Point of Order: $4 million to subsidise whale-oil is outrageous

* News from the Taxpayers’ Union –

The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that Landcare Research gave $4,027,020 on the Oranga (Wellbeing) Project – including treating Kauri dieback with potions made from Whale-oil and music from whale song (yes, seriously) as part of the MBIE-administered National Science Challenges.

Bob Edlin: Doocey and Jones have missed a chance to brag about this deal....

Doocey and Jones have missed a chance to brag about this deal – but taxpayers are again giving a lift to the skifield business

Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey was up front with the $3 million the government is spending on “a suite of new surveys and research which will help fill critical gaps in tourism and hospitality sector data”.

But was it his job to tell us about the $5 million the government has loaned to a private corporation for the purchase of a big Ruapehu skifield?