Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon reveals he hasn’t formally resigned and makes call for explanation of potential removal

Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon has revealed that he hasn’t actually formally resigned from his role yet over a failure to disclose a conflict of interest.

Foon told Breakfast that he had only written a note to Prime Minister Chris Hipkin’s office about the situation and his resignation, or potential removal by Associate Justice Minister of Justice Deborah Russell.

“I actually haven’t formally written to the minister about my resigning because I didn’t want to surprise the Prime Minister. So, I sent him a note and said look, the social justice minister is looking at dismissing me or I resign,” he said.

”I am still in the process of resigning, or not, and in actual fact I want to receive a letter with her reason as to why she thinks I should go and I would like to say, given the evidence, that I think she should not overreact.”

Foon said other ministers had not declared their interests and asked why he was being put under the bus when others weren’t.

”All I want is a fair deal, law for one is law for all,” he said.

He said any level of undeclared interest is a violation of the Crown Entities Act but said his perceived conflict of interest was minor.

”This is a difficult situation for myself, however, I think it is important to challenge, to be brave and to challenge the minister,” he said.

Foon has conceded he made a mistake but says he personally received no money from the business deal involving a company he directed and the Government.

And his departure has been welcomed by Act leader David Seymour who claimed Foon was too attached to the “left side of politics”.

Foon, who previously spent six terms as mayor of Gisborne, was appointed by the Labour Government to the role of Race Relations Commissioner in July 2019 by former Justice Minister Andrew Little.

Associate Justice MinisterDeborah Russell announced Foon’s departure late Friday afternoon.

“On 12 May the Chief Human Rights Commissioner wrote to me to advise that Meng Foon had failed to declare a range of interests, as required under sections 62-65 of the Crown Entities Act,” Russell said.

It came after a company that was directed by the former Gisborne mayor Foon received income from Government payments during his term, which she said he had “failed to adequately declare”.

That included more than $2 million for the provision of accommodation including emergency housing.

“The Human Rights Commission conducted an inquiry and produced a report on emergency housing which Meng Foon had been involved in deliberations for, while never adequately declaring his interest,” Russell said.

“Off the back of that and a report from the Human Rights Commission Board into his failure to adequately declare these interests which found that he breached his duties under the Act, I sought advice from the Ministry of Justice.

“On 30 May I wrote to Meng Foon inviting him to respond to the Board’s report and set out that my deliberations could result in him being removed from office.”

Russell said she then held a meeting with Foon “where he explained his actions”.

She said her preliminary view after the meeting was that “his actions were serious enough to warrant removal”.

But Foon in the meantime resigned.

“Had the process been completed it is probable I would have determined his actions represented a serious breach of the Crown Entities Act and I would have taken the next steps to recommend to the Governor-General to remove him from his office.

“It is critical that all people appointed to public roles comply with their statutory duties. Meng Foon had multiple opportunities to adequately declare these interests and did not do so.

“While he has now chosen to resign I think it’s important the public is aware of the circumstances in which he has made that decision,” Russell said.

In a statement on Friday, Foon said he had informed Prime Minister Chris Hipkins that he would resign on Sunday.

He said the “news has beaten me” in regards to his departure being revealed by the Government on a Friday afternoon.

He said he was resigning for his “error of judgment on political donations and our company is an emergency housing provider”.

He said he refuted “strongly” that he didn’t “declare my interest of emergency housing to the HRC and MoJ . . . as they received my interest before I was appointed and before I took up my role as RRC”.

“The sum received is about $2.3m over 5 years from 2018 to 2023. It started with about $9500 year ending 2019. I have been transparent with the commission.

“At the housing inquiry board meeting I didn’t declare a perceived conflict as I didn’t think I needed to. I fully supported the housing inquiry. In hindsight I should have declared I made a mistake.”

In April, it was revealed Meng and his wife Ying Foon donated $1500 to Kiri Allan’s 2020 campaign, and a company called Triple Eight Investments Ltd also provided a rent subsidy worth $9185.

Meng and Ying Foon are directors of Triple Eight Investments. The pair also donated $1000 to the National Party’s East Coast branch at the last election.

As Justice Minister, Allan has responsibility for Human Rights commissioners, and should have declared the potential perceived conflict with the Cabinet Office, despite the fact Allan was not the minister when Foon was appointed or when the donations were made.

When Foon was appointed commissioner by Little in 2019, Allan was a backbench MP.

Hipkins said Allan had “taken the necessary steps to register the matter now that she holds the Justice portfolio. The minister has also assured me that she has not made any decisions in her portfolio that bring this potential conflict into play”.