Ministerial advisory group defends catering bill for public meetings around New Zealand

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Ministerial advisory group criticised for 'lavish' spending It spent $24,000 on well-catered 'stakeholder engagement meetings' Advisory group chairman defends the group's work, saying it's under budget and delivering change The ministerial advisory group for victims of retail crime faces criticism for spending almost $24,000 on a series of well-catered meetings around New Zealand. Rock melon, goat's cheese and prosciutto crostini, mini chicken and leek savouries, and $9 bottles of Coke are among the items served to guests during meetings led by group chairman Sunny Kaushal at venues around the country. Kaushal said the stakeholder engagement meetings were part of his mission to fix retail crime in New Zealand and he was disappointed to see "intentional misinformation being weaponised" to distract from the advisory group's progress. Information provided to RNZ's Checkpoint by the Ministry of Justice revealed the bill for 22 meetings between February and November came in at $23,915. Two meetings in Auckland - one in February and one in July - each cost more than $4000, while another cost more than $3000. The advisory group's spending had previously come under scrutiny, including its $100,000-a-year central Auckland office space. Kaushal also billed $230,000 for his first year of work, at a daily rate of $920. He said the group ran under its annual budget of $1.8 million, paid for from the proceeds of crime fund. Under his government contract, Kaushal can work up to 250 days a year and invoiced for the maximum amount. The group was set up in 2024 for two years. Photo: RNZ / Mark Papalii 'Probably too many scones' At a recent select committee meeting during Parliament's scrutiny week, Labour MPs queried the spend on the February meeting, which was $4075. Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who was present, admitted to the NZ Herald the event was "clearly over-catered" and "probably had too many scones". He did not respond to RNZ for this story. The costs also included charges for chairs, paper plates a lectern and an AV technician. Fifty cheese-and-tomato sandwiches cost $175, as did 50 chicken-and-cheese sandwiches. Bottles of Coke and Sprite - 2.5 litres - which cost about $5.50 at the supermarket were charged to the group at $9 each. About 80 people attended. In March, a two-hour meeting for 150 people, held in South Auckland, cost $3980, including $800 for venue hire and $120 for security. The $3060 catering bill for the two-hour meeting wasn't broken down. In July, another two-hour meeting in Auckland for 80 people, attended by Goldsmith and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee, cost $4013. That included chairs and equipment hire. The catering came to $2063. Individual items were not costed, although they were the same food offerings as listed at the February meeting. Other meetings around the country, most of which ran for two hours, were attended by between 9-70 people. A Christchurch meeting in July spent $750 on hiring space at the Little Andromeda Theatre for a two-hour meeting with 40 people. In September, 30 people went to a two-hour meeting at the Taupō Yacht Club, where catering cost about $545. Twenty rock melon, goats cheese and prosciutto crostini were $60, as were 20 onion, blue cheese and walnut crostini. Thirty mini vol-au-vents were $104, and 30 mini chicken-and-leek savouries cost $91. According to social media posts, meetings were generally attended by the likes of police, local cambers of commerce and other businesspeople. 'Consulting by food' Labour MP Duncan Webb questioned the spending on food at the meetings. "It just sounds like he's spending government funding lavishly," he said. "This is not a corporate marketing campaign. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith "It's a ministerial advisory group that's expected to come up with thoughtful ideas, including consulting with the community. "I haven't really seen consulting with the community by food as a technique." The money would be better spent in the justice system, including on preventing crime elsewhere. Catered meetings were not the way proper consulting should be, according to Webb. RNZ tried to contact Kaushal to ask about the spending and for more information about the meetings. He sent a statement saying he was proud of the advisory group's work, which had received strong appreciation from retailers across New Zealand. "We are making a difference," he said. "We are delivering tougher consequences for offenders. "We are seeing positive results and making sure no one feels unsafe at work. We are on the right direction and we still have more work to do." Kaushal said the group had delivered five "legislative-ready major policy papers" - addressing citizens' arrests, strengthening trespass laws and allowing retailers to use pepper spray to defend themselves. He said the reforms were strong, practical and evidence-based. "We are well under budget and have underspent....

Ministerial advisory group defends catering bill for public meetings around New Zealand

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