PM Christopher Luxon and Police Minister Mark Mitchell talk Auckland crime after the Prime Minister has been for a police ride-along.
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Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee owns a firearms safety business and used to be the spokeswoman for the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (Colfo).
She and her office have had frequent engagement with Colfo, raising questions over whether there is a potential conflict of interest. McKee says she needs to engage with stakeholders about any law changes that affect them.
The Prime Minister’s office says McKee’s conflicts of interest are being managed, and she hasn’t breached any Cabinet rules.
The minister responsible for gun law reform has not breached any Cabinet rules over her association with gun groups or her firearms safety business, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Nicole McKee has declared conflicts of interest with the Cabinet Office, which the PMO says are being managedappropriately.
McKee was recruited to the Act Party after being an outspoken critic of the gun law changes following the Christchurch terror attack in 2019 when she was the spokeswoman for the Council of Licenced Firearms Owners (Colfo).
She is also the sole director and shareholder of Firearms Safety Specialists NZ (FSSNZ), which she declared in the Register of Pecuniary Interests. She has said it is not currently trading.
The Herald recently published some of the frequent correspondence between her office and Colfo, which included an invitation to Colfo to fill the minister’s diary with events, and discussions of the wording of publications.
This prompted Gun Control NZ, the Police Association, and the Labour Party to question whether her close association was in breach of Cabinet rules. The Islamic Women’s Council NZ had similar concerns.
McKee countered by saying it would be remiss of her not to meet with those directly affected by the changes she is leading. She has also met with Gun Control and Muslim groups, and while consultation on gun clubs and ranges was targeted to mostly firearms licence holders, the proposals in her bill is now open to public submissions.
The Cabinet Manual says that some ministers are elected to Parliament “because of their close association with and advocacy for particular interest groups”, which allowed Cabinet to consider diverse points of view.
“Ministers should take care, however, to ensure that they do not become associated with non-government organisations or community groups where... the organisation is a lobby group,” the manual says.
Following questions from the Herald, the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) said McKee’s frequent contact with firearms groups was not inappropriate.
“The Cabinet Manual is clear that ministers can and do bring their background with them to their ministerial role. Ms McKee has stated that she meets with a range of stakeholders on both sides of the firearms debate, which is appropriate and consistent with the Cabinet Manual,” a PMO spokesman said in a statement.
McKee has declared conflicts of interest to the Cabinet Office, which supports identifying and managing conflicts on behalf of the Prime Minister.
“Ms McKee has a conflict of interest management plan in place following her disclosures to the Cabinet Office. That plan was put in place after having regard to her entry in the MPs’ pecuniary interests register, which discloses Ms McKee’s interest in FSSNZ,” the spokesman said.
The statement suggested that McKee may have declared other potential conflicts of interest.
“It is in the public interest for ministers to be able to declare their interests to the Cabinet Office and take advice on managing those interests in confidence. Therefore information about Ms McKee’s declarations to the Cabinet Office has not been publicly released. This has been the approach of successive administrations.”
McKee has no conflicts of interest listed in the Cabinet Office’s record covering the Government up to April 30 this year, but not all declared conflicts are necessarily included; short-term or ad hoc arrangements not to receive relevant papers, for example, are excluded.
She may have also declared her membership to the NZ Deerstalkers Association (NZDA) Wellington branch, which allows her to use the local rifle range and attend meetings. NZDA members are also Colfo members so McKee is an indirect member of Colfo, though she resigned direct membership when she ran for Parliament.
Following the statement, McKee said: “It is disappointing that, rather than understand the need to involve all stakeholders, it has taken intervention from the Cabinet Office to determine that the constant attacks regarding who I meet with were unwarranted.”
Nicole McKee (left) was recruited to the Act Party after David Seymour's (right) opposition to the gun law reforms following the Christchurch terror attack. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Mckee pointed to previous comments that it would be remiss of her not to meet with the likes of Colfco or NZDA.
“We have had numerous complaints about the current firearms regime, and we need to hear from those affected to address any issues which impact the safe use of firearms, and therefore public safety.
“Likewise, my office has directly contacted a number of Muslim groups, both in Christchurch and Wellington, to share the intent of our firearms reform work plan. We heard their concerns and assured them they would have their say as bills were introduced and moved to the select committee process. I have also contacted and met with smaller fringe groups, such as Gun Control NZ.”
‘Puts us in an area of risk’
Gun Control NZ co-founder Philippa Yasbek said she still believed McKee has breached Cabinet rules with her ongoing association with the NZDA and Colfo. This includes regular meetings and frequent contact - including dozens of text messages - between the minister’s office and those groups, compared to McKee’s far less extensive consultation with non-firearms groups.
“The Prime Minister’s Office is not an impartial judge of whether the Cabinet Manual has been complied with,” Yasbek said.
Gun laws were tightened after the March 15 terrorist attack but Nicole McKee says it was to the detriment of public safety. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Islamic Women’s Council NZ national co-ordinator Aliya Danzeisen believed there was a stark contrast between McKee’s contact with gun groups and the lack of public input during the targeted consultation on regulations for gun clubs and ranges, where 91 of the 100 submissions were from firearms users.
McKee has said the consultation focused on particular stakeholders, and her bill is now open to submissions from the public.
Danzeisen believed that one of the reasons Brenton Tarrant chose New Zealand for his act of terrorism was the existing gun laws, which have since been strengthened.
“Any move back puts us in an area of risk. I don’t think anyone’s life is worth that step back.”
Labour’s police spokeswoman Ginny Andersen said the statement from PMO gave her no confidence that what McKee was acting in the public interest.
“Cabinet Office has not addressed the questions about McKee’s conflict arising from her membership of numerous gun groups that operate or use shooting ranges, while she makes decisions that benefit the operation of those ranges.”
Derek Cheng is a senior journalist who started at the Herald in 2004. He has worked several stints in the Press Gallery team and is a former deputy political editor.
