Has the Cabinet Office developed a working definition of “advocacy” following the Auditor General’s advice that the lack of such definition limited the potential effectiveness of advice the Office gave to Hon Chris Bishop about managing potential conflict of interest around his decisions around the Melling Interchange and if so, what it is its definition of “advocacy”?

Answer

As the Audit Office identified on page 1 of its letter dated 6 July 2026, and as provided in answer to the member’s Written Parliamentary Question 12198 (2026), the Cabinet Office has previously defined “advocacy” to mean making strong public statements in support of or opposition to a project or category of projects or taking active steps in support of a project (usually more than just writing a letter of support). The Audit Office’s observation was that this definition was not repeated in Hon Bishop’s conflict of interest management plan. The Audit Office’s letter can be found at https://ao.parliament.nz/2026/city-link-bridge/index.htm