An investigation has been launched into how conflicts of interest were handled during the expedited decision-making process for the approval project.

Identifying and managing conflicts of interest is important to maintaining trust and confidence in how public resources are used and preserving New Zealand’s global reputation for transparency, accountability and integrity, the statement said.

“It is crucial that appropriate systems and processes are in place to support decision-makers to identify relevant interests they may have and to help them manage conflicts that may arise,” he said.

“This is particularly the case when decisions are made at the highest level of government (i.e. by ministers) or concern important decisions about how public resources are used.”

Given this situation and the “significant public interest” in the fast-track approval policy, the Auditor General said an investigation would be carried out to understand and “provide assurance about” how well existing systems are being used to identify and manage conflicts.

This will involve looking at what systems and processes are in place when selecting projects for legislation, how they work in practice, where the potential areas for improvement are and what those improvements might be.

“The focus of the investigation is to gain a better understanding of and provide assurance about the overall systems and processes in place,” the statement said.

“We will not review or comment on policy decisions supporting the Fast Track process or the merits of individual projects or decisions to include an individual project in the Fast Track Approval Bill.”

It was stated that a report is expected to be published after the investigation is completed.

The bishop told reporter that ministers “carefully follow the Cabinet Office’s advice on the appropriate management of actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest”.

“With the Prime Minister’s agreement, responsibility transfers have been introduced to ensure that no minister is involved in the process of incorporating a project with which he has a conflict of interest.”

He has gone into detail about this process before. After the announcement of 149 projects, Bishop explained this in the first place.Ministers of infrastructure, transport and regional development were given the authority to determine which projects were included, and each minister evaluated projects in their own sector.

Arrangements were made that if one of the three ministers decided that there was a conflict, that minister would not take part in the consideration of that matter and would instead pass the responsibility on to someone else.

For example, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones identified disputes over eight projects and as a result Tama Potaka considered their inclusion. Bishop said there was a project for which he identified a potential conflict of interest and decisions were handed over to Simeon Brown.

“It is important to note that these transfers only apply to the decision-making responsibilities of the relevant ministers outlined above. Transfers were not required if conflicts of interest were identified in relation to projects for which the Minister had no sector responsibility.

“Ministers made decisions after they were appointed. The final list of projects was evaluated by the Cabinet Committee and the Cabinet. “Prior to these meetings, ministers reviewed their interests and declared any conflicts of interest in relation to any of the listed projects.”

Bishop said ministers who expressed interest in a project here left no room for any discussion about the project. The minister’s statement did not specify which ministers identified conflicts at this point in the process.

He had previously told reporters he felt ethically comfortable with the process.

“We have been extremely meticulous and robust in following this process set out by the Cabinet Office. “I’m very pleased with the way things are going.”

Jamie Ensor is a political reporter. New Zealand Herald Press Gallery team in Parliament. She was previously working as a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.