The Minister for the Environment, Penny Simmonds, is accused of influencing a council's legal process to benefit a National party colleague. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Minister for the Environment, Penny Simmonds, is accused of influencing a council's legal process to benefit a National party colleague. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Minister for the Environment is being accused of using her position to influence a council’s legal process in a way that could also benefit her National Party colleague.
But Minister Penny Simmonds says it is “wholly appropriate” to engage withthe primary sector, and the Prime Minister’s Office indicated there was no reason to believe there had been a breach of the Cabinet Manual.
Official documents show Simmonds had written to Horizons Regional Council acknowledging her colleague Chris Bishop had received a letter from a group of Santoft area farmers “raising concerns about delays in obtaining replacement irrigation and groundwater extraction consents from Horizons Regional Council”.
She then requested an explanation about what was delaying the granting of irrigation consents for a group of farmers – including a farm owned by Rangitīkei MP, National’s Suze Redmayne.
Simmonds wrote to Horizons Regional Council about delays in irrigation consents, including for a farm owned by National MP Suze Redmayne. Photo / Mark Mitchell
“I am now seeking to understand from Horizons Regional Council why there have been delays, and what needs to be done to achieve a timely solution for the affected farmers, particularly given the Government’s commitment to helping the primary sector grow New Zealand’s economy,” Simmonds wrote to the council’s chief executive at the beginning of September.
She also suggested a meeting with the council, alongside fellow ministers Andrew Hoggard and Todd McClay, to discuss the issue.
The Green Party’s Lan Pham said the documents showed a minister using their position to try to influence a council’s legal process “to help out their mates”.
She said it was a “gross misuse of power” that showed how little care the Government has in being “transparent about their conflict of interests”.
“It is extremely concerning to have a Minister for the Environment advocating for a consent for water extraction at all.
Green Party's Lan Pham. Photo / NZME
“But, here it appears Penny Simmonds is advocating on behalf of a National MP to get a consent for their private company, which seems to be a major conflict of interest that the Prime Minister must answer for.”
Simmonds said that she regularly met with stakeholders, businesses, and local authorities throughout the country to discuss issues regarding resource management.
“I asked to meet with Horizons Regional Council to discuss delayed consents after meeting with representatives from several different farms, who were concerned about the impact these delays were having on their businesses.”
She said farmers’ livelihoods depended on getting consents, and as the Minister for the Environment, “it’s wholly appropriate for me to engage with the primary sector to understand their concerns”.
RNZ approached the Prime Minister’s Office and Suze Redmayne for comment.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister said he expected all ministers to follow the Cabinet Manual guidance.
“There is no information to suggest Cabinet Manual guidance has not been followed in this instance.”
Redmayne said she had not attended meetings with the ministers or advocated for the group of farmers beyond recommending they contact relevant ministers with their concerns.
“Ordinarily, if a constituent approached me on an issue like this, I would advocate on their behalf but in this case I noted my conflict of interest and left them to approach ministers themselves.”
