Review critical of council processes

assessment and adopting a formal approach to conflict of interest management will not necessarily remove this perception.

In Robertson’s recommendations, he says the director’s orally declared interests should be updated in writing and assessed in line with the conflict of interest policy that the council is now working on, and the chief executive and the organisational performance and audit committee should work with the director to confirm if his interests are compatible with his role and can be adequately managed.

Robertson, who is also an independent adviser to the council’s organisational performance and audit committee, says the bulk of the review was done on October 1 and 2.

It was made public on October 5, the day that the Official Information Act request information was released to media.

Released under the OIA request was an email from Smith to Phillips from August 19, 2014, flagging a scenario that his wife, an environmental consultant, was involved in a case and if the council prosecuted, Smith would step aside as director and another director would take charge.

But two years after Envira was formed, on August 3, 2018, Smith emailed Phillips to outline the arrangements put in place (in discussion with Phillips) when Envira Consulting was formed to manage potential conflicts.

Last month, at the council’s organisational performance and audit committee meeting, chaired by Environment Southland chairman Nicol Horrell, he said a new conflict of interest policy would ‘‘sharpen everybody up’’.

Questions about the review were put to Phillips and Horrell. The council has indicated it will respond today.