John Key this morning confirmed this, and said the costs of the trip would be released only after the six-day tour was over.
Now why is that? Because costs are not known? Unlikely at least in a ball-park sense.
Or is it because to release the cost in advance of the trip would be rude to the guests? Maybe, though we would not be as sensitive if it was an elected minister, for instance.
Or would it spark too much controversy maybe? Get all those republicans up in arms questioning whether the trip - and by extension the monarchy - was worth retaining?
Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that the whole issue of costs and arrangements for the royals' visit is considered highly sensitive - and that goes way beyond the protection of the privacy of the royals.
I think its pretty obvious: the public is likely to baulk at the cost, particularly in a recession. Those aristocratic frivolities? That's money that could be spent on your local school, your local hospital, on keeping people in jobs. It is pure waste.
The OIA is supposed to mean that such information is made public. Instead the government have successfully been able to hide it, essentially for their own PR reasons. Its not transparent, and its not democratic. But then, that's monarchy, isn't it?