<[link removed]>Hi Friend,

Last week we revealed that nine government agencies spent an estimated $3.5 million of taxpayer money on waiata and karakia on work time.

But Friend, we knew the taxpayer-funded cultural perks didn’t stop at sing-along sessions.

Now our investigations team has uncovered almost 200 days of extra paid “tikanga leave” - across just three government agencies.

This isn’t ordinary annual leave. It's extra, race-based, paid time-off.

While most taxpayers who need time off for a cultural event, religious observance, community meeting or family responsibility must use their annual leave, a select few public service union staff have the option of tikanga, or cultural, leave. 



The Taxpayers’ Unioninvestigations team have been digging into how much tikanga leave is taken across the public service.

In just the agencies we've obtained data from, a total of 197.5 days of tikanga leave were taken.

At the Ministry for the Environment, 60 staff took 150.5 days of cultural leave, with taxpayers on the hook for a $71,890.42 bill.

At the Ministry of Education, more than eight staff took 34 days, costing more than $13,108.

And at the Ministry of Transport, 13 days lost cost another $6,516.37.

That’s more than $91,000 across the agencies that could actually give us the numbers.

Most taxpayers who want time off for a cultural event, religious observance, community meeting or family responsibility have to use their annual leave. Why should some public servants receive an additional taxpayer-funded entitlement?

And the deeper we dug, the worse the accountability got.

Oranga Tamariki and the Ministry of Social Development told us their systems do not record discretionary leave and therefore couldn't tell us how much tikanga leave had been taken - or at what cost.

The Ministry of Transport gave us the number of days taken butrefused to tell us how many staff took the leave.

In other words, some agencies handing out these entitlements cannot (or will not) tell the taxpayers funding them how extensively they are being used. 

Perhaps most remarkably, while some government agencies say that this is a "cultural entitlement" the Ministry of Māori Development doesn’t offer the perk!

Should taxpayers be forced to pick up the tab?

Friend, this isn't an argument about whether cultural traditions are important.

It is about whether public servants should receive additional paid leave for activities that private sector workers are expected to use annual leave for. 

If someone wants to attend an iwi meeting, participate in a cultural event, or fulfil responsibilities outside work, that's their choice.

The question is why public servants should get additional taxpayer-funded paid leave just for being Māori Public Service Union members.

The very least taxpayers expect is that the agencies arekeepingtrack of how much leave is being taken and what it costs.

These figures are only a snapshot. That's why our investigations team isn't stopping here. 

We'll keep digging through public service union agreements, firing off information requests, and exposing exactly what taxpayers are being asked to pay for.

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Thank you again for your support,


Rhys Hurley
Investigative Lead
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union

P.S. This is the tip of the iceberg. Every week our team is uncovering hundreds of thousands of dollars wasted in central and local government.If you value our work exposing where taxpayer money is going, please make a confidential donation to the Taxpayers' Union. <[link removed]>



New Zealand Taxpayers' Union · 117 Lambton Quay, Level 4, Wellington 6011, New Zealand
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