Zaoui bill $2.4m and climbing

The case of Algerian asylum seeker Ahmed Zaoui has cost almost $2.5 million with no end in sight.

New Zealand First has been keeping a tally of costs for what deputy leader Peter Brown calls an ongoing hole in the pocket of the taxpayer.

Leader of the House Michael Cullen says the total is about $2.4 million.

The bill for legal aid is $483,744, Crown Law $1.273 million, Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security $357,000 with court costs of $252,000.

"I have no estimate of the final cost," said Dr Cullen, "but it looks as though it would be at least enough to keep the Overlander running for another couple of years."