Former Prime Ministers Dame Jacinda Ardern (left) and Chris Hipkins were among those who received legal representation. Photo / Jed Bradley
Legal representation provided to four former Labour ministers, including former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern, cost the taxpayer more than $70,000.
It is usual process for the Crown to pay the legal costs of ministers or former ministers in proceedings or inquiries that spin out of their current or previous duties. For example, legal issues involving then Speaker Trevor Mallard cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs.
The Cabinet Manual says former ministers should be indemnified over things done or decisions made in the course of their ministerial duties.
A foursome of former Labour ministers, including Ardern, Chris Hipkins, Dr Ayesha Verrall and Grant Robertson, gave evidence as part of the second phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic.
This phase of the inquiry was established by the coalition Government and fulfilled sections of National’s agreements with NZ First and Act. It has a focus on vaccines, including the use of mandates and vaccine safety, lockdowns such as the one in Auckland in late 2021, and the use of public health tools.
A spokeswoman for Crown Law told the Herald that as of July 31, $70,574 had been spent by the Crown on legal representation for the four former ministers in relation to this phase of the Covid inquiry. This covered work undertaken in May to July.
“The decision to meet these expenses was made under the usual Cabinet Manual process, which specifies how the Crown may meet the legal expenses of a former minister’s participation in proceedings or inquiries arising from their former ministerial duties.”
As of the end of June, legal expenses for Crown Law and external counsel to provide legal support to Government departments in relation to the second phase of the inquiry totalled $359,116. This is for work from February to June.
A spokesman for Ardern told the Herald that the budget, costs and terms of reference of the second phase were set by Cabinet and were a matter for the Government.
“Dame Jacinda is using shared legal representation to lower any legal costs, and continues to work with the commission to achieve its terms of reference.”
A Labour spokeswoman said: “Cabinet decided on this inquiry and its costs. All legal appointments were approved by minister Judith Collins as Attorney-General and payments handled by Crown Law.”
According to the Cabinet Manual, the Attorney-General forms a view on whether to indemnify a minister or former minister’s expenses, considering whether it has arisen as a result of carrying out ministerial duties.
If it’s agreed the minister or former minister will have expenses paid, they refer bills to the Crown Law Office for certification.
Earlier this month, ahead of a so-called “decision-makers” hearing, the inquiry released a minute saying the former Labour ministers had refused to appear publicly.
Their reasons included that they had already provided evidence in interviews, that the recordings of public hearings could be manipulated, and that it could break a convention that former ministers are interviewed privately.
That didn’t go down well with many Kiwis. A snap poll conducted by Curia Market Research for the Taxpayers’ Union showed 53% of respondents disagreed with their decision. Just 28% agreed and the rest were unsure.
The commission decided not to compel the former ministers to appear publicly, saying that risked creating an adversarial situation and the inquirers could get further information in other ways if needed.
Hipkins, the current Labour leader and former Prime Minister and Covid Response Minister, did various interviews following the release of the inquiry’s minute, highlighting that he was open to answering questions from the media at any time about the pandemic.
“I have provided written evidence to the inquiry,” he said. “I answered every question they had and I attended the interview they scheduled for me. They asked for two hours, but they ran out of questions after an hour.”
Appearing on Newstalk ZB, Hipkins said the former ministers had “representatives in common who corresponded with the Royal Commission, but each of us individually briefed that representative”.
He said the law firm Dentons raised with the Labour figures that “no ministers had previously done this and that it would create precedent if we did so”.
“The second thing they raised was concerns about the fact that people who had already appeared publicly before the Royal Commission had been the subject of significant abuse.”
Hipkins confirmed at the time that the Dentons advice had been paid for by the public.
Ardern previously told RNZ in a statement that she had co-operated fully with the inquiry by providing extensive evidence, including through a three-hour interview.
“The commission’s work is important and she will continue supporting them in reaching their terms of reference.”
Robertson, who was Finance Minister at the time, said he had given more than two hours of testimony but was concerned about the precedent appearing in public may create.
“I feel we have been accountable: I have given extensive evidence to both phases of the inquiry,” he told the Otago Daily Times.
There have been previous instances of the taxpayer being on the hook for legal issues ministers or former ministers faced.
In 2022, the Crown paid $55,000 in legal bills after Mallard trespassed Winston Peters from Parliament. That came after $330,000 was spent on legal fees after Mallard falsely accused a Parliamentary staff member of rape.
The Government also covered the legal costs of former National ministers Paula Bennett and Anne Tolley when they were involved in legal action filed by Peters over the leak of his superannuation information.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. In 2025, he was a finalist for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.