Trusting Murray and his Trusts

I'll give shares to Key's son, says McCully
Yesterday blogsite thestandard.org.nz revealed Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully held shares in Widespread Portfolios, a New Zealand investment company with mining interests at home and overseas. The Government is drawing up a discussion document about the prospect of mining in parts of the conservation estate. Yesterday Mr McCully downplayed the significance of the shares, saying he had tried to sell them and would continue trying to sell them. "They've been in my hands since about the year 2000. I declared in them in the appropriate fashion, there are a total of 184 shares and their market value is approximately $31.63.

With every single Minister of the Crown quickly handing all their shares to John Key's son, this kid could make it onto the Apprentice as the boss before the end of the year.

The Standard asks some questions...
Does Murrary McCully have shares in Widespread Portfolios, a company with NZ mining interests? Yes
Is he a member of the Cabinet that has been dealing with mining issues?Yes
Will he be the one deciding whether Widespread’s subsidiary gets a permit for seamining (I just discovered this today)? Yes
Is there, prima facie, a conflict of interest? Yes
Did that conflict turn out to be trivial?? Yes
Was it wrong to raise the questions? No
Are there still serious unanswered questions about what more sizeable shareholdings McCully and other ministers have hidden away in their trusts? Yes