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Hi Friend,

EXPOSED: Taxpayers continuing to fund "white privilege workshops" for MBIE mandarins 🚫🤦🏻‍♀️

Do you remember when the new Government insisted they were going through departmental spending line-by-line? <[link removed]>

Well someone should have gone to Specsavers if our latest waste exposé is anything to go by.

On Sunday, your humble Taxpayers' Union blew the whistle that Government departments continue to splurge money on [checks notes] "white privilege" workshops for bureaucrats and government contractors.

<[link removed]>

Earlier this year, we got a tipoff that MBIE had spent $650,000 on these workshops over the past four years, and this story is just what we've uncovered so far.

As splashed in the Sunday Star Times: <[link removed]>

MBIE says the workshops help staff address unconscious bias which helps them better serve NZ but the Taxpayers’ Union says it’s “wasteful spending”.

Almost $22,000 has already been spent so far this year on nine different sessions. Five more are booked in.

The Taxpayers’ Union said the workshops needed to be “on the chopping block” and every government department needed to look at its “wasteful spending”.

"Workshopping for government departments with more money than sense has fast become a mega-industry, with organisations, no one has ever heard of being bunged hundreds of thousands of dollars from the taxpayer year after year,“ said James Ross, policy and public affairs manager for the Taxpayers’ Union.

Figures released under the Official Information Act show since 2020, MBIE has contracted The Wall Walk and Courageous Conversations for 58 workshops run across the country for its staff. The Star-Times requested the contracts but were denied their release because it would have taken too much work to compile.

The Wall Walk is run by criminologist Dr Simone Bull (Ngāti Porou) and is described on its website as part theatre, part study, part kōrero and is designed to “raise collective awareness of key events in the history of New Zealand”.

Its sessions cost between $529.87 and $7105.45 - the majority of the sessions were less than $5000.

Bull said she couldn’t speak to procurement processes but her workshop was unique.

“It’s not possible for any agency or business to get multiple providers to tender for a unique service,” she said.

“I like to think that it’s popular because generations of people who call Aotearoa New Zealand home want to know about our country’s history (including the policies that were introduced and why) but were never taught it and the way we teach it is designed to uphold the mana or dignity of the people involved and their descendants.”

Courageous Conversations is run by South Pacific Institutes and its website says its mission is grounded in Te Tiriti and aims to “elevate racial consciousness through interracial dialogue”. Its most frequently contracted workshop to MBIE is called ‘Beyond Diversity’.

And sadly, the Minister is nowhere to be seen...

Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee is responsible for MBIE and said the workshops were an operational decision and the ministry had a responsibility to support its staff who are from a diverse range of backgrounds.

And it's not just MBIE. Our research team has so far uncovered 19 other government agencies that have also been spending taxpayer money on these workshops, pumping thousands of bureaucrats through these courses. The Sunday Star Times continues:

At least 19 other public agencies - including police, ESR, MPI, the Commerce Commission, the Retirement Commission and Cancer Control Agency - have references in recent publications to providing the workshops. Most include it under their cultural or diversity plans.

The Taxpayers’ Union said MBIE was just the “tip of the iceberg”.

“Bureaucrats across government need to front up on the scale of this rort and let the public decide for themselves what they think of their hard-earned money being spent like this,” said Ross.

The Ministry of Education began offering the Beyond Diversity workshops to its staff since 2018 but was criticised for it in 2021 by National and ACT when they were in opposition.

Then National leader Judith Collins said officials were being taught “to feel guilty” about being white and ACT leader David Seymour called the “white privilege” workshops “entirely inappropriate”.

Internal emails from the time show Secretary for Education Iona Holsted had the expectation that all staff undertook the training.

Continue reading over on the Stuff.co.nz. <[link removed]>

We say forcing government staff to take off the better part of the day to calculate their 'white privilege score' is not a good use of taxpayer money. 

If you agree, drop a note to Melissa Lee (the Minister responsible for MBIE) and ask her to tell officials to put a stop to this nonsense. <mailto:[email protected][email protected]&subject=MBIE%20Funding%20of%20'White%20Privilege'%20Workshops%20&body=Dear%20Minister%2C%20%0A%0AI%20am%20writing%20because%20I%20am%20concerned%20that%20MBIE%2C%20for%20which%20you%20are%20responsible%2C%20continues%20to%20fund%20'white%20privilege'%20workshops.%20%0A%0AI%20do%20not%20consider%20this%20to%20be%20a%20good%20use%20of%20taxpayer%20money%2C%20especially%20in%20the%20current%20fiscal%20and%20economic%20environment%20where%20every%20dollar%20must%20be%20carefully%20spent.%20%0A%0AI%20can%20think%20of%20countless%20ways%20that%20the%20thousands%20of%20dollars%20spent%20on%20these%20workshops%20could%20be%20better%20used%20such%20as%20paying%20down%20debt%2C%20returning%20the%20money%20to%20taxpayers%20or%20funding%20additional%20medicines%20through%20Pharmac.%20%0A%0AContinuing%20to%20fund%20these%20courses%20shows%20a%20lack%20of%20respect%20for%20taxpayers%20like%20me%20who%20are%20paying%20for%20them.%20I%20strongly%20encourage%20you%20to%20direct%20MBIE%20and%20the%20other%20departments%20for%20which%20you%20hold%20responsibility%20to%20stop%20funding%20these%20workshops.%0A%0AFor%20more%20information%20and%20context%20please%20see%20this%20report%20in%20the%20Sunday%20Star%20Times%3A%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thepress.co.nz%2Fpolitics%2F350364763%2Fgovernment-still-spending-thousands-white-privilege-workshops%0A%0AKind%20regards%2C>

TVNZ's $1.5 million rebrand a smokescreen for poor performance ✨🪩

Last week we revealed that taxpayer-owned broadcaster, TVNZ, wasted $1.5 million rebranding their online streaming platform from 'TVNZ on Demand' to 'TVNZ+'.



No prizes for guessing why they're expecting a $28 million loss this year... <[link removed]>

This extravagant expenditure comes at a time when TVNZ is plagued by poor management, declining revenue, and a growing mistrust among viewers.

With people increasingly getting their news from other sources, available instantly thanks to the internet, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify state ownership of TVNZ. <[link removed]> We should sell it – if we're lucky, it might still be worth something. 

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If you haven't yet signed our petition to sell TVNZ, please add your name so we can ramp up the pressure on the Government to act before it's too late. <[link removed]>

Forced to choose between continuing to prop up the John Campbells and Maiki Shermans of this world or paying down debt and delivering meaningful tax relief, I know what I'd choose... <[link removed]>

Tax 'relief' giving with one hand, taking with the other 💸🤫



If you've had your payday this week, you might notice slightly more money has gone into your bank account. Due to the Government's recent tax changes, you're keeping more of what you earn each week – at least for now.

The 31 July tax threshold changes are the first tax relief in 14 years – and boy are they overdue! Thanks to inflation that has pushed Kiwis into higher tax brackets the average worker is paying an extra $49 a week in tax with no real increase in their income. This "bracket creep" is a stealth tax that takes more from your wallet without politicians having to say they've hiked your taxes.

While the National Party campaigned to fix bracket creep, they've now opted to keep this stealthy tax hike. The solution – something that the Opposition Finance Spokesperson Nicola Willis championed – is to automatically adjust tax brackets for inflation each year, preventing this silent theft. It's done in many countries throughout the OECD.

Our policy man James, highlighted how unjust this stealth tax is, pointing out that it hits those on lower incomes the hardest. <[link removed]>

Giving tax relief with one hand while keeping place the trick that eventually takes more with the other is a classic political 'bait and switch'. Surely the Government can do better?













Councils must set, and achieve, savings targets 🎯✅

And it's not just the Government that needs to do a better job of ensuring Kiwis can keep more of what they earn.

With households and businesses across the country tightening their belts and finding ways to do more with less, it's time councils did the same.

With average rates hikes of more than 15% <[link removed]>, many ratepayers are at risk of being forced to sell or remortgage their homes <[link removed]> just to pay the bills. 

<[link removed]>

When the Government came into power, they demanded 6.5-7.5% savings from almost every department  – it's great to see them finally urging local councils to do the same.   <[link removed]>

We recently also wrote to every Mayor and council asking them what efforts they are making to cut back on costs and whether they have set savings targets to keep rates under control. Unfortunately, the responses we've received have been underwhelming, to say the least. We'll report back once we have all of the council's responses.

Hastings District Council pays $1m for a building. Sells it for $150k two years later 🏗️🤯



Cutting back on wasteful spending in local councils doesn't mean reducing core services. Axing the silly and incompetent spending will go a long way to balancing the books in the first instance. 

At my hometown council in Hastings, one doesn't have to look far. The Council bought a building just two years ago for $1 million, now they've decided to sell it for a mere $150,000. <[link removed].>

No private individual or business would make such a wasteful "investment". If you need any more evidence that nobody spends somebody else’s money as carefully as they spend their own, look no further than Hastings. 

I wrote to the Mayor, and every Councillor, demanding an explanation. What I got back from the Mayor was some carefully crafted PR spin that avoided many of the questions asked. Not a single councillor responded – we have heard from our well-placed sources that councillors were instructed by officials not to respond to the questions posed by the Taxpayers' Union!

This isn't local democracy nor is it accountability. And this certainly won't be the last Hastings District hear from us about it. 

You can read my letter here and judge for yourself whether the Council's response is a good faith attempt to answer my questions here. <[link removed]>

Report waste at *your* local council👮🔬

<[link removed]>

Many of our best government and local government waste stories come directly from supporters like you, or from those with their boots on the ground working in the 'belly of the beast' as elected representatives or council officials. 

If you are aware of waste at your local council that could use some sunlight exposure, please report it via our confidential tipline <[link removed]> and our team will investigate and expose it.

🔎 >>> REPORT WASTE HERE <<< 🔎 <[link removed]>

Taxpayer Talk – MPs in Depth with NZ First MP, and former Wellington Mayor, Andy Foster🎙️🎧

<[link removed]>

This week on Taxpayer Talk,I sat down with New Zealand First MP, Andy Foster. <[link removed]>

Andy is a former mayor of Wellington and also served nine terms as councillor making him one of New Zealand's most experienced local government politicians. In 2023 he was elected to Parliament on the New Zealand First Party list. Earlier in his career, he also worked in investment finance, taught economics, and was even a parliamentary researcher for the National Party.

Andy explains what drew him to local and then central government politics, why he shifted from National to New Zealand first and what he wants to achieve during his time as an MP. 

Listen to the episode on our website <[link removed]> | Apple Podcasts <[link removed]>, | Spotify <[link removed]> | iHeart Radio <[link removed]>

Enjoy the rest of your week.








Connor Molloy
Campaigns Manager
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

<[link removed]>







Media Mentions:

RNZ Mediawatch for 28 July 2024 <[link removed]> [25:46]

Interest.co.nz The Coalition has delivered on its promise to cut taxes without extra borrowing but still needs to convince voters it won’t come at the cost of frontline staff <[link removed]>

Pacific Mornings 531pi Richard Pamatatau, Political Commentator <[link removed]> [9:16]

Greymouth Star Westcoast Rates Compared [Print only]

The SpinoffGet ready, your much-hyped tax cut is almost here <[link removed]>

Rural NewsOut of control <[link removed]>

Newstalk ZB Jordan Williams: Taxpayers' Union Executive Director on the Film Commission spending over $16,400 on celebrations <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldNZ Film Commission spends $16,431 on CEO parties amid budget cuts <[link removed].>

Interest.co.nz Nicola Willis says she will use fiscal drag to help pay down public debt, despite calling it a flaw in the tax system <[link removed]>

Rural NewsFull-Court Press <[link removed]>

NZ HeraldGovernment wants ‘line-by-line’ review of council spending and floats asset sales <[link removed]>

NZ Herald Rethink needed on council funding - Nick Clark <[link removed]>

Manawatu Standard Nothing slushy about support for Manawatū events <[link removed]>

NZ Herald National Party Conference: party president Sylvia Wood sets goal of mid-40s in the polls <[link removed]>

The PostChristopher Luxon returns to the National Party faithful <[link removed]>

Sunday Star TimesGovernment still spending thousands on ‘white privilege’ workshops <[link removed]>



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