2026 Jonesie Awards for Government Waste Winners Announced: Chris Hipkins Receives Lifetime Achievement in Waste Award

The Taxpayers' Union's annual Jonesie Awards (the Jonesies) today have once again shone a light on the 'best of the worst' of Government waste. Hosted in Parliament's Legislative Council Chamber, there were laughs, there were tears, and there was more competition than ever for our coveted Golden Hogs.

Since 2018, the Jonesies - modelled on the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation's 'Teddies' hosted at the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa - have awarded councils, departments, and politicians for the most weird and wacky waste throughout the year. 

Commenting on the event, Taxpayers' Union spokesperson, Tory Relf, said:

“This year’s Jonesies had it all - from skydiving lessons to disco toilets, hundreds of iPhones going AWOL and a $150,000 road cone hotline, there was no shortage of waste.”

“Mahé Drysdale’s $470,000 on coffees was music to the ears of the awards committee, and the Te Pāti Māori co-leaders took the prize for central government waste for a sustained and unapologetic expansion of spending."

“And with a last-minute nomination, Chris Hipkins won the Lifetime Achievement Award for his once-in-a-generation waste of $35 billion of Covid Response and Recovery Fund spending burned on non-Covid initiatives. That is $17,157 for every New Zealand household, shovelled from the taxpayer onto non-Covid projects during an international crisis."

"Congratulations to all our winners this year, but we've barely scratched the surface of Government waste, so look forward to seeing our contestants again next year."
 
Local Government Nominees:

1. Wellington City Council ($2.3 million disco loos): Wellington City Council spent $2.3 million on a public toilet block under former Mayor Tory Whanau, including $147,000 on decorative lighting.

2. Selwyn District Council (Child governance): Selwyn District Council included children’s feedback in its long-term planning consultation on housing, rates and infrastructure. The Council later admitted it did not separate children’s submissions from adult submissions before they were reviewed by councillors.

3. Auckland Council ($118 million consultant spend): Auckland Council spent $118 million on consultants in the first two full financial years of Mayor Wayne Brown’s term. The spending comes as the Super City faces a record rates hike, with the mayoral office alone spending $2.5 million on consultants over two years, compared with $4,110 across four years under former Mayor Phil Goff.

4. Mahé Drysdale ($470k coffees): Tauranga City Council spent over $470,000 on coffee machines and beans for staff, a decision occurring under a term that included a 36 percent rates increase, the highest-paid councillors in the country, and a $92 million council headquarters project.

5. Christchurch City Council (243 flights during climate emergency): Local councils spent $1.3 million on international flights over five years. Christchurch City Council spent more than $211,000 on 243 international flights - the most flights recorded by any council that had declared a climate emergency.

The 2026 Winner for Local Government Waste - Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale!

 
Central Government Nominees:

1. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Going for growth): The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet recorded 27 attempts by staff to access “adult entertainment websites” on government devices, up from 24 in the previous year.

2. Te Pāti Māori Co-Leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi: 

3. Minister Brooke van Velden ($150,000 cone hotline): Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden allocated $150,000 to establish a public hotline for road cone complaints - a hotline that wasn’t even a hotline! The submission tool received just over 1,000 complaints before closing early, equating to roughly $140 per complaint.

4. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (Mystery iPhone robber): Between 2022 and 2025, 258 iPhones and 22 iPads (an average of two per week over the period) were reported missing from MBIE, at a cost of $137,000. Have they not heard of Find My iPhone?

5. Tertiary Education Commission (Fees Free skydiving courses): More than $1.2 million in Fees Free funding has been used to subsidise skydiving courses for students. The Government’s Fees Free programme contributes $12,000 per student, leaving trainee skydivers to fork out just $1,500 - $7.50 per jump.

The 2026 Winner for Central Government Waste - Te Pāti Māori Co-Leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi
 

2026 Lifetime Achievement in Waste Award: Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins

This year’s winner was a late entrant in light go the Royal Commission’s report into COVID-19 Lessons Learned. Because as powerful and all-seeing as the Taxpayers’ Union’s expert judging panel may be, there is one body even more prestigious - a Royal Commission. 

As the Commission records, around half of the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund allocated was instead spent on projects not directly related to the pandemic. That is $35 billion - $17,157 per Kiwi household -  shovelled out to non-emergency projects during a public health emergency.

This was nation-shaping, debt-loading, inflation-feeding, once-in-a-century waste. And perhaps most damningly of all, the Commission records that a second week of planned public hearings was cancelled after ministers declined to participate.

So with respect for the billions burned, and with gratitude to the Royal Commission for their work, the 2026 Jonesie Lifetime Achievement in Waste Award is conferred upon former Covid Response Minister, and current Labour Party Leader, Chris Hipkins.

Unfortunately, like the COVID inquiry itself, Mr Hipkins was unavailable to accept the award in person.