Two welcome events for incoming Film Commission chief executive Annie Murray, and two farewells for the outgoing acting chief executive, cost $16,400. Photo / Supplied
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The New Zealand Film Commission has raised eyebrows by throwing two events apiece for its outgoing acting chief executive, and for its incoming chief executive, for a total cost of $16,431.
In a kind of mirror image approval, incoming chief executive Annie Murray signed off the $8,627 price of two farewell parties for outgoing acting chief executive Mladen Ivancic; and Ivancic signed off the $7,804 price of two pōwhiri (welcome events) for Murray.
The Film Commission (NZFC) is a relatively small autonomous Crown Entity, whose job is to distribute public money to the film industry. It’s governed by a board of political appointees and last year it employed some 54 fulltime staff.
The celebrations took place in 2023, several months before the October election that ushered in a new Government and a “savings and efficiency drive” across the public sector – Budget 2024 reduced the NZFC’s baseline funding by 7.5% ($405,000 per annum).
On July 18 2023, 59 well-wishers joined Ivancic at Generator in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter. The send-off capped more than 30 years’ employment at the commission, which included stints as acting chief executive, chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
The venue hire, chef and staff cost $1928, alcohol was $1178 and catering was another $1333. Ivancic’s travel cost $445.
Commission senior adviser Tayla Hancock told the Herald, in an Official Information Act response, that marking Ivancic’s long tenure and retirement warranted two parties.
She also said the “New Zealand screen industry requested an event to thank Mladen for his service ... ”
The guests were comprised of: 10 NZFC staff; four other public sector individuals; two board members (including NZFC board chairman Alistair Carruthers); and 44 former colleagues, “cross agency peers”, stakeholders and industry representatives.
Two days later, on July 20, the commission threw a second farewell party for Ivancic in Wellington, held at Sir Peter Jackson’s sprawling film post-production facility in Miramar.
The cost of the Wellington party was $3743. Bar staff and drinks (plus their delivery and pick-up) cost $1579; catering was $820; “return shuttles” to take film commission staff between Wellington and Miramar cost $536; and travel for Carruthers cost $808.
Party guests totalled 116, including: most of the NZFC’s staff (54); four board members; 13 other public sector individuals; and, 45 former colleagues, film industry representatives and stakeholders.
Carruthers made a return trip from Auckland to attend the second party, despite also attending the first two days earlier. A charge of $808 covered his return flight from Auckland and taxis.
The Herald asked Carruthers if he thought the party spending was in line with the Auditor-General’s guiding principles – moderate and conservative – for public agency spending on staff milestones.
Carruthers didn’t respond (he noted only that the NZFC would reply to the Herald’s questions).
Staff parties are considered sensitive spending for public agencies. Such spending is generally considered distinct from agencies’ broad “business purpose”, even where outsiders such as industry stakeholders are guests; this is because the private benefit that is conferred on staff, and sometimes on their friends and family (or that could be seen to be conferred), is not incidental to the events.
In June 2023, the commission also fêted incoming chief executive Annie Murray with two welcome events.
A Wellington pōwhiri held on the morning of June 19 at Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry for Māori Development) cost $4479, including: $1900 for catering; $851 for “flights and accommodation” for two senior staff; $208 for seven taxi trips; and a further $1520 for four flights, from Rotorua to Wellington (return), for four Te Arawa leaders. There were 114 guests, including Murray, family members, and 70 NZFC staff, board members and other public sector employees.
Several weeks later, on June 30, the commission spent another $3325 on an afternoon pōwhiri for Murray in Auckland. The costs included: $1000 to hire the marae at AUT in the central city; $2205 for catering; and $120 for taxis. A total of 113 guests attended: 17 were NZFC staff, board and public sector employees, and the balance were from the wider film and television sector.
Hancock told the Herald two events were necessary “to recognise the significance of a new public sector chief executive (and first wahine Māori to take up the role) ... ”
The additional cost of flights and accommodation for Murray’s family members was covered personally, Hancock said.
NZFC’s guidelines on staff entertainment state that spending must be “moderate”, and that farewell parties “should be tailored” according to length of service and seniority. They also specifically suggest that farewells should be “self-catering”.
They recommend a cap on the number of guests - but provide no guidance on where the cap should be set - and also a cap for alcohol spending of $20 per guest.
Beyond the principle of moderation, no particular guidelines are given for welcome parties.
In contrast, most large government departments equate “moderate” with greater spending restraint.
The Department of Conservation’s spending cap for a retirement party for an employee with more than 30 years’ service is $400 for food and $400 for a gift.
MBIE’s sensitive expenditure policy also suggests a more modest scale for employee farewells. It recommends spending up to $7 per head to a cap of $300 for farewells for staff with up to 20 years’ service. It also indicates flexible decision-making involving the deputy secretary of the department or above for employees with longer service.
The MBIE policy is not to fund alcohol for staff functions.
James Ross, policy and public affairs manager at the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union, said the party spending by the film commission was considerably out of step with the current “scrimping and saving” of Kiwi families “to make ends meet”.
”After chucking their last chief exec a golden goodbye worth hundreds of thousands of dollars only the year before, you’d think they’d be looking for ways to save money. Not at the Film Commission, where every day’s a party,” Ross said.
In 2022 the NZFC board negotiated the departure of then chief executive David Strong. Strong stepped down with an extraordinary severance payment of $438,700 (well over his $310,000 to $320,000 annual salary) amid considerable controversy about a disclosed conflict of interest.
All up, the commission paid out $700,000 in 2022 to mop up issues around the Strong conflict, including the severance, a stint of paid leave for Strong, the cost of an outside investigator, legal fees and public relations and reputation management help.
Those events unfolded under the leadership of former board chairwoman Kerry Prendergast. Prendergast was not reappointed to the role and Carruthers took up the post in October 2022.
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Paul Goldsmith, said the parties of 2023 constituted “operational decisions” and he declined to take a view on the expense.
Goldsmith is preparing to replace Carruthers as chairman of the NZFC – the previous Labour Government appointed Carruthers to the chairmanship of both the NZFC and, subsequently, TVNZ.
There is some overlap between the work of the two agencies and Carruthers has what is considered a “both sides of the table” conflict of roles in some areas – the conflict is not a personal one and it is currently being managed.
* Amendments have been made to the headline and intro of this article to use the word “events” rather than “parties” to describe what the money was spent on.
Kate MacNamara is a South Island-based journalist with a focus on policy, public spending and investigations. She spent a decade at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation before moving to New Zealand. She joined the Herald in 2020.