June 4, 2015 2:00pm by David Farrar

A $70,000 stone

The Government’s business super ministry has admitted its controversial sign outside its headquarters cost almost $70,000, about 50 per cent more than it previously claimed.

The culture in MBIE is obviously not right, if no one involved in the project of moving offices flagged that this was a wasteful idea.

On Tuesday, MBIE said the sign was designed to be in character with the historic building it uses for its headquarters.

Many cheaper ways to do that.

A spokeswoman said the sign “was a one-off cost in a relocation programme projected to achieve around $40 million-$50 million in public sector savings over 20 years”.

The savings come from a cut in the amount of office space used by the ministry.

It’s good money was saved elsewhere, but a saving in one area doesn’t justify extravagance in another.