AI in government? Just two ministers say they use it
Friday, 2 January 2026
Artificial intelligence is dramatically reshaping workplaces but, in the Beehive, almost all Cabinet ministers insist they do not use it.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has stated he has “not used Artificial Information [sic] (AI) tools in his official capacity,” a stance mirrored by NZ First leader Winston Peters and senior ministers including Minister for Digitising Government Judith Collins, ACT leader David Seymour, and Shane Reti, who holds the science portfolio.
Collins confirmed she has “not used generative artificial intelligence in my official capacity,” though agencies are “encouraged to use GenAI in ways that are safe”.
Education and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and first-term MP and South Island, Hunting and Fishing, and Youth Minister James Meager are the only government figures to break ranks.
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Stanford disclosed limited official AI use. She said she used ChatGPT to help draft material for a United States investment tour promoting the Active Investor Plus visa, her only official use of AI since January 2024.
Stanford said she did not read the generated text verbatim, instead using it as notes while she ad-libbed speeches in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Transcripts show Stanford guided the AI closely, asking it to construct a 10-minute keynote using Split Enz’s Six Months in a Leaky Boat as a central metaphor, reframing New Zealand’s distance from markets as a strategic advantage.
She instructed the AI to include Rocket Lab launch statistics and references to her education curriculum reforms, and corrected the output to ensure housing eligibility for visa holders was described as a personal base rather than a financial investment.
Meager and his staff hold eight Parliamentary Services-paid subscriptions to Microsoft 365 Copilot and use it to “summarise correspondence and external documents for ease of reading”, he told The Post.
His office also subscribes to Otter AI for transcribing and summarising interviews and speeches.
Even ministers who clearly interact with AI appear reluctant to admit it.
Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk declined to release his prompts, explaining that because AI is now “embedded in commonly used applications like Google, and Microsoft Word and Outlook,” collating his inputs would require “substantial collation.”
Despite the public denials, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and Parliamentary Service have facilitated a Copilot rollout to ministerial offices.
Internal emails show licences were made available from September 2025, alongside training seminars on “The art of prompting”.
Training presentations explicitly warn staff: “Don’t blindly trust AI outputs” and note that, “Similar to AI-generated images featuring people with extra fingers, written content can also contain errors”.
Staff are advised to use Copilot as the 'only approved AI tool' because unauthorised tools like standard ChatGPT or Claude sit outside the Parliamentary network and pose security risks regarding data storage.
The rollout is governed by a DIA policy dated August 1, 2025, which classifies AI-generated material as 'official information' subject to the Public Records Act.
The policy draws a hard line on automated governance. Enterprise AI tools “must not materially contribute to decisions that could lead to an adverse outcome for an individual,” such as assessing applications or complaints.
The policy also mandates transparency. Any document materially produced or edited by AI “must be labelled as having had AI input.”
Ministers including Luxon and Minister for Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden confirmed the Cabinet Office had not provided advice on whether AI-generated material counted as official information.
Minister for Commerce Scott Simpson noted: “We have been advised by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) that the Cabinet Office has not provided advice … on whether 'AI-generated material … [is] official information.'”
Ministers claiming not to use AI in an official capacity*:
Christopher Luxon (Prime Minister)
Winston Peters (Foreign Affairs)
Judith Collins (Attorney-General)
David Seymour (Regulation)
Brooke van Velden (Internal Affairs)
Shane Reti (Health)
Penny Simmonds (Environment)
Scott Simpson (Commerce)
Matt Doocey (Mental Health)
Karen Chhour (Children)
Mark Patterson (Rural Communities)
Casey Costello (Customs)
Andrew Hoggard (Biosecurity)
Tama Potaka (Conservation)
Louise Upston (Social Development)
* the rest didn’t respond.