NZ First minister Casey Costello, pictured at the NZ First conference in Hamilton. Photo / Mike Scott
NZ First minister Casey Costello, pictured at the NZ First conference in Hamilton. Photo / Mike Scott
The Ministry of Health has admitted it didn’t tell Associate Health Minister Casey Costello that a staffer working on smoking regulation policy was a relative of Labour’s health spokeswoman Ayesha Verrall.
It said the Ministry of Health staff member followed the conflict-of-interest protocol and it was the responsibility of the ministry to declare the conflict to Costello. The ministry said it has now apologised to Costello “for this oversight”.
“The ministry does have a conflict-of-interest protocol, which is well communicated to all staff and was adhered to by the individual in this case,” said acting director-general Maree Roberts.
“The conflict of interest was not specifically declared to the Associate Minister of Health Casey Costello. This was the responsibility of the Ministry of Health.”
Peters yesterday alleged the “close relative” of Verrall’s hadn’t adequately declared the conflict with the minister. That was challenged subsequently by Labour’s Chris Hipkins, who described the individual as a “distant relative” of Verrall’s. He said, “any conflicts have been declared and managed” and “she has assured me there is no issue here”. Verrall in a statement said she was “confident” the conflict had been declared.
Speaking in Parliament again on Thursday, Peters claimed there were issues with Hipkins’ response.
“The official I mentioned in my general debate is Ayesha Verrall’s sister-in-law ... who attended multiple meetings with the minister, worked on tobacco reform legislation and advice, and who did not declare to the minister she was a close relative, nor did she declare there was a massive conflict of interest.”
He claimed Verrall had “misled the leader of the Labour Party”.
Hipkins on Thursday evening said: “Winston Peters has dragged another MP’s family into a political debate and named and attacked a public servant who can’t answer back”.
“This is yet another example of this Government’s contempt for people who work hard for a living.”
Separately, Hipkins posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “attacking hard-working Kiwis who can’t answer back is weak Winston”.
Responding to Hipkins, Peters continued to take issue with the worker not declaring the conflict directly to Costello. He also questioned Hipkins’ description of the worker as a “distant relative” of Verrall’s.
”No one with their head on straight would think that was even near the truth,” Peters wrote.
”But as you said, Verrall ‘reassured you’ that was the case. So when are you going to hold Verrall to account for misleading you? Or did you already know that it was her sister-in-law when you said it?”
Labour said Verrall wouldn’t be commenting.
Labour's Ayesha Verrall (left) and Kieran McAnulty on the front bench listen to Winston Peters and Gerry Brownlee after Peters made his allegation. Photo / Jamie Ensor
Peters said outside of the House on Thursday afternoon that the woman worked from the ministry, but on projects that Costello was responsible for.
He said the woman disclosed the conflict of interest to the ministry when Verrall was the Health Minister – prior to the formation of the current Government – “but never disclosed it to us”.
Peters told the Herald it would have been his expectation that the conflict be raised directly with the minister by the worker and not rely on the ministry to alert the minister to the declaration.
“This is something where something has seriously gone amok, it is seriously bad, it’s wrong, it’s corrosive and there it is,” he said. “Now it has been exposed. Day one, the allegations, day two, the facts.”
He said Verrall should “be sacked from the portfolio” as he believed she had misled Hipkins. Peters said that followed the same logic that Labour was currently trying to apply with the Government’s handling of the Andrew Bayly complaint. Labour has tried to make out that Bayly didn’t adequately inform the Prime Minister about the complaint.
Peters has criticised Verrall over her interrogation of Costello’s decisions as the Associate Health Minister responsible for smoking regulation reform. Verrall has made claims that Costello’s actions as minister are benefiting the tobacco industry. That’s been repeatedly denied by Costello and the wider Government.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
