32904 (2026). Rt Hon Chris Hipkins to the Prime Minister

32904 (2026). Rt Hon Chris Hipkins to the Prime Minister: Further to his answer to written question 30393 (2026): why was his Chief of Staff made aware of the overspend at this time?

Rt Hon Christopher Luxon: As the Audit Office identified on page 1 of its letter dated 6 July 2026, and as provided in answer to the member’s Written Parliamentary Question 12198 (2026), the Cabinet Office has previously defined “advocacy” to mean making strong public statements in support of or opposition to a project or category of projects or taking active steps in support of a project (usually more than just writing a letter of support). The Audit Office’s observation was that this definition was not repeated in Hon Bishop’s conflict of interest management plan. The Audit Office’s letter can be found at https://ao.parliament.nz/2026/city-link-bridge/index.htm