September 21, 2022
Mahuta keen for inquiry into family firm
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta says she asked Public Service Minister Chris Hipkins for an investigation into government contracts awarded to her tane.
Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes says the handling of contracts to Gannin Ormsby’s Ka Awatea Services will be looked into, although it does not warrant a full inquiry.
He was responding to allegations of conflict of interest made by National’s public service spokesperson, Simeon Brown in relation to four agencies, as well a request by Mr Hipkins for a wider review into whether all public service agencies are following proper processes to manage conflicts of interest.
Ms Mahuta hopes the inquiry will end attacks on her family.
“It has concerned me for some time that even though I have declared conflicts of interest and noted that they have been managed in accordance with the Cabinet Manual, these stories are persisting. I raised my concerns with Minister Hipkins verbally on the 12th of this month and then wrote a letter to ask that he have a look at that so I’m very pleased with the outcome,” she says.
Ka Awatea Services has provided advice and managed consultations for Kāinga Ora, the Ministry for the Environment, the Department of Conservation and Te Puni Kōkiri.