New Zealand First Minister Shane Jones is facing questions after documents revealed that business class flights for a trip to Canada were booked before Cabinet approved his travel plans, with the final cost of the visit nearly doubling the approved budget.
According to a report by Stuff, documents obtained by Stuff show that two return business-class flights to Toronto were booked through Capital Travel on February 7, 2025, costing more than $20,000 each before fees and taxes. However, Cabinet approval for the trip was not granted until February 24, when Jones submitted a paper seeking authorisation to attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention.
In the Cabinet paper, Jones requested a travel budget of $33,068, including $15,600 for two premium economy return flights. By that stage, however, more than $40,000 had already been committed to business-class airfares.
The total cost of the trip eventually reached $63,019.12, almost double the amount approved by Cabinet.
Responding to questions about the discrepancy, Jones said there had been issues with the original travel arrangements.
“To the best of my knowledge, there was some sort of cock-up with the original booking, and then it was corrected, and by the time they corrected it, there must have been a change in the cost structure of the trip,” Jones told Stuff on Thursday.
The budget overrun reportedly prompted officials to seek explanations for months before the Prime Minister’s Office retrospectively approved the additional expenditure in February this year.
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters defended Jones, arguing that the original travel budget had been unrealistically low.
“When I saw that, actually, I couldn't believe that it was so low. So, what you've got is normalcy in this case, and there's nothing for us to apologise here for,” as quoted by Stuff.
Jones travelled to Toronto to attend one of the world's largest mining conferences, where he promoted New Zealand's minerals strategy and the Government's fast-track approvals process to investors, businesses and political leaders.
According to a post-trip report, he met executives from mining companies OceanaGold and RuaGold and held discussions with Canadian politicians, Stuff has reported.
However, the trip's costs have attracted criticism from the opposition.
Labour leader Chris Hipkins accused the minister of failing to follow the government's own message of fiscal discipline.
“They're telling everybody else to tighten their belts and make do with less, and Shane Jones is living it up large around the world. He’s not living up to the expectations that his own government are creating of other people,” as quoted by Stuff.
While business-class flights accounted for much of the additional spending, accommodation costs also exceeded projections. The hotel bill totalled $13,397.52, almost $4,000 above the approved budget. By contrast, meal expenses for two people over five days amounted to only $301.09 despite a budget allocation of $2,200.
Ground transportation generated another significant overspend. Although Cabinet approved $500 for transport, Jones' office hired a private limousine service costing C$3791.15. Records show the limousine and driver remained on standby for a combined 24 hours over three days, as reported by Stuff.
The total bill for ground transport, roaming charges and service fees approached $6,000.
Peters defended the use of the limousine, saying the key issue was whether it was used efficiently.
“Well, I got to know what the whole agenda was, and what the programme was, and how quickly he had to be in places, and how many meetings he had,” Stuff has quoted.
He added that what mattered was “not what the limo was there for, but what did he do to get to make sure that the limo was used to the max”.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described the situation as an administrative mistake.
“I don't expect it to happen again,” he said, Stuff has quoted.
Finance Minister Nicola Willis took a firmer stance, stressing that ministers were expected to remain within approved spending limits.
“Put it this way, when I go to Cabinet and seek approval for my budgets for international travel, I take that spending limit extremely seriously, as does my office,” she said, as quoted by Stuff.
“You should never exceed what the Cabinet grants you in terms of your travel budget, and I think this reflects significant errors on the part of the minister and his office.”
Jones responded to the criticism with a warning of his own.
“Provoke the matua at your peril,” as quoted by Stuff.