Ross grills PM on overseas travel for party donations
Independent MP Jami-Lee Ross has used Parliament’s question time to grill Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on whether any Government minister would be allowed to use official overseas travel to seek party donations.
It was the first primary question Ross has asked since his return to Parliament as an independent MP following his falling out with the National Party in October last year.
Ross asked how many overseas trips for official purposes Ardern or the Cabinet had approved for ministers since October 26, 2017, and how many had personal travel attached.
Ardern responded that 150 trips by ministers for official business were approved and taken, two of those with personal travel attached. A total of 38 trips were for personal travel, she said.
“Is it a policy of her Government for a minister to be granted approval to extend an overseas visit outside the formal itinerary if the purpose of doing so is to meet a foreign national to procure or attempt to procure a political party donation?” Ross then asked.
Ardern said she expected any personal travel to be within the guidance of the Cabinet Manual. “Beyond that, I won’t speak to hypotheticals.”
It is not clear what Ross was referring to in his questioning and he said little afterwards.