For the love of Baby Jesus, can the stupid Ministry for Pacific Peoples stop giving ACT political ammunition

ByMartyn Bradbury

FFS…

Lavish farewell: Ministry for Pacific Peoples spent $40,000 to farewell boss – falls foul of public service rules

A lavish event including gifts to farewell the boss at the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (MPP) last year failed to meet the “moderate and conservative” standards of the public service, a review has found.

Nor was a near-$5000 spend appropriate for a welcome event for Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae – including $3000 in travel costs for six members of his family – as he moved from head of MPP to the head of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH).

“This is a case of one agency getting it wrong,” Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes said today.

“Taken together, the Ministry for Pacific Peoples’ expenditure on the farewell and the welcome was an inappropriate use of taxpayers’ money. When a mistake is made, I expect public service chief executives to own it, fix it, learn from it, and to be accountable.”

…ok, let me be as clear as possible here.

I believe in the Ministry for Pacific Peoples, just as I believe in the Ministry for Youth Affairs, Ministry for Ethnic Communities, Ministry for Womens Affairs and Ministry for Māori affairs. These are important voices inside Parliament who help ensure everyones voice is considered in the decision making process.

These are important Ministries that ensure Democracy isn’t just majoritarian thuggery and that those without power in society have voice.

It is hard however too defend them when they are fucking up like this.

1 – Why the Christ is this Wellington Bureaucrat paid $320 000 a year to start with? That is garbage!

2 – Why the Christ did they allow themselves a $40000 piss up to celebrate the $320 000 cherished Wellington Bureaucrat a cuddle with every family member and the local village roster when he left?

3 – Why are they pulling stunts like this when food inflation is 12.5%?

4 – How come no internal check or balance was alerted and it wasn’t until a complaint was made that an investigation occurred?

The worst bit of this is that ACT have been advocating dumping this Ministry as part of David Seymour’s amputation of 5 Government Ministries, the Human Rights Commission and every environmental policy passed in the last 6 years (alongside removing the gun registry) and all the Ministry for Pacific Peoples seem to be focused on doing is giving David Seymour the political ammunition to justify dumping them.

Can someone please beat the shit out of whatever clown inside the Ministry for Pacific Peoples who seem hell bent on giving David the bullets he will use to put them down!

Just bewildering incompetence from the Wellington Public Service elite gravy train and another insight into how the Professional Managerial Class hold the rest of us in contempt while they throw $40 000 parties.

You are making it easier for David to do the following…

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37 Comments

  2. Connecting with a culture doesn’t necessarily benefit all other New Zealanders. If Sepuloni connected with Kiwi kids as much as she does with her Tongan heritage, there would still be a Commissioner for Children. This grossly over-paid man should have provided a ‘shout’ for colleagues himself when transferring from his department, as done in other cultures, and by me. Nor did I drag in all the whanau either, not that they would have come, being sort of busy.

    1. Exactly. The kiwi tradition is on your last day you shout a dozen big bottles for your work mates.

      $40,000 who do they think they are … stock brokers?

      1. Yep. Not being a baker, I ordered big cakes from NWS Metro, decorated with chocolate cigarettes in friendly recognition of the camaraderie which existed among secret cigarette smokers before they were regarded as worse than mass murderers, cisgender males, biological women, or juicy steaks.

  3. I want a Ministry for Left-Handed people and a Ministry for the Bald! LOL Because where does all this shit stop?

    Islanders ARE ALREADY represented by the MPs they elect. Why can’t Anahila Kanongata’a, Neru Leavasa, Terisa Ngobi, Lemauga Lydia Sosene, Tirikatene, Tangi Utikere and Rino Tirikatene do their job and represent their people?

  4. The Act approach to Wellington bureaucracy seems to be similar to Trumps call to ‘drain the swamp’ Outside of a good slogan I don’t know if Trump had a plan or managed any drainage work.
    Seymour seems to actually have a plan and the fight between him and the mandarins lining their own pockets will be interesting.

    1. The swamp is much shallower here. We don’t have the really big money hustlers and lobbyists.

      It was evident when Trump won in 2016 he faced a wall of resistance from mainstream media, the bureaucracy, the Democrat opposition and a lot of the swamp folk in his own party. His intentions were good, and he got a lot done but in the end, they dragged him down.

  5. Apparently he repaid the trips for his family but who the f thinks this is ok? It’s no different than those arsehole businesses that took covid relief money ( I wonder if any of them are ACT donors) and didn’t pay it back. Those businesses were applauded by some because of “a stupid government” completely ignoring the fact that they are arseholes with no moral compass. Either way it’s ripping of the taxpayer.

    1. It’s who your mob represent Wheel.
      Don’t feign outrage at the PMC while you vote for their political wing the NZ Labour Party.

      1. KCC, don’t tell me I am feigning outrage. You wouldn’t have a clue. Why do you think I am going to vote Labour.? Pointing out what a joke National are or pointing out facts like Nationals role in co governance is not a vote for Labour. I have said numerous times there’s not much difference between them.

        Let’s face it if the moon stopped orbiting the earth you would have said it was Ardern’s fault. It’s that sort delusional 1ZB rubbish that makes me post a retort.

        1. Here here Wheel I will be party vote Chippy being a Hutt Valley person myself and wanting a decent leader. But my Ikaroa Rawhiti electoral vote is going to the Māori party candidate despite my father coming from Tolaga Bay our whanau all voted for Parekura but he isn’t there anymore. I can usually muster 30 whanau members who mostly vote Labour but if they don’t like Labour, I tell them to party vote Māori Party. F..k the NActs they are all about the rich.

        2. Sorry yes it is clearly Nationals fault that employee numbers at the Pacific Peoples Ministry multiplied 400% on Labours watch and they are blowing cash on leaving dos.
          Just can’t help defending the indefensible can you, that’s how it’s clear you are feigning dismay.

  6. Elite gravy train is only for the middle management and upper management. If they were given gardening leave, no one would even notice.

  7. This ministry was corrupt as fuck (and openly racist) 5 years or so ago when my wife worked there. No big surprise.

  8. Yes it’s a dumb, stupid thing to do even if the ex CEO is paying some of it back.

    But it all started decades ago when Roger Douglas and his cabal, turned government departments into pseudo private enterprises, ppe’s (which they never were, of course – he got that badly wrong, but not for his Rich White mates et al) and there began a culture in these ppe’s that it was OK, and soon became quite acceptable to behave like genuine private enterprise and splash the cash for events like a farewell for a popular CEO leaving.

    Seriously, it’s been happening to as greater or lesser degree (probably dependent on the popularity – or not – of the departing CEO or an underling executive..

    It’s not a new practice and preceded the formation of ACT, with former instigator and ACT leader (now said to be not voting for them) Cur Roger Douglas.

    How utterly ironic that the very extravagant financial practices the founder of the ACT party unwittingly encouraged, is now debunked and would-be demolished by the very same party – ACT!

    Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose!

  9. They brought it upon themselves sadly, this should never have happened.

    But the Ministry must remain – the head honcho shouldn’t be getting that ridiculous salary but all the ministries are head by people on ridiculous salaries.

  10. Labour will take another hit for this whether its justified or not. Each and every incident like this chips away at Labours election victory chances and there is now no way back. The die is cast. They have become more of a toxic brand than the unappealing toxic alternative.

    1. Jack They should have stuck to basics, like legislation to protect foreign sex workers. Celebrating violently silencing women. Cancelling free speech. A few secret agendas. That should have been enough to swing an election.

  11. This is just one of the many reasons to be sceptical of the “Tax the rich pricks!!!” cry we’re always hearing here. Even if the expected amounts of revenue are raised (and that’s a pretty big if) I have zero confidence that the money would be wisely spent.

  13. Axe them. I very much doubt we will miss them.

    Name one thing this Ministry has achieved.

    We have a fair cross section of ethnic minorities in parliament to represent a range of interest.

    As for the ministry of women’s affairs, who now think that a man pretending to be a woman is a women, the sooner they go the better.

    Bring it on David Seymour

  14. The Ministry of Pacific Peoples has certainly provided some ammunition to ACT for its possible demise under a future National/Act Gvt. Another Ministry under the eye for dismemberment is MBIE, ironically the super Ministry brought into being by National and Stephen Joyce. From some personal experience it has turned out, at least in some parts, to be a desk driven bureaucracy with officials having no idea how their idealistic and impractical policies will affect people at the coal face. Particularly where these policies will affect services that are provided for minority groups such as interpreting services for different ethnic groups and refugees.

  17. Yes imagine if there was no Ministry for Pacific Peoples.

    Why – it would be terrible! The only voice P.I.s would have in parliament would be their one party vote and their one electorate vote, like everybody else!

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