{"id":45509,"date":"2025-09-27T01:54:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T01:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/45509\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T01:54:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T01:54:13","slug":"multiple-mps-to-update-their-property-declarations-following-herald-investigation-and-carl-bates-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/45509\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiple MPs to update their property declarations following Herald investigation and Carl Bates inquiry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Veteran National MP and current Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee included \u201cResidential property (x2) \u2013 Ilam, Christchurch\u201d in his declaration. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe Speaker Gerry Brownlee told the Herald he was\u2019t trying to hide anything and will update the register as soon as possible. Photo \/ Herald.<\/p>\n

Brownlee actually owns a dual-title property in Ilam and a third property on Ilam Rd in Bryndwr.<\/p>\n

Brownlee told the Herald he wasn\u2019t trying to hide anything and will update the register as soon as possible. <\/p>\n

When he purchased the Ilam property in 2012, he did not realise it was two separate titles, and he had always assumed the Bryndwr property was in Ilam because it was on Ilam Rd, he claimed.<\/p>\n

\"NZNZ First MP and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson did not declare 292 hectares of Otago farmland. He will update the pecuniary register. Photo \/ Herald.<\/p>\n

The Herald asked NZ First MP and Minister for Rural Communities Mark Patterson why he hadn\u2019t declared 292 hectares of farmland in Otago. <\/p>\n

Patterson said he thought he had been transparent based on advice he\u2019d received at the time of his declaration.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, as a result of the advice I have received today, the Office of the Clerk will edit the 2025 return,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\"LabourLabour MP for Rangitata Jo Luxton inherited a share in a property in 2022 and has not declared it. “This is an oversight, it should be declared” she told the Herald. <\/p>\n

Labour MP for Rangitata Jo Luxton inherited a share in a property in 2022 and has not declared it. <\/p>\n

Luxton told the Herald, “This is an oversight, should be declared and will be corrected as soon as possible. It is my stepfather\u2019s property, and my mother\u2019s interest in it was transferred to me after she passed away in 2022. I hadn\u2019t considered the property mine and therefore hadn\u2019t thought to declare it before now\u201c.<\/p>\n

The Herald asked Labour MP Damien O\u2019Connor about land owned by a company he had declared an interest in. <\/p>\n

\"DamienDamien O’Connor stands by his current property declarations, but will “update the register if required.”<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor responded, \u201cThe company and its interest in farming has been declared. In my years as an MP I have never been advised to declare this in any other way. However I am more than happy to add that the company owns a working farm which is leased to a family member, and update the register if required.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another Labour MP, Ayesha Verrall declared her interest in a property company, but did not declare the actual property owned by the company. <\/p>\n

Verrall told the Herald, \u201cI declared the company\u2019s interest in property in my last two pecuniary interest declarations, however the company no longer has an interest in property as it has been sold which means it will not be included next time. I have been guided by Parliamentary Practice in NZ (McGee) 10.4.2 p117 for this declaration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AyeshaAyesha Verrall declared her interest in a property company, but did not declare the actual property owned by the company. <\/p>\n

Parliament\u2019s Standing Orders state declarations must include \u201cthe location of real property in which the member has a legal interest, other than an interest as a trustee, and a description of the nature of the real property\u201d.<\/p>\n

When asked if her declaration met this standard, Verrall said, \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been raised with me at any point that the declaration of the company\u2019s interest in property was insufficient\u201d.<\/p>\n

Verrall told the Herald MP transparency is important and she will update the previous register if required. <\/p>\n

Clerk of the House, David Wilson told the Herald, \u201cThe Standing Orders are the rules of the House, agreed by its members. If there is a discrepancy between sources, the Standing Orders are the authority.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor and Verrall have both sought clarity regarding their declarations. <\/p>\n

One MP was unavailable to discuss their property with the Herald. <\/p>\n

The Herald analysis is not exhaustive. Not all MPs\u2019 property records could be identified.<\/p>\n

Chris Knox is a scientist turned data-journalist who investigates the stories behind the numbers, and creates interactives for Herald readers to explore them. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Veteran National MP and current Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee included \u201cResidential property (x2) \u2013 Ilam, Christchurch\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[95,17315,13657,40149,6131,12513,5504,1874,305,42,10938,37601,12898,130,17318,2510,43,17317,814,6122,165,61,40,38,41,39,8238,1803],"class_list":["post-45509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-and","tag-bates","tag-carl","tag-declarations","tag-declare","tag-failed","tag-following","tag-found","tag-have","tag-headlines","tag-herald","tag-inquiry","tag-investigation","tag-more","tag-mps","tag-multiple","tag-news","tag-parliaments","tag-property","tag-rules","tag-their","tag-to","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-under","tag-update"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}