42265 (2025). Lemauga Lydia Sosene to the Minister for Vocational Education

42265 (2025). Lemauga Lydia Sosene to the Minister for Vocational Education: How many international flights in total, if any, counting each leg of a journey as an individual flight, has each department or entity that the Minister is responsible for paid for in the period from November 27th 2023 to August 1st 2025; and what was the total cost broken down by month, destination, cabin class and the purpose of the flight?

Hon Penny Simmonds: I refer the member to the following list which has been provided to me by the Tertiary Education Commission: November 2023: 2 legs, $733, economy class return flights for the Team Manager Ministerial & Privacy Services to attend the International Association of Privacy Professionals Australia New Zealand Summit 2023 in Sydney, Australia. February 2024: 2 legs, $14,075, business class return flights for the Deputy Chief Executive Ōritetanga Learner Success to attend and make a key note speech sharing the NZ learner success journey and approach at the Achieving the DREAM Conference in Orlando Florida, USA. This conference provided the opportunity to connect with and learn from world leaders in developing and implementing initiatives at scale that improve outcomes for learners. September 2024: 2 legs, $1,599, economy class return flights for the Chief Executive to present at the Times Higher Education conference in Sydney, Australia. November 2024: 4 legs, $1,786, economy class return flights for two keynote speakers, one from Melbourne, and one from Sydney, to speak at the Tūwhitia Symposium 2024 in Auckland.