Proactive release of information about management of ministerial conflicts of interest#
1 July to 31 December 2025#
1 The table below is a summary of certain actions taken by Ministers to manage actual and potential conflicts of interest during the period 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2025. It includes transfers of responsibility to other Ministers and standing arrangements not to receive Cabinet papers. Other steps for managing conflicts of interest set out at paragraph 2.76 of the Cabinet Manual (such as declarations of interest, and ad hoc or short-term arrangements not to receive papers) are not included.
2 The Office of the Ombudsman has reviewed this summary and confirmed that it is consistent with the more detailed record held by the Cabinet Office.
3 The actions listed in the table are standing arrangements and may cover multiple instances when responsibility was exercised by another Minister or papers were not received. It is also possible that there have been no such instances because the particular issue has not arisen in practice.
4 The nature of each actual or potential conflict of interest is usually described using the following categories:
4.1 Pecuniary: relating to a Minister’s personal financial interests such as assets, debts and gifts;
4.2 Personal: relating to a Minister’s non-financial personal interests, such as family, whānau or close associates, former employment and business activities, and (in certain limited circumstances) current and past involvement with specific organisations;
4.3 Portfolio: relating to different aspects of a Minister’s official responsibilities;
4.4 Constituency: relating to a Minister’s role as a Member of Parliament.
5 The following actions commonly occur as a consequence of a transfer:
5.1 officials report directly to the transferee in relation to the specified matter(s);
5.2 any information relating to the specified matter(s) received by the transferor’s office is referred to the transferee;
5.3 the transferor does not receive Cabinet papers or other official papers or reports on the specified matter(s); and
5.4 if the specified matter(s) is/are discussed at Cabinet (or other relevant meetings), the transferor will declare his/her interest and withdraw from the meeting (or seek the agreement of colleagues to continue to take part).
6 These actions are referred to below as “action (1)”, “action (2)” etc.
7 A proactive release of information about the management of ministerial conflicts of interest (covering transfers of responsibility and arrangements not to receive papers) was agreed by the then Prime Minister and the former Chief Ombudsman in 2012. The release is intended to provide public assurance that systems are in place to manage conflicts of interest effectively, while protecting the privacy of individuals, the confidentiality of Cabinet discussions, and the confidentiality of correspondence between the Cabinet Office and the Prime Minister and other Ministers about actual or potential conflicts of interest.
8 Further information on the management of ministerial conflicts of interest is set out at paragraphs 2.59-2.83 of the Cabinet Manual 2023, and at Ministers' interests management.
| Minister | Matter at issue | Nature of conflict | Action taken |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hon Simmonds | Potential conflict between mid-2025 appointment of Fiordland Marine Guardians under the Fiordland (Te Moana o Atawhenua) Marine Management Act 2005 and a personal interest. | Personal | Responsibilities as Minister for the Environment for matters relating to the mid-2025 appointment of the Fiordland Marine Guardians transferred to Hon Potaka on 3 July 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3), and (4) put in place. |
| Hon McClay | Potential conflict between responsibility as Minister of Agriculture for Primary Sector Growth Fund decisions and a personal interest. | Personal | Responsibilities as Minister of Agriculture for Primary Sector Growth Fund decisions relating to wearable devices for livestock transferred to Hon Grigg on 14 July 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3) and (4) put in place. |
| Hon Willis | Potential conflict between responsibilities as Minister of Finance and Minister for Economic Growth for matters relating to Roa projects and a personal interest. | Personal | Responsibilities as Minister of Finance and Minister for Economic Growth for matters relating to Roa projects transferred to Hon Bishop on 16 July 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3), and (4) put in place. The transfer letter notes that it is intended to allow Hon Willis to consider papers and decisions which refer to Roa projects as part of the factual background/context as long as they do not require or relate to decisions specifically about Roa projects. |
| Hon Bishop | Potential conflict between responsibilities as Minister for Infrastructure in relation to the Fast-Track Approvals Act and a personal interest. | Personal | Responsibilities as Minister for Infrastructure for all matters relating to consideration of the Beachgrove Kaiapoi Expansion Project under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 transferred to Hon Jones on 5 August 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3) and (4) put in place. |
| Hon Goldsmith | Potential conflict between responsibilities as Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage and a personal interest relating to the Problem Gambling Foundation. | Personal | Responsibilities as Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage for matters relating to the community returns requirement, excluding matters relating to the relative allocation of funding between community organisations from the pool of funding derived from gambling proceeds (that pool being separate from the problem gambling levy) transferred to Hon Upston on 3 September 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3) and (4) put in place. Action (3) applies to the extent that the paper/report solely relates to the transferred matters. |
| Hon Seymour | A previous potential conflict regarding Dunedin Hospital unrelated to portfolio responsibilities no longer exists. | Personal | An arrangement was previously in place for Hon Seymour not to receive papers or participate in certain decisions relating to Dunedin Hospital. This arrangement ceased on 30 October 2025 as there is no longer a potential conflict. |
| Hon Chhour | Potential conflict between ministerial responsibilities as Minister for Children and Minister for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence for matters relating to the redress system for survivors of abuse in State and faith-based care and a personal and pecuniary interest as a person who may be a beneficiary of the Redress System. | Pecuniary/personal | Responsibilities as Minister for Children and for Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence for matters relating to the Redress System originally transferred to Hon Upston on 31 October 2024. Transfer amended (narrowed) on 30 September 2025, so that: Responsibilities for matters relating to the eligibility or amount of redress payments, and support and other services for survivors of abuse in State care (in the context of this transfer State care survivors excludes school and health care survivors) retained by Hon Upston. Hon Chhour retains responsibility for:
provided the above do not overlap with the transferred matters. Actions (1), (2), (3) and (4) remain in place for the transferred matters. |
| Hon Potaka | Potential conflict between Ministerial responsibilities and any interest relating to the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024. | Any | Responsibilities as Minister under any of the portfolios held by Hon Potaka, for matters relating to any application made under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 for which he has a conflict of interest, transferred to Hon Meager on 11 November 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3) and (4) to be put in place for any project for which the transfer arrangements have been activated. |
| Hon Bishop | Potential conflict between responsibilities as Minister for Infrastructure in relation to the Queenstown Cable Car Project and a personal interest. | Personal | Responsibilities as Minister for Infrastructure for all matters relating to the Queenstown Cable Car Project under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 transferred to Hon Jones on 2 December 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3) and (4) put in place. |
| Hon Potaka | Potential conflict between responsibilities as Minister for Māori Crown Relations in relation to a property in Papakura and a personal interest. | Personal | Responsibilities as Minister for Māori Crown Relations for any matter relating to a Papakura property for which he has a personal interest, transferred to Hon Jones in December 2025. Actions (1), (2), (3) and (4) put in place. |