Chris Bishop could have done better job managing conflict of interest perception - auditor general

Senior government minister Chris Bishop could have done a better job managing the perception he had a conflict of interest, says the auditor general.

Bishop agreed last year that $27m of housing funds would instead go towards a walk-cycle bridge for the Riverlink project in his constituency in Lower Hutt.

Auditor-General Grant Taylor looked into the decision and has now written to the minister, saying there was no evidence his constituency interest was behind his decision and he had taken care to manage that.

But Taylor also said it might have been prudent if Bishop had sought further advice from the Cabinet Office, and had declared his interest when Finance Minister Nicola Willis was briefed.

"We have not seen any evidence to indicate that the Minister's constituency interest was behind the decision to approve the IAF (Infrastructure Acceleration Fund) variation," said the letter.

"Advice on the variation was produced at pace, and did not universally support the variation, but ministers were entitled to make decisions about the timing and merits of the variation."

The Post revealed in November how the funding switch request by Hutt City Council was swiftly authorised by Bishop in March 2025 for the CityLink Bridge, a project worth about $55m that he campaigned on in Hutt South and had a funding shortfall. Riverlink had been delayed for years and its costs had already blown out.

Bishop called it a "pretty straightforward" request and said: "I don't think there's a conflict there."

Taylor said the minister and the Cabinet Office had identified the constituency interest and agreed in January 2025 - when he became transport minister - on a management plan.

"The minister's interest register was amended to say he would act solely in his ministerial capacity and no longer advocate as MP for the Melling Interchange project."

Bishop discussed Hutt council's request with Willis. He expressed "great urgency", said Taylor's letter.

A government policy statement in 2024 had made it tougher to fund walking and cycling projects.

State house builder Kāinga Ora recommended approving the funding change, but the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development recommended against it.

Bishop approved it in mid-March 2025 and his office briefed Willis, who also approved it.

"The minister explained that he has ensured that his ministerial and electorate offices are aware of his register of interests, holds all meetings on the relevant projects solely in his ministerial capacity (with officials present), and personally signs off on all social media posts," said the auditor general.

He was allowed to make the switch decision, while not advocating any more for the interchange, and the Cabinet Office agreed he could.

But "a prohibition on future advocacy would not necessarily mitigate a reasonable perception that the minister's constituency interest and prior advocacy might have influenced his decision," said Taylor.

Transferring such a decision to another minister "will often be prudent".

Taylor said they heard no evidence that Bishop's potential conflict was declared to Willis - although Bishop said he was sure she would have known.

As well as declaring it, he could have sought more advice from the Cabinet Office, especially because some official advice opposed the switch, and because the decision involved a narrow matter rather than one with wider implications for the portfolio, and because if the same decision came before Cabinet, he would have been expected to declare his interest and remove himself or seek agreement to participate.

"Overall, we saw that the minister and Cabinet Office had taken care to identify and manage the constituency interest. However, in our view, more could have been done to manage the perception risks involved. We hope that the type of detailed advice the Minister has sought will help Ministers manage this issue."

Bishop told RNZ he welcomes the Audit Office's advice but had no further comment.