What a huge waste of money

The Herald reports:

The cost of the Government’s Criminal Justice Summit has inflated to over $1.6 million and numbers reveal nearly $1m was spent on consultants alone.

Justice Minister Andrew Little originally planned for the two-day summit to cost $700,000 but figures from last month’s event highlight a major blowout.

Happens when you spend other people’s money.

But wait until you see the details.

“The breakdown of costs from the summit show the final bill included $970,660 on consultants, $26,592 on an MC, $65,800 on gourmet catering and $101,528 on international speakers, the total was $1.625 million.

$27,000 on an MC. Are you kidding me. Did they hire Oprah?

But Little was “satisfied” with the cost of the summit.

“It was a two-day summit. It was several hundred people,” he said.

That’s $800,000 per day. I’ve organised many many conferences. That level of spending is hugely extravagant. It was almost $3,000 per participant.