A PR contractor, whose position in the Prime Minister's office prompted questions in Parliament, says discussions about conflicts of interest are important, and she welcomes questions about how they are handled.
National MP Melissa Lee. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
National MP Melissa Lee raised questions about Tracey Bridges appearing on RNZ as a commentator, without it being made clear she had a contract to work in the office of Jacinda Ardern at the time.
In response to that story, Ms Bridges said she had told RNZ she was an independent contractor, but the news organisation had not asked for any details about individual clients, nor had she offered them.
RNZ went back to Ms Bridges and asked her for details about how her potential conflicts of interest are managed more broadly.
She said she identified and declared any of her other clients who could potentially pose a conflict of interest to the Prime Minister's office, and then managed any conflicts if and when they arose from there on.
Ms Bridges said she did the same with her other clients.
Her work focussed on strategy, leadership and mentoring, she said, and her work in the PM's office was "consistent with that space".
It was very important to her to respect the confidentiality of all of her clients and so there was "no flow of information" between the different groups, Ms Bridges said.
Gordon Jon Thompson worked in the PM's office as Chief of Staff immediately after the election, and has since returned to his corporate affairs consultancy company, Thompson Lewis, that specialises in government relations.
He said the day he signed his contract to work in the PM's office he declared his interest in his company to Ministerial Services.
Mr Thompson said that in recognition of potential conflicts of interest, he had signed a document saying he would be taking a leave of absence from his company while Chief of Staff and he would not receive any money from Thompson Lewis during that time.
The situation relating to conflicts of interest was "handled well", he said.
When asked about the process for handling Ms Bridges' conflicts of interest, a spokesperson for the PM's office said it was an employment matter and referred RNZ to Ministerial Services.
