Cutting waste could bring Abby Hartley home

act-new-zealand

Thu Aug 30 2018 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

Cutting waste could bring Abby Hartley home

Thursday, 30 August 2018, 9:01 am
Press Release: ACT New Zealand

ACT Leader David Seymour suggests the Government could cut its wasteful projects and instead bring Abby Hartley home.

Ms Hartley is fighting for her life in a Bali hospital with a condition for which she has no insurance.

“The current Government has splashed the cash from day one, and complained that there isn’t enough funding for core services.

“Well, here’s an opportunity for them to show they can prioritise the important stuff over wasteful spending.

Here are five examples of truly gobsmacking waste which could have been cut in order bring Ms Hartley back to New Zealand:

$500,000 for a nebulous and unnecessary Chief Technology Officer position
$250,000 for an Open Government and Government Digital Services Minister we don’t really need
$1 million for Victoria University to change its name because a few people confuse it with younger, poorer-quality universities
A $140,000 report which researched New Zealanders’ attitudes to sport, and which found that being active keeps them physically fit and healthy
$1.1 million for the State Services Commission’s gold-plated office fit out.

"The Government has created culture of excess. It means that there is less taxpayer money to care for New Zealanders in their time of need.

ends

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

a.supporter:hover {background:#EC4438!important;} @media screen and (max-width: 480px) { #byline-block div.byline-block {padding-right:16px;}}

Using Scoop for work?

Scoop is free for personal use, but you’ll need a licence for work use. This is part of our Ethical Paywall and how we fund Scoop. Join today with plans starting from less than $3 per week, plus gain access to exclusive Pro features.

Join Pro Individual Find out more

Find more from ACT New Zealand on InfoPages.