Helen Clark says the $11.4 million the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spent on a New York apartment is "definitely money well-spent".
The ministry bought the apartment at 50 United Nations Plaza so diplomat Gerard van Bohemen, New Zealand's representative on the Security Council, could be closer to the organisation's headquarters.
Covering 279 square metres, the penthouse suite hosts three bedrooms, steam and massage rooms, a gym and a 23-metre swimming pool.
The spend-up prompted criticism from Labour, the Greens and New Zealand First, but Ms Clark – a former Labour Prime Minister and as head of the United Nations Development Programme, the third-most powerful person in the institution – disagrees.
"The current residence is about 45 blocks away from the UN," she said on TV3's Paul Henry programme this morning.
"If you're the ambassador and you're trying to lobby for peace in the Middle East or some other cause, are people going to get in the car in the middle of the day in the rush-hour traffic of New York and go 45 blocks? Of course not."
She says it's more than just a place for the diplomat to stay while he's in New York.
"This is an entertainment venue, a work venue for the New Zealand mission, and I can tell you there will be lunches – people will be coming over in the lunch break. It'll be money well-spent."
The Government defended the purchase, saying it was a bargain by New York standards and would only go up in value, saving taxpayers in the long-run compared to leasing a comparable space.
3 News
source: newshub archive
