Regulation Minister David Seymour welcomes independent statutory body’s first report
David Seymour, regulation minister, welcomed the release of the Regulatory Standards Board’s first report, which delved into the Local Authorities (Members' Interests) Act 1968 (LAMIA), covering financial conflicts of interest within local government.
According to the government’s news release, LAMIA can impact an individual’s ability to be elected, stay in office, or engage in council decision-making. The legislation can result in disqualification from office and criminal conviction.
According to Seymour, the report showed why council disclosure rules should align with those of other government organisations.
“Bad regulations have real consequences for real people,” he said in the news release. “People work hard to earn their livelihood. Now the Board protects their rights.”
Seymour urged the local government minister and the Ministry for Cities, Environment, Regions, and Transport (MCERT) to review what the Board found, as well as think about how to tackle the Board’s concerns.
The Board found LAMIA:
The Board determined that some LAMIA provisions could prevent otherwise viable candidates from standing for office or participating in decision-making.
Seymour stressed the need for reasonable and proportionate conflict-of-interest management processes.
“For example conflicts can be managed through disclosure, clear policies and principles that define what a conflict of interest is (which in some cases will be non-pecuniary interests), and withdrawal from discussions and other measures,” he said in the news release.
Seymour explained that the Board aims to:
According to him, while the Board generally assesses laws instead of individual matters, recent cases have drawn attention to LAMIA’s actual consequences for candidates, elected members, and the communities served.
“In Wellington, an elected member was prevented from voting on the future of the Golden Mile project because they owned a small business on Courtenay Place,” Seymour said. “Supporters argued that voters were denied representation on an issue that had been central to the member's election campaign, because they campaigned on their opposition to the project.”
According to Seymour, a question arose in the Wellington case regarding whether LAMIA struck the appropriate balance between conflict-of-interest management and democratic participation.
“In Nelson, questions were raised about whether an elected member could remain in office because a family-owned transport business subcontracted to companies undertaking council work,” he said in the government’s news release.
Seymour acknowledged that the Nelson case involved no claims of misconduct or personal gain.
However, he noted that the Nelson example “raised the possibility that the elected member could be disqualified from office, highlighting how the legislation can produce serious consequences even where conflicts are indirect and openly declared.”
Here are some other recent news stories involving the Regulatory Standards Board.
In April, Seymour announced the appointment of the Regulatory Standards Board, chaired by Paul Ridley-Smith, who has a background in business, governance, and law, including at Buddle Findlay and Linklaters and as general counsel at Contact Energy Ltd.
Last November, Seymour welcomed the new Regulatory Standards Bill – aimed at boosting New Zealand’s productivity and ensuring a transparent regulatory system – and called its recent passage into law a “historic moment for Kiwis’ rights.”
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