Hang on, what? Ministry bids farewell to $40,000 for leaving party

Saturday, 12 August 2023

How does an agency in the public service spend almost $40,000 on a farewell?

It came to light this week the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) spent the sum on a goodbye party for its departing chief executive, and another almost $5000 on guests attending his welcome at another agency.

An all-staff meeting (fono) in Wellington was organised separately for 118 workers on October 13 and 14 – that cost just over $72,000. That was found by the Public Service Commission to be justified business spending, but better planning could have potentially reduced costs, while there was also limited transparency in a number of the decisions made.

About a month earlier, when the fono was already organised, it was announced chief executive Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae would be the new Secretary for Culture and Heritage, as of October 17.

It was decided to align the farewell with the fono, holding the two part farewell on October 13. On top of the cost of the fono, the farewell cost $39,262. That spending was found to have had inadequate oversight and was an inappropriate use of taxpayers’ money.

“The farewell had two parts - a public farewell with invited community members and public servants, followed by a second part for MPP staff only,” the Public Service Commission’s report stated.

“Approximately 213 people attended the farewell comprising 113 externals and 100 MPP staff.”

Of the almost $40,000 spent on the farewell, more than $7500 was on gifts.

There were inconsistencies in the reimbursement of gifts. Some staff only received partial reimbursements, cash withdrawals were used in some cases instead of bank account payments and receipts were not provided in all cases, with values estimated in some.

Leauanae, who did not have a part in planning the farewell, immediately repaid the $7500 and returned the gifts when he became aware of the cost.

Another $7100 was spent on the travel and accommodation of 12 guests, while a further $3000 went to expenses such as photography, flowers and ceremonial drummers.

Most of the money went to venue hire and catering.

There was no agreed budget for the farewell and limited monitoring or oversight of the spending.

There was also a welcome for Leauanae at the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, costing $7559. About $2000 of that went to catering for 150 guests and $3550 went to cultural advice and support from external sources to ensure tikanga Māori and Samoan protocols were observed.

The spending by MCH “had a justifiable business purpose and was moderate and conservative given the context of the event”, the report said.

Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) also spent almost $5000 on the welcome, mainly for travel and accommodation costs for guests.

“Leauanae advised it was always his intention to pay for his family and personal guests’ travel costs.

“However, during the process of coordinating the welcome event he understood that MPP signalled it would cover these costs. He did not question this and acknowledges he should have done so,” the report said.

“He has since reimbursed MPP $4115.38 for the cost of flights of all family members and guests.”