An inquiry will be held into National’s Whanganui MP Carl Bates after it emerged he failed to declare 25 properties linked to him and his family, RNZ reported.
Many of the properties are rentals, but Bates has maintained he is only a beneficiary of a family trust and that he complied with the declaration rules.
The controversy escalated when a social media post defending Bates appeared on his account, stating he had “sought advice from the Registrar … and acted according to the advice he received. End of story. Keep up the good work, Carl.” The post was later deleted, with reports suggesting it had been made by a staff member in error.
The Registrar of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament, Maarten Wevers, confirmed Labour MP Glen Bennett had requested an inquiry.
“Having conducted a preliminary review of the request, the Registrar has determined that an inquiry is warranted and will be undertaken in accordance with clauses 16 and 17 in Appendix B of the Standing Orders,” Wevers said in a statement. Those rules outline how such inquiries are conducted and the powers available to the Registrar, Russell Palmer of RNZ reported.
Bates has not commented further, with the prime minister’s office stating Standing Orders prevent him from doing so during the inquiry.
In an earlier statement, however, he said he had taken steps to remove himself from business and property interests before entering politics.
“When I moved into politics, I exited my business interests to focus solely on being an MP. This included selling my businesses and moving away from involvement in a family property portfolio,” he said, Russell Palmer of RNZ reported.
According to a report by Russell Palmer of RNZ, “As a discretionary beneficiary of a family trust which has an interest in a property portfolio, I have no involvement in it or its interests, as is common for family trusts. Upon becoming an MP, I met with the Registrar of Pecuniary Interests in advance of filing my return to ensure I would be declaring everything required of me.”