Former MP Peter Dunne says questions remain over minister's $17k airport parking bill

Minister for children, Karen Chhour. (File photo)

Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Former minister Peter Dunne says Children's Minister Karen Chhour's explanation for spending nearly $17,000 on airport parking leaves many questions unanswered and highlights the "cavalier" attitude of some MPs towards taxpayer-funded expenses at a time when New Zealanders are under financial pressure.

Newly released expense records, first reported by The Press, show Chhour spent $16,686 on parking at Auckland Airport between February 2024 and February 2026, with her vehicle parked there for a combined eight-and-a-half months.

Chhour has defended the spending, telling Stuff she prefers to "self-drive" because it is "almost always cheaper" than using Crown cars or taxi services, particularly given the extensive travel required in her role and visits to remote communities.

"That will inevitably lead to higher parking spending, but less cost to taxpayers overall," she said.

But speaking to RNZ Checkpoint, Dunne said he was sceptical that the numbers in Chhour's cost-saving explanation stacked up.

Peter Dunne served in Parliament between 1984 and 2017. (File photo)

Photo: RNZ

"Why was she parking in short-term parking and not long-term parking which is cheaper?"

According to The Press, one parking bill totalled $630 for a 15-day stay in a short-stay car park. The newspaper reported there were 11 other occasions where Chhour's vehicle remained in the same parking area for five days or more, each costing more than $300.

"Seems to me to be particularly unwise and inappropriate," said Dunne.

The veteran of NZ politics questioned both the safety and practicality of the arrangement, especially considering ministerial transport services were available.

"Chhour is entitled to the use of ministerial cars to take her to and from the airport on public business," he said.

"It would have certainly been, from a security point of view, safer and easier and more convenient."

Dunne acknowledged some costs are unavoidable, but ministers should consider how public money is being spent.

"The pressure needs to be on them, like everyone else, to keep those costs to a minimum," he said.

He said ministers should constantly apply what he described as the "front page test" to spending decisions.

"How can I justify this, firstly to myself, secondly to the public who would be concerned about it?"

He said Chhour's case was part of a broader pattern in which some politicians appeared "casual" about their entitlements.

"I think the system needs to be giving a much stronger message to ministers and to members of Parliament about their expenses," he said.

"Not that they shouldn't use those entitlements, but they should be prudent in doing so.

"I think a little bit of the attitude of 'it doesn't matter' which seems to be creeping in is unfortunate."

Dunne suggested ministerial services could provide stronger guidance on reducing MP expenses.

"The pressure needs to be on them, like everyone else."

The controversy comes amid wider scrutiny of Parliamentary spending.

Social Development Minister Louise Upston is facing scrutiny after it was revealed she, along with several other ministers, was collecting $1000 a week to live in her own Wellington apartment.

Dunne, who has held several ministerial roles under both Labour and National-led governments, said concerns about ministers pushing the limits of expense rules were far from new.

After spending 33 years serving in Parliament, Dunne said he knows ministers pushing the limits of expense rules was not new. (File photo)

Photo: VNP / Phil Smith

"Inevitably, and there always have been," he said.

"That's a bit of a flawed characteristic of human nature."

But the optics surrounding Chhour's decisions were troubling at a time when government agencies were being asked to find savings and many New Zealanders were facing financial pressure.

"To sort of just brush it off as the cost of doing the job in those circumstances, particularly when a lot of other people are under pressure in their daily lives, I think looks a bit cavalier."

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