Willis: govt should apologise over cost of living payment

The National Party is urging the government to apologise after the Auditor General's ruling on the distrubtion of payments to help low and middle income New Zealanders with the high cost of living. The Auditor General had been urged to investigate by National's deputy leader Nicola Willis Whilst the Auditor General concluded that the payments made to ineligible people do not constitute unappropriated expenditure, the government should have taken greater care when distributing those payments Some people living offshore received the first installment, as did former migrants and - in some cases - people who'd died. Nathan Rarere asked Ms Willis whether she was satisfied with how the government has responded to the public spending watchdog's findings.