REVEALED: NIWA Refuses to Disclose Public Spending on Video Game Contractors

The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union can reveal through an Official Information Act request that NIWA is refusing to disclose how much it paid private developers to build an online climate adaptation game, or the total cost of the game, despite the project being funded by taxpayers through the MBIE Endeavour Fund.

The “My Coastal Futures” game, built by NIWA in partnership with Hum Interactive and Geo AR Games, has research costs estimated at over $300,000, yet NIWA has refused to reveal what the subcontractors were paid, citing vague claims of commercial confidentiality.

Taxpayers’ Union Investigations Coordinator, Rhys Hurley, said:

“This is public money, spent on a public project, developed by private companies. Yet NIWA is stonewalling. New Zealanders have every right to know how much was paid, and to whom.”

“If the Government can publish what it spends on roadworks, consultancy reports, or film grants, then there’s no excuse for hiding the cost of a publicly funded game.”

“The Ombudsman must step in and start hold agencies to account when they misuse ‘commercial sensitivity’ as a catch-all excuse to dodge transparency.”

“The fact that NIWA won’t even release the bill speaks volumes about how far some agencies have drifted from basic public accountability. The new Earth Sciences New Zealand must do better and uphold the principals its predecessor has ignored.”