QC faults ministry's hiring practices

Donal Curtin

The Ministry of Economic Development has come under fire for its hiring policies after an investigation into appropriate disclosure for Commerce Commission member Donal Curtin.

Queen's Counsel Hugh Rennie was asked to investigate Curtin in September last year after his promotion to deputy was questioned because of his connection with failed financial advisory group Vestar.

Rennie found that while Curtin did not make some required disclosures to the commission about his role with Vestar, the lack of disclosure was not intentional.

But it was also not helped by the ministry's hiring process.

In his report Rennie said a disclosure form received by the ministry had received only "cursory scrutiny" by officials before Curtin's interview for the role.

The interview itself seemed to have been "almost entirely on other issues" whereas he believed investigations of conflicts of interest should be "an express part of each interview".

Rennie said he believed there was scope for improvement in the process at both the application, verification and interview stages.

Curtin has since stepped down from the deputy role but remains a commissioner.

A spokesperson for the ministry said it was considering the report but could not say how long that would take.

Commerce Minister Simon Power said the recruiting process was a matter for the ministry to deal with.

He would not be asking for changes as a result of the report.

The ministry makes appointments to a number of major Crown entities and boards.