A review into a dismissed minister's communications with donors has found there were no further significant problematic instances besides from those which saw him fired.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins released the Cabinet Secretary's report into Stuart Nash's ministerial communications with donors this morning — a report he initiated in March.
The report did, however, find an instance where a close associate was appointed to a government advisory board, and Nash identified the conflict of interest, taking "substantive steps" to manage it, but further steps were required to "fully" manage the conflict of interest.
The report found this was "at the lower level" of inconsistency with Nash's obligations under the Cabinet Manual.
"This report does not identify any further communications where the Cabinet Manual principles of confidentiality, collective responsibility or conflicts of interest were breached," Hipkins said.
“In relation to the appointment of a close associate and donor to an advisory board he did take actions to manage the conflict, including removing himself from the appointment process.
"The report concludes he should have also declared his interest when Cabinet signed off the appointment and made it clear that another minister was responsible but the review finds that this is at the lower end of transgressions and in fairness to Stuart he did take actions to manage the conflict. It's a helpful reminder of the importance of ministers making sure their conflicts are fully managed."
The Cabinet Secretary had also proactively released relevant communications between Nash and his donors, which would be available on the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet website from about 9.30am today.
Hipkins said he noted people had the "right to make representations to ministers on matters that concern them" and that ministers could not control the communications others sent to them.
"When I asked for this review, I wanted to satisfy myself there were no other instances where confidential Cabinet information was shared with donors. I'm pleased that there were none.
"Stuart Nash has already paid the ultimate price for his actions by being removed as a minister. He is also retiring from politics at the upcoming election."
How it all unfolded
The findings came in a Cabinet Office report, instigated by Hipkins at the end of March, which investigated Nash's communications with donors.
It was prompted after it was revealed Nash had spoken to donors about Cabinet discussions — a breach of confidence forbidden under the Cabinet Manual, which sets out rules for ministers.
Hipkins fired Nash from Cabinet after a series of cascading revelations throughout March on his conduct as a minister. The saga saw him first defiantly defend his actions, then resign as Police Minister. As further revelations emerged he was demoted to the bottom of Cabinet rankings before Hipkins kicked him out of Cabinet altogether.
Opposition parties repeatedly called on Nash to resign from Parliament.
He resigned as Police Minister after he revealed — on a live radio interview — he had spoken to Police Commissioner Andrew Coster about whether the police would appeal a case.
Further allegations emerged which saw him demoted to the bottom of Cabinet rankings while retaining his economic development, and fisheries and forestry portfolios.
One of those was the revelation the Solicitor-General considered prosecuting Nash for contempt following comments he made after the arrest of Eli Epiha, who ultimately pleaded guilty to murdering Police Constable Matthew Hunt.
Another was that he contacted a senior official from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in September last year to ask them to look at the immigration case of a health professional in the Napier electorate.
The fourth issue — which saw him sacked from Cabinet at the end of March — regarded an email he sent to donors about Cabinet decisions and his view of them. That move broke Cabinet confidentiality and collective responsibility.
At the time, Hipkins said the final offence was serious enough to have warranted firing without the prior offences.
Hipkins then announced the Cabinet Office review into Nash's communications with donors.
At the beginning of April, Nash announced he would resign from politics after the election.
Leadership consultant Mark Hutchinson has been selected to replace Nash as the Labour candidate for Napier in the 2023 general election.
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