The Ministry of Education is defending an estimated almost million-dollar spend on a Te Tiriti o Waitangi course over three years.

The Taxpayers’ Union has labelled it an “unjustifiable expense” but the agency is highlighting the importance of the course for “strengthening” staff capability.

Figures released to the Taxpayers’ Union, show the ministry spent a total $508,380 on the courses, taken by 1,076 staff from 2022 to 2024.

The course takes up 10 hours of staff time, and using the average public sector salary each, adds up to $479,392.60.

This brings the total estimated spend, combining staff time on the workshops and the cost of the course itself, to $987,772.60 across the three calendar years.

Taxpayers’ Union investigations coordinator Rhys Hurley labelled this an “unjustifiable expense,” and questioned why staff couldn’t undertake this in their own time.

“At over $900 per staff member, taxpayers are entitled to ask whether that money would have been better placed into frontline education.”

In a statement, Ministry of Education acting leader (hautū) corporate Rob Campbell said that as a Government department, it has obligations under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and it is important that workers understand these obligations and how they apply to their work.

“It provides an important opportunity for our people to build their understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi | The Treaty of Waitangi and how it shapes the Ministry’s work with Māori learners, whānau, iwi, and communities,” Campbell said.
He is standing by the agency’s spend on the course.

“Investing in high‑quality development opportunities strengthens our overall workforce capability and contributes to improved service delivery, operational resilience, and staff retention," Campbell added.

It’s estimated fewer than half of the people who work at the Ministry of Education have taken the course. Public Service Commission data shows as at September 30, 2025, the Ministry had 3,939 full-time equivalent staff.
In 2024, just 52 staff took the course at a total cost of $15,600.

The course was offered to all staff through the public sector agency’s learning platform, but required staff to opt-in to enrol, making it non-compulsory.

The contract for the course, also released under the Official Information Act, states the two-day workshops support people to develop their understanding and application of Te Tiriti o Waitangi within the wider education context.
A separate Ministry of Education document from 2023 added an understanding of Te Tiriti o Waitangi is “critical” to working effectively in the public sector.

The first five hours of the course are described as self-paced learning: “A shared understanding of the context of Te Tiriti and the impacts of colonisation is critical to discussions of current Te Tiriti relevance.”

That workshop is expected to be completed prior to a facilitated workshop on Zoom about implementing Te Tiriti.

Part two of the course is about “understanding the need to act and how Te Tiriti can guide action” in the workforce.

Documents state the latter half of the workshops cover reflections on the context of Te Tiriti, the agency’s position in the relationship, current issues in education including colonisation, institutional racism, and inequity, and “personal and collective actions to facilitate change.”

An overall satisfaction rating found a majority of staff rated the courses as “excellent” out of the options of excellent, fair, good, and very good.

Hurley questioned the success factor: “When the scale runs from positive to positive, how can the Ministry properly evaluate whether this was even worth the cost?”

“The public service needs to wake up to the real cost of workshops, including both the course fees and the lost staff time. Training should be reserved for those who genuinely need it, not bureaucratic workshops,” he said.

It’s not the first time the practice of certain workshops has come under question.

Minister for Regulation David Seymour last year said his Government agency should not be offering te reo lessons at the expense of the taxpayer.

Azaria Howell is a multimedia reporter working from Parliament’s press gallery. She joined NZME in 2022 and became a Newstalk ZB political reporter in late 2024, with a keen interest in public service agency reform and government spending.