An Official Information Act (OIA) request revealed that DIA spent $375,048 on workshops run by Te Kurahuna Limited, attended by 92 staff members. But the costs don’t stop there—when factoring in the 128 staff hours per participant at an average Public Service salary of $48.89 an hour, the taxpayer has effectively lost over $575,000 in staff time, bringing the total cost of these workshops to around $950,000.
James Ross, spokesperson for the Taxpayers’ Union, slammed the spending as part of a growing public sector trend of prioritising workshops over actual work.
“Not long after news broke of DIA wasting more than sixty grand on ‘courage lessons’ for staff, we learn they’ve chucked hundreds of thousands at yet another workshop provider no one’s ever heard of. This time, to become ‘change agents,’” Ross said.
“Public servants jumped at the chance for more time away from their actual jobs, with 92 DIA staff spending at least 128 hours each on this course. The taxpayer will never see that money again.”
Ross also questioned whether these workshops actually provide any real value: “Half these providers echo the same content anyway—how much value can they really be adding?”
The revelations come amid growing frustration over government waste, particularly within the public sector. DIA is just the latest agency exposed for spending taxpayer dollars on vague, ideology-driven training instead of delivering public services efficiently.
“If these bureaucrats want to be real change agents, then getting their heads down and doing some work might be a good start,” Ross said.
Daily Telegraph New Zealand (DTNZ) is an independent news website, first published in October 2021. - where this article was sourced.
James Ross, spokesperson for the Taxpayers’ Union, slammed the spending as part of a growing public sector trend of prioritising workshops over actual work.
“Not long after news broke of DIA wasting more than sixty grand on ‘courage lessons’ for staff, we learn they’ve chucked hundreds of thousands at yet another workshop provider no one’s ever heard of. This time, to become ‘change agents,’” Ross said.
“Public servants jumped at the chance for more time away from their actual jobs, with 92 DIA staff spending at least 128 hours each on this course. The taxpayer will never see that money again.”
Ross also questioned whether these workshops actually provide any real value: “Half these providers echo the same content anyway—how much value can they really be adding?”
The revelations come amid growing frustration over government waste, particularly within the public sector. DIA is just the latest agency exposed for spending taxpayer dollars on vague, ideology-driven training instead of delivering public services efficiently.
“If these bureaucrats want to be real change agents, then getting their heads down and doing some work might be a good start,” Ross said.
Daily Telegraph New Zealand (DTNZ) is an independent news website, first published in October 2021. - where this article was sourced.
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