No belt-tightening for Bellamys

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Bellamys, the fine dining haunt of MPs, has escaped the chill of recession with taxpayers continuing to fork out about $300,000-a-year in subsidies to keep prices down.

Treasury papers show that Parliamentary Service, the organisation that looks after MPs and their staff, argued it would be impossible to do more for less, as the rest of the public service is being urged to do, because it would threaten "the quality and extent of services currently being provided to members [of Parliament]".

Ministers have also had trouble reining in their spending, despite their edict to department and ministry chief executives to trim millions from their budgets.

Labour leader Phil Goff said yesterday that National had some explaining to do after Treasury's papers revealed a blowout in ministerial travel to $739,000 double what Labour ministers spent during the same three-month period last year.

The blowout came as Finance Minister Bill English wrote to public service chief executives telling them they should "lead by example". But the edict clearly did not apply to ministerial services, which pleaded the case for an extra $25 million over five years to cope with "uncontrollable cost pressures" largely ministerial travel, staffing and official visits.

A Government spokesman said yesterday that the higher cost of travel was not surprising. It was in New Zealand's "economic and political" interests that ministers in a new government fostered new relationships internationally as quickly as possible.

Mr Goff said it was hypocritical at a time when programmes like "fruit in schools" were under review.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Service warned that trimming the $316,000-a-year subsidy for Bellamys, which includes an on-site catering service, would endanger its ability to cater for MPs.

MPs are required to be "on the precinct" when the House is sitting, which can be till 10pm or later two or more nights a week.

"The net cost of the service could be reduced by reducing the subsidy, however this will result in increased prices and therefore reduced demand for services, which would cause a reduction in services provided."

By TRACY WATKINS, The Dominion Post