Auditor-General to investigate Cabinet ministers' conflicts with fast-track projects

Thursday, 31 October 2024

Parliament’s auditor-general will investigate the handling of Cabinet ministers’ conflicts of interests with projects included in the controversial fast-track consenting regime.

The office of the auditor-general, John Ryan, issued a statement on Thursday saying Ryan had decided to inquire into the systems and processes used to manage any conflicts of interests in regard to the fast-track projects “to maintain trust and confidence in how public resources are used”.

“In circumstances such as this, it is important that there are systems to ensure that ministers promptly identify all potential conflicts (including perceived conflicts) and take sufficient steps to appropriately manage them,” the statement read.

“For these reasons, and the significant public interest in the fast-track process, we have decided to carry out an inquiry.”

The auditor-general would examine how conflicts of interest were identified and managed, and publish a report once finished with the inquiry. The policy decisions or the reasons for choosing certain fast-track projects would not be evaluated.

The Government earlier this month published the list of 149 projects that three Cabinet ministers - Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop, Resources Minister Shane Jones, and Transport Minister Simeon Brown - had decided would enter the so-called fast-track.

If successful in their applications, the projects on the fast-track list would circumvent usual resource consent processes and be given the go-ahead.

The fast-track regime has attracted controversy for not only offering an opportunity for previously-denied projects to be permitted, such as seabed mining, but for claims that ministers might favour projects they have connections to.

Typically details of ministerial conflicts are not disclosed to maintain confidentiality but, in an apparent response to public concern, Bishop earlier this month published details of the potential conflicts of interest identified by the three ministers.

He said Cabinet ministers were “mindful of the need to manage any actual of perceived conflicts of interest” when making decisions.

In cases where Bishop had a conflict, Brown became the relevant deciding minister. If Brown were to have a conflict, Jones would have been the deciding minister. For Jones’ conflicts, Māori Development Tama Potaka took over.

Bishop had identified a conflict with Winton’s Sunfield development in Auckland.

“Due to a possible perception of having publicly advocated for it previously, and out of an abundance of caution I transferred the decision to Minister Brown,” he said, at the time.

In 2022, Bishop advocated for Winton after it took Kāinga Ora to court over the development, and the National Party also received $103,260 in donations from Winton chief executive Christopher Meehan in the lead-up to the 2023 election.

Jones identified eight projects put forward by Te Aupōuri Fisheries Management, James Murray Aquaculture, Kings Quarry, Katikati Quarries, Matamata Metal Supplies, and Taharoa Ironsands, which put three projects forward.

“If they’re Māori, then they're people I know, or I might be related to, such as my own tribe. If they're in the quarrying and the metal sector, it's because I know them,” he told The Post.

Jones said he followed Cabinet office advice and was being “super cautious”.

He had earlier sought to rule himself out of decisions on Taranaki seabed mining because, as a vocal champion of both mining and fishing, he did not want to be caught between two friends. However this was not among the listed projects it had been decided he had a conflict on.

In February, Attorney-General Judith Collins also handed over her powers to Minister Paul Goldsmith in regard to the fast-track legislation.

Collins declined to explain what the conflict of interest was, but confirmed she “asked to be removed from any consideration” of the fast-track legislation.

“Conflicts of interest are common and do not present a problem if they are identified and managed well,” the auditor-general said, in the statement.