdown is even worse.

A Taxpayers’ Union OIA can reveal:

• Meals for these 2-3 day meetings totalled $185,696 and averaged $217 per person, per day, but for some meetings were as high as $296 per person per day.
• Accommodation costs totalled $292,295
• Key agenda items for the meetings included:
  • Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament
  • Silent Disco
  • Scavenger hunt
  • Yoga
  • Song contest
  • Team Trivia Night
  • Animal Sanctuary Visit
  • Wellbeing Teambuilding challenge
  • Creativity session
  • Personal purpose and reflection time

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Despite the exorbitant costs charged back to taxpayers, it seems like the jaunts were little more than children’s holiday camps rather than getting down to business.

“Reading the information response, we thought someone was playing a joke. Rock, paper, scissors tournaments, silent discos and scavenger hunts? Seriously? You couldn’t make this stuff up.”

“How this kind of expenditure was allowed to go on across multiple years is simply unfathomable. It is time for NZTE to grow up, front up and stop acting like children.”

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