National has had another crack at the Environment Ministry, this time over the cancellation of public policy workshops so a staff member could go on a trip to Australia.
National MP Jacqui Dean said the series of workshops on the National Standard on Ecological Flows and Water levels were postponed at the last moment.
This was because a staff member had decided to take up the offer of a trip to Australia to talk about water management issues and indigenous values with authorities there.
"Thousands of dollars have wasted by cancelling these workshops, and the plans of all the people attending the workshops have been thrown into disarray," Ms Dean said.
Environment Minister Trevor Mallard said the cancellation was not acceptable and he hoped it would not happen again in the future.