As the Herald reported in May, it was estimated that more than $1 million had been spent on the works, including replacing its roof, buying new furniture, and painting interior and exterior walls.
However, Labour’s latest attempts to find out what has been spent over the past financial year have come up short.
A 2015 file image of a main function room in Premier House. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Prime Minister responded to a question by saying the final costs could not be released because of the DIA’s year-end processes.
Labour has taken issue with this, asking what Luxon is “hiding” and referring to it as a “hidden bill”.
“Premier House needed work; the least Christopher Luxon can do is come clean about the bill,” Labour campaign chairman Kieran McAnulty said.
“New Zealanders shouldn’t have to wait until after the election to find out how much Christopher Luxon has really spent on Premier House.”
Luxon’s office reiterated a previous comment to the Herald that it had made clear to officials that remediation should be “at minimal cost”. However, final decisions were “operational matters” for the DIA.
The DIA told the Herald it would publish the final costs “as soon as practicable”.
“The remedial works project at Premier House has recently been completed.
“This project involved a broad and complex programme of works that were required to address critical repairs of parts of the property that had significantly degraded. As previously reported, this has included roof replacement, cladding repairs, and a full exterior repaint.
“As the project has recently concluded, the department is completing the final reconciliation, assurance and verification activities needed to confirm the total project cost. Releasing a figure before these processes have been finalised could result in information that is incomplete or subject to revision.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s office wanted work done at a minimal cost. Photo / Anna Heath
These aren’t the first works at Premier House. Labour’s Chris Hipkins approved the continuation of security upgrades and repairs when he was Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services in the last Government. It was reported at the time that those upgrades could reach nearly $3 million over five years.
About $180,000 worth of maintenance and other work was undertaken before Luxon moved into the house. That included everything from painting to air conditioning installation and a Sky TV connection.
Luxon didn’t stay at the house when he first became Prime Minister. He instead opted to stay in his apartment across the street from Parliament, saying maintenance was needed at Premier House. He eventually moved into the house in the second half of 2024.
In 2023, an independent report from the Premier House Board said the property needed “urgent investment” to “arrest the decline” in its condition and “to conserve the heritage fabric of the property”.
That report estimated that a full refurbishment would cost $33m “to address immediate heritage, seismic resilience and functional and performance requirements”. Long-term maintenance would cost about $1.3m a year or $27m over 20 years.
However, it was reported last year that the DIA was not going ahead with the $33m refurbishment option, instead choosing a smaller programme of remedial work.
Jamie Ensor is the NZ Herald’s chief political reporter, based in the press gallery at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist in 2025 for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.