50074 (2025). Camilla Belich to the Minister of Local Government

50074 (2025). Camilla Belich to the Minister of Local Government: Were any conflict-of-interest assessments undertaken prior to the appointment of Castalia Managing Director Andreas Heuser as chair of the Government’s Local Water Advisory Group, and if so, what were the results of those assessments?

Hon Simon Watts: The Department of Internal Affairs (the Department) undertook candidate vetting which included a criminal background check, social media scan, general media scan, insolvency register and companies’ office checks and a conflict-of-interest process. References were also sought. The Terms of Reference for the Technical Advisory Group is available on the Department of Internal Affairs website: www.dia.govt.nz/diawebsite.nsf/Files/Water-Services-Policy/$file/TOR-12-Feb-2024.pdf and include • Clauses 34 and 35 – Confidentiality; • Clauses 36 to 38 – Conflicts of interest; • Appendix A: Standards Conduct; and • Appendix B: Confidentiality Agreement. As set out in the Terms of Reference, Technical Advisory Group members were required to report any actual or perceived conflicts of interest to the Deputy Chief Executive of the Local Government Branch. In the event of a conflict, whether actual, perceived, or potential, the Deputy Chief Executive had responsibility to determine the appropriate management approach. A conflict of interest was made on 19 January 2024 in relation to advice previously provided by Castalia Ltd to the Department and other organisations. The same conflict of interest also referred to Castalia Ltd work advising the Department on “implementation and regulatory aspects of implementing Local Water Done Well”.