MPs love property and petanque

Georgina Te Heuheu owns more than 60 properties. Photo / Supplied

A former petanque champion, a golf enthusiast torn between two clubs, and holiday homes dotted around the country - the Register of Pecuniary Interests reveals the odd interests of a few MPs, and the riches of others.

The register shows that of the 122 MPs, 81 declared an interest in a trust, while 71 declared an interest in more than one property.

Ten MPs owned six properties or more - outgoing minister Georgina te Heuheu heads the list with more than 60 properties.

Her ties with three iwi mean she owns the land with many thousands of other Maori.

Dunedin-based Act MP Hilary Calvert has an interest in 23 properties and is the director or controlling shareholder of 22 companies.

Napier MP Chris Tremain, whose family have been in real estate since the 1970s, has an interest in 20 properties.

Other points of interest from the register include:

Progressive Party leader Jim Anderton, who was the driving force behind Kiwibank, has shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which owns ASB.

Several MPs own or co-own holiday homes from the Coromandel to Queenstown to Hawaii, including National's John Key, Jackie Blue and Nicky Wagner and Labour's Steve Chadwick, Ruth Dyson, David Parker, Carol Beaumont and Sue Moroney.

Gifts ranged from the elaborate to the mundane - Justice Minister Simon Power received a fountain pen from his German counterpart.

Tauranga MP Simon Bridges was gifted memberships to golf clubs in Tauranga and Mt Maunganui.

The register, released this week, also revealed National MP Cam Calder's company Boules to You, which imports petanque balls.

Auckland-based Dr Calder said he got into the game while studying medicine in England, and started the company when he returned to New Zealand in the early 1990s.

He became the founding secretary of the Petanque Association, and even represented New Zealand at the world championships in Brussels in 1995. The team of three came 36th.

The society grew from humble beginnings as a conversation in an Auckland cafe to about 55 petanque clubs around the country.

"Sometimes you take great pleasure out of a clean caro, when your ball lands on the opponent's ball and displaces it ... It's almost a zen moment," Dr Calder said.

His business is no longer booming as other importers have crowded the market.

"The days of bringing them in by the container-load are long gone. I've got a fair number [of boules] in stock still, mainly competition ones for the serious enthusiast. And I bring in accessories like little magnets for people who don't want to bend over and pick their ball up."

The register also reveals that Dr Calder owns an old ruin in the southwest of France. He said it was a stone guardhouse in a fortified hamlet that was 800 years old.

"I like the idea of restoring a bit of history, and I enjoy the part of France where it is."

Since he became an MP, his time for restoration and perfecting his petanque throw has been somewhat limited, but he always makes time for the Devonport Christmas petanque tournament.