Chris Hipkins, Simeon Brown in tit-for-tat over office space for bureaucrats

The National Party is once again accusing the Government of being addicted to spending and this time, it's over office space.

But Chris Hipkins, the minister in charge, is accusing National of fudging the numbers. 

COVID-19 has taught us many things, including the art of working from home.

With more and more Kiwi organisations giving staff the option to do so, the National Party wants to know why Government office space appears to be on the rise. 

"This is to cater for the bloated bureaucracy that Chris Hipkins and Labour has given New Zealanders," said National's Simeon Brown. 

Across the 32 core government agencies, office space has increased by 85,500 square metres since 2017. Or in other words, around 12 rugby fields. The equivalent of seven rugby fields were added in the last year alone.

"There's been an increase in Wellington. Some of that's driven by agency relocation as a result of earthquake-prone buildings for example," said Hipkins. 

Those numbers are just for our core government agencies. 

The minister in charge, Hipkins, said if you include all 76 Government organisations, office space has reduced. 

"We've decreased the overall size of the Crown estate by the equivalent of about 28 rugby fields during the time we've been in Government.

"I would've thought that'd be something the National Party would be applauding rather than something that they're criticising."

But Brown said Hipkins is trying to "spin his way through this". 

"The reality is the core public service has grown by 14,000 more bureaucrats under his watch, utilising 12 more rugby fields worth of space." 

Hipkins has "got no idea how Simeon Brown comes up with his numbers". 

"It wouldn't be the first time he's come up with some numbers that don't seem to make any sense," said Hipkins.

Brown said he used numbers from annual reviews and official information.

"I stand by my numbers."

In today's game of two halves, a bizarre battle over rugby fields and office space has entered the political arena. Both sides are claiming the other side has lost, but we do not have a clear winner.