Mitchell Greenwood
[FYI request #29850 email]
18 February
Dear Mitchell,
OIA 24-25-41: NZTE Office Costs Thank you for your email of 23 January to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), making
a request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). You requested the following
information:
In light of the OIA response dated 10th October regarding Wellington renovation costs, it
appears NZTE pays $1,511,279 annually for its Wellington office. Please justify the need to
maintain such an expensive office using taxpayer money.
Specifically:
How many customers (NZ exporters) visit the Wellington office annually? Why is it necessary for the office to be in the middle of Wellington, given most meetings
likely occur at client offices or online? Additionally, please provide the following information:
A full list of all NZTE office locations, both in New Zealand and internationally. For each office, the annual costs for: Rent or lease payments Cleaning and maintenance Electricity and utilities WiFi or internet Any other operational costs such as car parks etc
Answers to your questions are as follows/Please find attached a response to your request.
1. The current annual lease cost noted is $1,511,279 (as taken from NZTE Estimates
Answers 2024/25). This is the total cost for
all three floors. NZTE has co-location
agreements with two other organisations under which these organisations pay rent on one
floor. Subtracting their contributions NZTE’s current annual lease cost is
$1,009,059.
2. NZTE does not hold a record or database of how many customers visit the Wellington
office, therefore, we are refusing this under 18(e), the information does not exist.
3. Along with most government agencies, NZTE has an office in Central Wellington. NZTE’s
Wellington-based footprint consists of a range of teams and functions, in addition to the
customer-facing team.
4. Please refer to NZTE’s 2023/24 Annual Review Appendices Q18: Floor space (pg. 3-4).
You can find this on the New Zealand Parliament website, under Parliamentary Business,
Select committees, Submissions and Advice; or at the link here -
New Zealand Trade and
Enterprise (Appendices to written questions 1 to 198) - New Zealand Parliament. You will
find that majority of the requested information is provided in this document. To break this
T: +64 4 816 8100
W: nzte.govt.nz
W: newzealand.com/business
Level 15, The Majestic Centre, 100 Willis Street, Wellington 6011, New Zealand, PO Box 2878, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
down any further would require substantial collation and we are refusing this under 18(f).
You have the right under section 28(3) of the Act to seek an investigation and review by the
Ombudsman. Information about how to make a complaint is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.govt.nz or freephone: 0800 802 602.
Yours sincerely
Melissa Trochon
Director – Board & Ministerial
