How Nicole McKee picked new firearms group members in Paul Goldsmith’s name

The MAAG was set up in 2020-21, following the Christchurch terror attack, and has the ear of the minister responsible for firearms laws. It has nine members representing several stakeholder groups.

The search for two new members took place last year after four MAAG members came to the end of their three-year terms. McKee decided to reappoint two (Shayne Walker and Debbie Lamb) and cut two (Yasbek and Helene Leaf).

McKee also agreed to the Ministry of Justice seeking nominations through “agencies, ministers, Cabinet, caucus and interested groups”, according to a ministry briefing in July, released under the Official Information Act (OIA).

A week and a half later, she changed her mind when the ministry sought permission to invite nominations from groups including the police, Te Puni Kōkiri, the Māori Firearms Forum, MAAG members and the Arms Engagement Group. The ministry should only proceed if there were no nominations from her coalition colleagues, McKee’s private secretary told the ministry.

According to the OIA documents, McKee, who is an Act MP, then told two people she wanted for the group (Mike Spray and Michelle Roderick-Hall) to send their CVs to the Act Party’s chief of staff at the time, Andrew Ketels, who nominated them.

To avoid the perception of a conflict of interest, McKee handed over the rest of the process to Goldsmith, who took a paper to Cabinet recommending Spray and Roderick-Hall; this was approved and gazetted in November.

In his paper, Goldsmith said the process was appropriate; one of several ways to seek nominations is to ask the responsible minister, according to Public Service Commission guidelines.

Both he and McKee declined to comment to the Herald, referring questions on the appropriateness of the process to the Cabinet Office, which referred them back to ministers.

“The Cabinet Office provides guidance on processes for appointments made by ministers,” the office told the Herald in a statement.

“It is for ministers to comment on particular decisions and actions.”

McKee may well know the right people for the MAAG; coalition parties have defended her as an expert when faced with criticism over aspects of her firearms law reforms.

Spray was the national manager of the NZ Deer Association’s HUNTS programme, and is known for his knowledge and experience in firearms and hunter safety.

Roderick-Hall, who doesn’t have a firearms licence, has worked with the Whakatūpato programme to promote firearms safety and awareness in rural communities.

They are both familiar to McKee; Spray has worked for McKee’s company Firearms Safety Specialists NZ Limited, which has been contracted to deliver the Whakatūpato programme.

As a former spokeswoman for the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners, McKee’s decisions and associations have also been closely scrutinised; she has rejected criticism of her being “in the pocket” of the gun lobby.

Yasbek said Spray and Roderick-Hall might well be good additions to the MAAG, but it was hard to know without a wide and open process for nominations.

McKee not only restricted nominations to coalition partners (none were offered from National or NZ First), but her fingerprints were all over the process, she said.

“Nicole has asked that I send these to you,” Spray said in a July email to Ketels that included his CV, which Ketels then forwarded to the appropriate person alongside the comment: “Act nominates Mike Spray for the Minister’s Arms Advisory Group.”

In August, McKee’s ministerial advisor sent Ketels the details for Roderick-Hall (who had sent her details through earlier) along with the message: “Another one for nomination please good sir.”

McKee’s office was also provided with advice on a potential conflict of interest, but this is fully redacted in the OIA documents on three grounds, including the possibility of unreasonably prejudicing the commercial position of a person in the information.

In September, McKee’s private secretary told the Justice Ministry that Goldsmith would take over the process to “avoid a conflict of interest”.

Yasbek, who uncovered the paper trail through the OIA, said McKee’s involvement before “washing her hands” by handing the process to Goldsmith was damaging to people’s trust in the system.

“People believe the game is rigged. And it’s part of a broader pattern, a slow corrosion of how our democracy functions, and of trust in public institutions.

“The Act Party has a track record on this,” she added, citing the appointment of Stephen Rainbow as Human Rights Commissioner.

This was criticised at the time as the responsible minister, Goldsmith, kowtowing to Act after Rainbow, who had made comments described as “transphobic”, was not initially shortlisted for the role.

Act leader David Seymour then put forward Rainbow for the position, and he was added to the shortlist and eventually appointed, despite an independent panel not recommending him.

In December, the High Court ruled that Rainbow’s appointment was unlawful on two grounds: the minister failed to apply the correct legal test, and failed to take mandatory considerations into account. Goldsmith is considering an appeal.

Invited to respond to Yasbek’s characterisation of the process as “jobs for your mates”, Seymour declined to comment.

A Ministry of Justice document landed on Goldsmith’s desk in September, saying: “To avoid any potential conflicts of interest, the Associate Minister of Justice, Hon Nicole McKee, has requested that you make the decisions required in this briefing.”

In his subsequent Cabinet paper proposing Spray and Roderick-Hall for the MAAG, Goldsmith said: “I can confirm that an appropriate process has been followed in selecting the proposed appointees, in terms of the Public Service Commission appointment guidelines.”

Those guidelines include nine ways to find candidates to fill a vacancy, one of which is via the responsible minister.

Under the “conflicts of interest” heading in his Cabinet paper, Goldsmith said: " I can confirm that checks for conflicts of interest have been completed in accordance with the Public Service appointment guidelines."

Cabinet approved the nominees, and Goldsmith gazetted the information in November.

Yasbek said the whole episode fuelled her concerns about the Arms Bill, currently before Parliament, which aims to update the 43-year-old Arms Act.

It has several new offences while easing some of the regulatory burden. It would also create a new regulator, replacing the Firearms Safety Authority, whose decisions can be appealed to a new firearms licensing review panel.

The responsible minister – currently McKee – would recommend a person to head the new body (appointed by the Governor-General), and also have the power to appoint panel members.

Yasbek believed this would enable “regulatory capture”, allowing McKee to choose the regulator’s leader, and stack the panel with whoever she wanted.

“This is a fancy way of saying that the regulator serves the interests of the regulated group rather than the broader public interest, prioritising the convenience of gun owners rather than focusing on public safety,” she claimed.

A spokesman for McKee said it would be a “transparent and contestable” process to hire the agency chief executive, with Cabinet oversight. The process would be led by the Justice Secretary, though this is not required in the bill as it currently stands.

“It is proposed in the Arms Bill that the Secretary for Justice provide advice to the responsible minister,” the spokesman said.

“The responsible minister will recommend a candidate to Cabinet for their consideration. Following Cabinet agreement, the responsible Minister will make a recommendation to the Governor-General.”

There is a month left to make submissions on the bill.

Derek Cheng is a senior journalist who started at the Herald in 2004. He has worked several stints in the press gallery team and is a former deputy political editor.