A government department that markets and helps manage mining and drilling in New Zealand has come under fire for its travel bill.
Labour is complaining that NZ Petroleum and Minerals, a division of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise, has allowed its 69 staff to tick up a nearly a million in travel and events costs in just three years.
Figures obtained by Labour show spending on overseas travel ($412,186), accommodation ($260.634) and events and functions ($248,528).
“A certain amount of this spending can probably be justified, but it does seem rather an excessive amount for a department with fewer than 70 employees,” Labour’s spokesperson Kris Faafoi says.
“Ironically, at the same time this wasteful spending is going on at NZPM, the revenue New Zealand receives from petroleum and mineral exploration royalties is falling, with just $220 million expected in the current financial year, down from $360 million in 2010/11.”
