Nats flying high, on your dime
Written By:
- Date published:
3:30 pm, October 29th, 2009 - 16 comments
Categories: national, parliamentary spending -
Tags: anne tolley, david carter, murray mccully, Peter Dunne, tim groser
Why is our agriculture minister spending as much as the Prime Minister on international travel?
David Carter has spent $72,000 on international travel in nine months Peter Dunne, Minister of Revenue, has spent $76,000 Judith Collins, $70K. Anne Tolley $79,000.
70-80K each – we’re talking about enough money to buy half a dozen last minute return business-class flights to London each, in just nine months.
I’m not criticising Murray McCully and Tim Groser’s flights. Personally, I don’t know how you manage to get through $650,000 of travel between two people in 273 days – that comes to $1200 in international flights each every single day (makes you wonder how they had the time to spend another $100,000 each on domestic travel) – but they have international portfolios, which means lots of travel.
How can the ministers for Police, Revenue, Education, and Agriculture justify jet-setting at an annual cost of $100,000 each?
16 comments on “Nats flying high, on your dime ”
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still pales in comparison with what chris carter managed to spend while just education minister.
So, just checking here ‘Tighty’, you’re OK with the Minister for Revenue spending $100,000 a year on international travel?
sorry snoozer, the amount seems high at $72K, not $100k (read the article properly). i’d like a justification before i pillory it. what am i saying, no, I’m not. government should spend less money on everything so they can drop taxes.
but it does seem odd that a minister whose area of responsibility is our biggest export earner spends less than a former one with only an internal responsibility. wouldn’t you agree?
The amount is 72k for nine months, TR. Hence nearly 100k worked out for the full year.
whatever. it’s still less and the responsibilities are vastly different wouldn’t you agree?
this from kiwiblog
just saw the ginga whinger on tv “phil goff has made it clear that taxpayer money is spent responsibly, thats why chris carters travel bill has halved this year’. mr foot, meet mr mouth.
simple: in order to visit other countries where systemic underinvestment/cuts and a lack of vision in their respective portfolios can be observed and applied back home.
That and they’ve probably got family wherever they went they wanted to visit at our expense.
JK appears a masterclass on that after years as a banker perfecting it, like go see Obama for 10 min’s then take the family to Disney for a few weeks.
JK didn’t cut that holiday short after Samoa’s tsunami did he which would have been an astute poltitical move if you court the polynesian vote that is.
He’s not courting the polynesian vote is he? He wants them all behind bars if that photo is anything to go by.
So in nine months they just managed to spend as much as a certain MP for Te Atatu did in six months…. impressive.
yeah, Carter’s a dick. Do you think Tolley is?
Feeble smear
I think the syntax goes:
*Feeble smear
From another blog, Im guessing the numbers are correct.
Average expenses per Party (excludes Ministers)
1. ACT $15,501
2. Green $18,358
3. National $18,954
4. Labour $20,422
5. Progressive $27,533
6. Maori $35,549
What expenses are those, Brett?
Considering it excludes ministers it’s stupid to even try and rank it. You’re not comparing apples with apples.
For example, Phil Goff as opposition leader has far more expenses than some National backbencher. As will the opposition foreign affairs spokesman. That completely throws the averages in favour of National.
Let me guess, you got these figures from Kiwiblog?
Also, excluding Ministers cuts ACT’s caucus by 40%. Does this mean we’re only looking at about half of the ACT mps’ expenses?
Is Anderton travelling the country on some sort of Farewell Tour.