Prime Minister Jenny Shipley told National Radio she was “very annoyed” by the allegations of excessive expenditure from
government departments this morning and that she was looking forward to an explanation later this week.
Having just returned from a tour of Asia Mrs Shipley told Kim Hill that whoever was responsible for any excessive
expenditure should be held to account. She said there was no justification for chartering aircraft unless there was an
explanation that she had not yet heard.
“It doesn’t look good on the surface, I have to say,” she said.
Mrs Shipley said the investigations into the allegations of excessive expenditure by WINZ chief executive Christine
Rankin was a good test case for State Services Commissioner Michael Wintringham. She said as soon as she knew the
outcome of his inquiries the public would also know.
ENDS