48241 (2025). Lan Pham to the Prime Minister

48241 (2025). Lan Pham to the Prime Minister: Was the Cabinet Office or the Secretary of the Cabinet made aware of a potential conflict of interest by the Minister for the Environment in advocating on behalf of a group of farmers on a consent application to Horizons Regional Council?

Rt Hon Christopher Luxon: The family members of Members of Parliament may seek the assistance of a Minister as can any other member of the public. In this case, Hon Simmonds has assured me that she provided the same assistance that she would for any other member of the public. The Cabinet Manual is clear in its guidance as to who might be a close associate of a Minister. Hon Simmonds has assured me that she has followed this guidance. Disclosures to the Cabinet Office of information relating to Ministerial conflicts of interest, and the Cabinet Office’s advice to Ministers about such interests, are inherently confidential and not disclosed. This has been the approach of successive administrations and I do not intend to depart from it. I maintain full confidence in Hon Simmonds.