Definition
There is a conflict of interest where:
A member's or official's duties or responsibilities to a public entity could be affected by some other interest or duty that the member or official may have.
The other interest or duty might exist because of:
- the member's or official's own financial affairs;
- a relationship or other role that the member or official has; or
- something the member or official has said or done.
The term "conflict of interest" can also cover circumstances that include or appear to include "bias" or "predetermination".
So with regard to frost fans...
(purely theoretically of course (no really!))
A councilor would have a conflict of interest if they were part of the hearing panel considering a frost fan resource consent if:
- They owned a frost fan franchise;
- They were in a relationship with someone that was a vocal opponent of the use of frost fans; or
- They had previously stated that it would be a cold day in hell before they allowed another frost fan to be installed in Marlborough;
It is useful to note the wording where a conflict of interest exists if circumstances include or appear to include bias or predetermination.
It is important to ensure that appearance of bias and conflict of interest is identified. More on that later.
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