38825 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Trade and Investment

38825 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Trade and Investment: How much, if any, was spent in the 2025/26 financial year in the Minister's departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any, on artificial intelligence, including costs on training staff, deploying systems, maintaining subscriptions and any other associated costs?

Hon Todd McClay: For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, I refer the Member to the Minister of Foreign Affair’s response to WPQ 38701 (2026). New Zealand Trade and Enterprise spent $863,207 in the 2025/26 financial year on artificial intelligence (AI) which covers personnel, consultancy, licences and staff training expenditure. Invest NZ utilises the same software systems as New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, with costs allocated on a proportionate basis reflecting organisational scale and usage.