The Labour Party's election-year promises have been consigned to the rubbish bin, ACT Finance Spokesman MP Rodney Hide said today.

"This Government promised New Zealand that they would rein in the public sector's 'culture of extravagance'. Jim Anderton said there was to be no more hiring of outside consultants. His department then spent $2 million on consultancy firms in just four months.

"We now discover that $8 million has been spent on ninety-seven 'leased executives' by public service departments in the past financial year.

"Each of these 'leased executives' costs more than $750 a day.

"State Services Minister Trevor Mallard claims that spending $8 million on less than 100 leased executives 'isn't a major problem'.

"But the State Services Commission advises: 'leased executive appointments are at best high risk and at worst inappropriate'.

"It is insulting to New Zealanders that the Labour Party, which campaigned against waste and extravagance, is now happy to spend more on 'leased executives' than the taxpayer pays the Prime Minister," Rodney Hide said.

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