The Herald reports:
Ka Awatea Services also received a grant of $28,300 from the Ministry of Māori Development’s “suicide prevention” fund in April, 2021.
Mahuta was then, and remains, the associate minister for the department. Her ministerial responsibilities did not include purview of the fund.
The funding application form, supplied to the Herald in June by Gannin Ormsby, proposed the inclusion of Mahuta in the project (a three-day series of workshops, seminars and excursions for 40 Māori young people).
Mahuta was listed in the project’s “proposed list” of four panelists, who would critique participants’ potential ventures and business ideas. The panelists would be paid $2000 each to cover travel and koha for their time and the $8000 cost would be covered by the Ministry for Maori Development funding, the application said.
So the husband of the Associate Minister won a non contested contract for services on the basis of a proposal that included a panel whose members included the Associate Minister.
Under the OIA, the Ministry for Māori Development also released an “assessment of funding proposal” document related to the Ka Awatea project.
The document recommended that the ministry’s “investment sub-committee” fund the project. Under “conflict of interest” it states: “No severe conflicts of interest have been identified.”
Astonishing. Listing the Associate Minister as a panelist who will get paid $2,000 is not seen by TPK as a severe conflict of interest!
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