Lefties at the trough - the left love burning your money

The latest figures from the Taxpayers’ Union show that over the last 21 months, MPs have racked up nearly $15 million in Parliamentary Service spending on travel, accommodation and transport - all on the taxpayer’s dime, with precious little transparency about what the money actually bought.

What leaps off the page, and should make every Kiwi gasp, is that the top five spenders are all from the left of the political spectrum, proving yet again that when it comes to splurging taxpayers’ cash, the lefties simply can’t help themselves.TR

1. Rawiri Waititi (Te Pāti Māori) – King of Taxpayer Spending
   Despite holding a pretty minor position in Parliament and having no real portfolio to justify exorbitant travel or logistical needs, Rawiri Waititi tops the entire list with a staggering $273,681 in Parliamentary Service expenditure. The co-leader of a minor party, whose contribution in Parliament is often indistinct and whose legislative achievements amount to absolutely whuk all, has cost Kiwi taxpayers more than any other MP.

2. Damien O’Connor (Labour)
   Following hot on Waititi’s heels is seasoned Labour MP Damien O’Connor, a familiar name from the Labour left-of-centre clan. No surprise here: a big government apologist with big spending habits to match.

3. Hūhana Lyndon (Greens)
   Hūhana, who? Third on the list is basic Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon, another left-wing politician whose high personal costs underline that the Greens love using public money to push their agenda - often without delivering tangible results. Proving once again the Greens don’t give a whūk about climate change or the environment, they just want your taxes and to screech about overseas drama which they know they can’t fix.

4. Debbie Ngawera-Packer (Te Pāti Māori)
   There’s a rumour doing the rounds that spray tans at Sunkissed by Shazza have gone up. Purely coincidental, of course. One can only marvel at where all that taxpayer cash might be going, because Parliament does not seem to be getting much for it.

5. Chris Hipkins (Labour)
   This is the one entry I can actually justify. As Leader of the Opposition, his costs should be higher than most on the list. Everyone knows I am no fan of Labour, but credit where it’s due. This level of expenditure at least comes with the territory.
   

The pattern could not be more obvious. The left’s MPs treat taxpayer funds like a bottomless corporate travel budget on a junket, jetting around the country and the world with little accountability, all while ordinary New Zealanders tighten their belts. Rawiri Waititi’s position is perhaps the most galling: for someone who has spent so little time actually shaping serious national policy, to sit atop the spending leaderboard is almost surreal. He does whūk all for Māori - all he does is play dress up in his cringe cowboy hats.

This isn’t about line-by-line receipts, because Parliament conveniently hides those from public view. The numbers we do have, straight from Parliamentary Service disclosures, should be enough to make any sensible voter question why these MPs are being allowed to treat public money as their private credit card.

If Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori genuinely cared about fiscal responsibility, they’d be the first to trim their own travel expenses and stop swaggering through Wellington hotels and flights - but as this list proves, they’d rather spend and justify later, if at all.

Here’s the part you are not supposed to say out loud. Look at the list again. Three of the top five spenders all identify as Māori…