KEY POINTS:
National Party education spokeswoman Katherine Rich says the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) should be embarrassed by revelations staff are selling its computers.
The Dominion Post reported today that NZQA was investigating claims that an employee sold the government agency's old computers on Trade Me from a Lower Hutt state house.
NZQA previously said it sells surplus computers to staff or destroys them.
Wellington man Graham McCready, who donates second-hand computers to schools, said he bought five Dell hard drives from the employee in the past year for about $50 each.
One has "Property of NZQA" still printed on its side.
He said the man had about 20 computers at his house and had several listed for sale on Trade Me under his seller name, Kiwi56.
The man refused to comment when the newspaper approached him.
NZQA deputy chief executive Keith Marshall said the agency was aware of the allegations and actively investigating.
Mr Marshall confirmed that obsolete computers were either destroyed or offered to staff at "an estimated market rate" but without software or operating systems.
Mrs Rich said it did not sound like the computer sales followed proper processes.
"If these allegations are correct this is contrary to Government policy for the disposal of property plus an embarrassing faux pas for NZQA," she said.
"All Government organisations are encouraged to donate used computers to the Computer Access New Zealand Trust (Canz) which refurbishes machines to give to New Zealand schools."
Mrs Rich said it was a "bad look" for the authority to dispose of computers by either selling or destroying them when they could be donated to Canz.
She called on Education Minister Steve Maharey to say what progress investigations had made and assure taxpayers that NZQA staff were not profiting by selling government equipment.
- NZPA
