The real problem with Plunket's finances is lack of transparency, says Taypayers' Union after complaints about organisation's spending

March 20, 2018

Jordan Williams says the main issue with Plunket, their salaries and their use of taxpayer money is a lack of information.

Taxpayers' Union head Jordan Williams says the main problem with Plunket's top salaries is a lack of transparency.

1 NEWS revealed last night that complaints have been received about Plunket's spending , with some saying they are taking money from small communities while paying themselves large salaries.

Last year 11 senior managers were paid salaries of more than $180,000 and almost $2 million was paid out to consultants and the organisation's consultancy payments were up by $600,000 from the previous year.

Plunket says they have had to make some tough decisions and the changes made have been necessary to provide support to every family that needs it in New Zealand.

A 1 NEWS exclusive reveals more complaints about the spending of NZ’s largest support service for under-fives.

Plunket's total income from last year was $85 million, three quarters of that was taxpayer funded.

Speaking this morning to TVNZ 1's Breakfast, Mr Williams said "the real problem here is more around transparency".

Despite Plunket being largely state-funded, Mr Williams said they are "very difficult to get information out of".

Plunket Chief Executive Amanda Malu has rejected the criticism, saying "I'm not going to apologise for trying to bring in the best that we can to make the difference of a lifetime for New Zealand families".

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