12. Hon PETE HODGSON (Labour—Dunedin North) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he believe that his Government should be transparent in all matters where conflicts of interest or perceived conflicts of interest may occur between his Ministers’ personal interests and matters before his Government?
Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Details regarding conflicts of interest and advice sought in relation to them are not generally disclosed, in order to ensure the confidentiality of Cabinet proceedings, to maintain the effective conduct of public affairs, and, in some cases, to protect personal privacy. That has been the approach of successive administrations, including the previous administration of the questioner, and I do not intend to depart from it.
There are a variety of reasons why that approach has been adopted by successive Governments, including the one that the member was a Minister in for 9 years. As I said, I do not intend to depart from it.
Why is he much happier to disclose publicly assertions that there are no real or perceived conflicts of interest, as, for example, in the case of the Hon Dr Nick Smith, the Hon David Carter, or, indeed, himself, but so reluctant to advise the public whenever there is a real or perceived conflict of interest?
There is a long-standing set of guidelines and procedures in the Cabinet Manual on how Ministers should approach conflicts of interest. They are well understood by Ministers, and, in my view, followed. From time to time, members will get up in this House and wrongfully assert that there has been a breach of conflict of interest—
Hon Gerry Brownlee—as the member often does, for scurrilous reasons, and not for accurate reasons. When that happens, in the interests of protecting the Minister, I often go to seek an opinion from the Cabinet Office, and if that opinion is given, I release it. That is on the basis of protecting a Minister upon whose name aspersions would otherwise be cast by the sorts of accusations cast by that member, who spends a lot of time thinking—
Mr SPEAKEROn roughly how many occasions has he, as Prime Minister, dealt with actual or perceived conflicts of interest involving one of his Ministers, over whatever time frame he chooses—1 month, 3 months, 1 year, or since the election—a rough numerical estimate?