Jimmy
Ellingham, Field Correspondent
Louisa
Cleave, Senior Producer, Checkpoint
The
chairman of a controversial ministerial advisory group that
will disband
months earlier than planned rejected advice from
officials about which office it should rent, preferring a
more expensive option for privacy reasons.
The
Ministerial Advisory Group for Victims of Retail Crime is
renting space in a Symonds Street building in central
Auckland, paying $119,000 for the 2025/26 year.
The
group was created in mid-2024 and correspondence obtained
from that time shows officials from the Ministry of Justice,
which provides the group with administrative support,
initially said that option wasn’t the
most-effective.
Officials recommended a shared office
with Kāinga Ora, but group chairman Sunny Kaushal said this
wasn’t suitable for privacy reasons.
This week Justice
Minister Paul Goldsmith announced the group would disband in
May, four months earlier than planned.
The
announcement followed RNZ revealing that three of the
group’s five members had resigned
in recent weeks, leaving just Kaushal and Hamilton
liquor retailer Ash Parmar.
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One of the members who
resigned, Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young, said her
relationship with Kaushal became untenable.
The group
has faced criticism
for its spending and value for money, including over
Kaushal’s fees as chairman.
But, Kaushal and Goldsmith
have defended the group’s work, saying it had provided
advice on a range of issues such as trespass law reform and
self-defence.
Proposed office doesn’t meet chairman’s
requirements – officials
Documents obtained by the
New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union show a shortlist of three
possible offices was developed, after Kaushal had reviewed
26 possible options.
The Symonds Street office was one
of the three, but not the one officials initially favoured.
That was a shared space with Kāinga Ora in
Ellerslie.
However, in the documents, the Ellerslie
office was described as “open plan… which isn’t
appropriate for confidential conversations”.
“This
option was originally our recommendation, however, the
chairman has advised this doesn’t meet his requirements due
to the privacy concerns.”
So instead the Symonds
Street office was recommended.
“While this option is
not the most cost-effective it is the recommended option due
to the property being secure, minimal risk of individuals’
breach of privacy, and furniture is supplied, making the
move in more seamless, as well as benefiting the
environment.”
A third office, in Parnell, was
considered, but the landlord there wouldn’t add a break
clause to any rental agreement.
‘This isn’t the
SIS’
This week the ministry confirmed the Symonds
Street lease would now end in May, rather than
September.
A spokesman for Goldsmith said questions
about operational matters should be directed to the
ministry.
Ministry deputy secretary, policy, Caroline
Greaney said as at 31 December, the 389 sqm Symonds Street
office was the usual place of work for three staff members
and Kaushal.
“It also serves as the venue for group
member meetings, and stakeholder meetings and
functions.”
The ministry couldn’t immediately say how
many stakeholder meetings and functions it had
held.
Kaushal told RNZ he’d previously answered
questions about the office.
The documents obtained by
the Taxpayers’ Union show the total cost for the Symonds
Street office in 2025/26 was $131,000, when other expenses
such as power were factored in.
Union investigations
co-ordinator Rhys Hurley said paying that much for an office
of such a size was a farce.
“The original
recommendation from the Ministry of Justice was to take the
most cost-effective office,” he said.
“The chairman
was concerned about privacy, but this isn’t the SIS. The
next time a quango like this needs space, they can borrow
some of ours.”
Hurley said the most cost-effective
option for taxpayers should have been taken.
Labour
police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen said the group had been a
disaster since it began.
“[Prime Minister Chris] Luxon
and Goldsmith have spent millions, a lot of which is going
to Sunny Kaushal’s office space, overpriced events, and
Kaushal’s lofty remuneration, only to rehash bad ideas like
citizen’s arrest in return.
“Goldsmith needs to front
up about why they allowed the group to spend on more
expensive office options when more affordable options were
available.”
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