REVEALED: Auckland’s $749,000 Reo Training Bill Drains Three Years of Paid Staff Time

The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance can reveal through a Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act request, Auckland Council has spent $430,865 on Te Reo Māori training over the past three years with no tests, no pass/fail criteria, and no proficiency outcomes required.

What’s more, the Council confirms staff logged 6,411 paid hours completing these courses at an estimated further $317,922.10 in staff costs.

Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Sam Warren said:

“Ratepayers are again footing the bill for corporate cultural training that requires zero demonstration of learning. These aren’t just language courses, they’re another feel-good workshop.”

“Auckland Council has spent nearly half a million on the training itself, and then stuck ratepayers with the bill for more than three full years of full-time staff hours to attend.”

“Councils love spending big on this kind of training, but box-ticking isn’t an outcome in itself. If Auckland Council thinks training programmes are a good use of ratepayer money, then they either need to prove it or scrap the schemes.”