NZ govt slammed over $10m NY apartment

NEW Zealand's government is under fire for spending $NZ11 million ($A9.82 million) on a "lavish" apartment for its top diplomat in New York.
THE three-bedroom apartment, which also boasts three bathrooms, is across the road from the United Nations' New York headquarters and overlooks the East River.
It's just a short walk across the road to work for the apartment's occupant - New Zealand's permanent representative to the UN, Gerard van Bohemen. Labour and the Greens say it's an unwise extravagance for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. "The neighbourhood is home to some of Hollywood's A-listers," said Labour's David Shearer. Green Party co-leader James Shaw says it was wasteful spending. "MFAT really needs to front with why they bought this particular apartment and the process that was behind choosing it," he said. Former NZ foreign minister and NZ First leader Winston Peters said it wasn't fair for the media to run pictures of Mr van Bohemen alongside stories about the apartment. "Our UN representative is simply doing his job," Mr Peters said on Friday. "The men responsible for this out of control spending are Foreign Minister Murray McCully and Finance Minister Bill English - why aren't they being photo-imaged?" "New Zealand doesn't need an apartment as a status symbol," he said. "There were many reasonable alternatives available ... all would have been thoroughly acceptable." In a statement, a MFAT spokesman said the new apartment is intended to be a working space as well as residence. "The layout will be used for diplomatic meetings and functions. The higher ongoing maintenance costs and the distance from the UN building meant the older residence was determined as no longer fit for purpose," he said. "New York property costs are high and growing, and it was determined that the purchase of a new property represented better long-term value to the taxpayer than leasing a property." The cost of the new apartment will be offset by the sale of the old apartment, which is now on the market. MFAT owns 92 offshore properties and leases 217. A New York real estate website had earlier wrongly reported that the Queen had bought the apartment. Records showed that "Her Majesty the Queen in Right of New Zealand" had made the purchase.