The Government looks likely to pay close to $300,000 for the rent and utilities of offices which will be sitting vacant until late March next year.
Documents released to Newstalk ZB show the lease on the offices for the now-disestablished Productivity Commission expires on March 31, 2025.
Treasury officials estimate rental and utility payments over that period will be $285,000.
“Options for early termination of the lease or a sub-lease are being explored,” documents say.
“[But] no other Government agencies yet have committed to taking over the existing lease.”
Options for early termination are also being explored, and the Treasury is working with the Government Property Group to find a solution.
But Labour’s regulation spokesman Duncan Webb has pointed out the irony in the fact this use of Government money is so unproductive.
“It appears [Regulation Minister] David Seymour’s idea of productivity is to get rid of the agency tasked with improving productivity, pay out redundancy to all of the people he’s fired and rent on the offices they no longer occupy, then create a new agency with a new CEO and put them somewhere else.
“This is yet another example of the Government making cuts, laying people off and repealing things without a plan.”
The Productivity Commission was one of the first casualties of the Government’s plan to reduce the size of the public sector.
It was officially disestablished on February 29 – Seymour had questioned the value taxpayers were getting for the commission.
Its funding was re-allocated to his new Ministry of Regulation, which the Act leader says will “strengthen the regulatory management system to improve regulatory quality in New Zealand”.
Despite the new Ministry taking the Productivity Commission’s funding, its staff won’t be moving into its offices.
Seymour says the Regulation Ministry is currently occupying vacant space and co-locating with the Public Service Commission.
“As one of the smallest ministries with one of the biggest jobs it makes sense for this to be the case, as one of the core roles of the ministry is to provide leadership and oversight across the whole public sector to improve the quality of regulations.
He said this will, in turn improve, the lives of all New Zealanders.
And he’s defending the bill to taxpayers for the vacant building.
“After years of excessive growth from Labour, the Government is now shrinking the size of the bloated public service.
“That means there will be some spare office space in the meantime, it’s a bit unfair to expect one of the smallest ministries to occupy all of it.”
Jason Walls is Newstalk ZB’s Political Editor and has covered politics in the Press Gallery since 2017. He’s worked for ZB since 2021, and before that was a member of the Herald’s Press Gallery team.
It follows concerns about use-of-force powers being given to staff.