25788 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Local Government

25788 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister of Local Government: How much, if any, is the total budget in the Minister's departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any, for the 2026/27 financial year on artificial intelligence- including costs on training staff, deploying systems, maintaining subscriptions and any other associated costs?

Hon Simon Watts: The Water Services Authority – Taumata Arowai is yet to set the finalised Budget for the 2026/27 financial year as it is to be finalised through the Statement of Performance Expectations. The Authority anticipates undertaking a range of AI-related activities during the year including in-house staff training associated with the recent roll out of Microsoft Copilot. The Authority also anticipates incurring some licensing and usage costs, including costs associated with AI and automation initiatives.