Revelations that the immediate family of a senior Minister has received at least a quarter of a million dollars from a ministry for which he had responsibility – and yet no conflict of interest was declared - raises serious questions that require answers, National’s Public Service spokesperson Simeon Brown says.

“Parliamentary questions have disclosed that a company headed by the partner of Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare, and which also employs other members of his family, has been awarded government contracts worth at least $593,000 in the past two years. At least $249,000 worth of contracts were awarded by the Ministry of Health.

“On the face of it, this represents a clear conflict of interest. Yet there is no reference to Mr Henare declaring any conflict in the public register released by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

“New Zealand is a small country, and it is not unreasonable to expect professional and personal paths to cross. However, the partner and family of a Minister receiving hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars deserves an explanation and assurances that proper processes have been followed. It is a breach of the Cabinet Manual to not declare a conflict, and another breach to not manage it.

“The rules are very clear that even a perception of deriving benefit from a personal association with a Minister requires management.

“Labour already has an appalling record on managing conflicts of interest. Just this year we have seen Stuart Nash sacked over disclosure of confidential Cabinet information to donors, Michael Wood resigning over his failure to declare shareholdings in companies he had ministerial powers over and Kiri Allan failing to properly declare a donation linked to Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon. Mr Foon was also forced to resign from his role over a separate failure to disclose interests in emergency housing.

“New Zealanders deserve answers from both Mr Henare and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins as to how such a massive conflict has been managed and whether it has been done so appropriately.”

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