REVEALED: Ministry Spends $1.87m on Car Parks While Rural Buses Are Cut

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that the Ministry of Education is spending $1.87 million per year on leased and reserved car parks across the country for their fleet and visitors.

This comes as the Ministry’s workforce has grown significantly to 3,835 in 2025, an increase of around 46 percent since 2017, with their average salary now sitting at $114,800, up 25.74 percent.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“Spending nearly $2 million a year on car parks will raise eyebrows, especially with the current run of stories about rural kids having their school buses cut.”

“In Christchurch, the Ministry is leasing 23 more car parks than it has vehicles, while students are unable to even make it into the classroom.”

“At a time when education is under pressure for funding, the growth in bureaucracy alongside examples of costs like this raises serious questions about priorities.”

“The Ministry should be looking to minimise costs across the sector, not locking in expensive leases for a growing number of staff who need to start thinking about catching the bus themselves.”

The Official Information Act request can be found here
The total number of Ministry staff over the last 25 years can be found here
The salary leader board can be found here