Consultants have swallowed more than $250,000 from four Government departments in just a few months.
The Social Policy Ministry, Te Puni Kokiri, Labour Department and Women's Affairs Ministry have all paid out for consultants since August, answers to parliamentary questions reveal.
Te Puni Kokiri, the Maori Development Ministry, was by far the biggest spender of the four, paying $161,363 for tasks such as writing submissions, hosting a hui and raising awareness of capacity building programmes.
The spending flies in the face of Labour's criticism of departmental spending on consultants when National was in power last year.
Social Services Minister Steve Maharey was among the critics, having once suggested the establishment of Work and Income New Zealand was a "gravy train for consultants."
At the time, he described the use of consultants as ill-considered.
But answers to the parliamentary questions show the Social Policy Ministry's spending on consultants has not stopped since it came under his control. Since August, it has spent $59,807 - the second-largest amount paid out by the four departments - employing outside help to conduct research, evaluations, negotiations and advice.
Mr Maharey said he had not compared figures to find out whether more or less was being spent on consultants now compared with last year.
But in many cases departments were hiring consultants because the public service did not have the capacity to do a lot of the things the Government wanted it to do, he said.
"Across the whole state ... there's a reasonable number of positions that are currently advertised and being filled.
"I think you would hope that over the next two to three years the state would begin to rebound."
The use of consultants would never be stamped out altogether, he said.
"I'm not saying anything has changed in the Government's mind.
"We are not keen on having a public service that runs all the time on consultants.
"But where there are exceptions, that's fine - we have to hire people for short-term work."
Government keeps consultants busy
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