Negotiations over a 81ha taxpayer-purchased farm where a failed Northland charter school was based, are still on-going.
But the education spokeswoman for New Zealand First questioned why negotiations were taking so long and has suggested the Government had "run into difficulty with recovering the assets".
Ms Parata terminated the agreement with Nga Parirau Matauranga Charitable Trust, which operated Te Pumanawa o te Wairua charter school at Whangaruru, in January.
The school, which faced an immediate range of issues when it opened in 2014 - including drug use, low achievement, a falling roll and poor governance - received $5.2m in contract funding.
Karl Le Quesne, head of Early Learning and Student Achievement for the Ministry of Education, said the trust used the establishment payment it received under the contract to purchase assets in 2013, including the 81ha farm.
New Zealand First education spokeswoman, Tracey Martin, said New Zealand taxpayers had gifted the farm and other assets to the Nga Parirau Matauranga Charitable Trust.
"This has been a botch up by the Minister and the government, and a costly one for the New Zealand taxpayer," she said.
But Mr Le Quesne said the land was never gifted by the Ministry to the trust.
"The real estate was never gifted by us to the trust and the contract did not preclude the trust from purchasing assets in establishing the school," he said.
Mr Le Quesne said the Ministry was negotiating with the trust to recover the trust's assets, and that these discussions remain on-going.
Ms Martin questioned why they were still negotiating if the closure of the school was announced in January and the doors shut in March. Ms Martin said taxpayers "lost $4.9 million" following the failure of the charter school.
"The government has obviously run into difficulty with recovering the assets, including the 81ha $1.6m farm at Whangaruru charter school," she said.
Under-Secretary to the Minister of Education, David Seymour, said most of the $5.2m spent on the charter school was used for the schools operations.
"Yes it was $5.2m but for almost two years that school was an operation school with 70 students at its peek and a majority of that, more than $3m was spent on the operation of that school," he said.