An empty Wellington building cost taxpayers nearly $2.4 million over four months.
The Ministry of Education closed its head office in May last year, after an engineering report rated it to be at 25% of the New Building Standard (NBS) due to its concrete floors. More than 1000 staff members worked in the building.
In answering questions from National education spokesperson Erica Stanford, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said the Ministry “continues to honour the lease and pay ongoing operating costs for the building which include rent, insurance, energy, cleaning, maintenance, and security for the building”.
Of the total $2.4m cost from June 1 to September 30, Mātauranga House’s rent was $2.26m, energy costs were $27,029, cleaning and maintenance cost almost $51,772, security was $25,788 and insurance was $33,592.
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He said that $5580 was spent on energy at Mātauranga House for September.
“I have been advised that energy usage is being kept to a minimum and options are being explored to minimise ongoing operational costs,” Hipkins said.
Ministry of Education’s Rob Campbell said they were working through lease requirements in order to deal with the seismic issues.
“While the dispute resolution processes are underway the Ministry is meeting the payment of ongoing operating costs for the building such as rent, insurance and energy.”
The lease of the building costs $568,281 per month, with Hipkins saying the Ministry would continue to honour it “whilst further engineering evaluations are taking place and the dispute resolution process is worked through”.
Stanford said the Government should prioritise ending the lease, which is set to expire in 2030.
She called it a “complete disregard for taxpayer money”, while schools were “crying out for more resources, and Kiwi families are forced to tighten their belts during a cost of living crisis”.
The Ministry moved most of its staff to Mātauranga House in 2016, signing a 15-year lease intended to make “significant savings”, a press release stated at the time.
In May, Secretary for Education Iona Holsted said it was too early in the process to know how long remediation work would take and that they were considering compensating staff working from home for the extra cost.
Campbell said on Monday that Mātauranga House staff who could not work from home could work in other Wellington offices.
“For that reason it was decided that a working from home allowance was not required.”
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Nearly $2.4m spent on vacant Education Ministry building over four … – Stuff
