The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Ministry of Education to take responsibility for the predicament it finds itself in with its now empty office continuing to rack up millions in taxpayer dollars.

Back in May last year, the Ministry of Education forced over a thousand of its workers to work from home for several months after the building it was occupying was deemed just 25% NBS (National Building Standard).

It turns out the taxpayer is still having to pay millions of dollars in rent and maintenance for what is a completely abandoned building. This is because MOE signed a non-cancellable lease running through to 2030.

Callum Purves, Campaigns Manager at the Taxpayers’ Union says:

“Signing a non-negotiable 15-year lease shows a complete lack of consideration and foresight, which we see far too often across the public service. This time it has backfired badly.

“Thanks to this lazy decision, the taxpayer will continue to be burdened for the next several years, likely costing tens of millions of throwaway dollars that could be spent on improving the education system.

“The Government needs to review all its similar building leases to check that it is not exposed to further risk and sharpen up its act when it comes to big-budget contracting to protect the taxpayer from future bills on this scale.”

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