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National MP Harete Hipango was revealed as the MP who faced allegations of inappropriate spending. Photo / Bevan Conley
National Party leader Judith Collins has confirmed MP Harete Hipango is the MP against whom allegations of inappropriate spending were made in the last legislature.
The NZ Herald reported on Wednesday morning that a National Party MP was facing allegations of improper spending of taxpayer money, on which the National Party, the Parliamentary Service and the MP themselves declined to comment.
Sources within the National Party told The Chronicle that a member of the MP’s staff raised a concern in the last legislature, alleging that furniture was purchased from the MP’s public funds but did not appear in office.
The allegations concern the purchase of certain furniture, including a new television, which was allegedly delivered and kept in Hipango’s own home.
It is also understood that the cost of a sofa the MP bought for the Parliament office was also questioned and the MP was asked to return it.
Hipango has been approached several times over the previous days about the allegations, but remained on the ground, not answering questions about them.
The MP did not answer several phone calls and when the Chronicle visited her home, she declined to comment and asked the reporter to leave the property.
In parliament on Tuesday, Hipango refused to stop and answer questions about the allegations or his re-election to parliament, flanked by senior whip Matt Doocey and a member of the party’s public relations staff.
National Party leader Judith Collins said she spoke to Hipango, who has just returned to parliament on the list, and was assured the issues are all settled and Hipango has reimbursed parliamentary service for the items in question.
Collins said the items included a sofa for Parliament and furniture in his constituency offices at the time.
“Some of the money was something she couldn’t actually claim, so she had to pay it back herself.”
Collins said Hipango had been told that the sofa could not be purchased for his office in Parliament because Parliament had provided the furniture for those offices.
Collins said Hipango stored some in a shed at home, some went to one of his polling stations, and Hipango paid some herself to keep them.
Collins wouldn’t say what furniture it was other than the sofa. “There are a few items out there, but I looked at the numbers, there are very few and in fact the information she gave me was that whatever she bought, she l ‘bought correctly or paid for it herself once alerted that it had been incorrectly coded. “
Collins said she checked with the parliamentary service and was told there was nothing worth worrying about.
Collins said Harete was not alone in such a case. The example she used was of MPs staying in hotels where fees exceeded the maximum spending limit, or for food that should have been paid for personally.
Earlier today, Collins said she did not know the details of the allegations.
When asked why it took five days to respond, Collins replied that she wanted to check everything carefully.
“I talked to her about making sure she was following the rules and being careful.”
She said Hipango said she also put some of her own furniture in a constituency office because it needed more furniture. “So I think it’s a beating.”
Collins’ office was approached by NZME last week with the allegations, including the name of the MP in question, and asked to explain or clarify the allegations.
No explanation was given on Tuesday.
Collins’ chief of staff responded by sending The Chronicle a copy of a letter from parliamentary service chief Rafael Gonzalez-Montero confirming that no “formal complaint” had been filed against the MP.
But the parliamentary service later confirmed to The Chronicle that a formal complaint is not a requirement for them to investigate or raise concerns about inappropriate spending.
Hipango was first elected MP for Whanganui in 2017 with a majority of 1,000 votes, but lost the seat in 2020 by a margin of 8,000 votes. Photo / Bevan Conley
The party did not respond to a list of questions posed by The Chronicle regarding the allegations.
The parliamentary service also declined to comment on the allegations, saying they did not discuss issues relating to individual MPs.
A spokesperson for the Parliamentary Service said it was up to MPs to determine how to spend their budgets, but MPs’ spending had to be for parliamentary purposes and cost effective.
If an MP spent an excessive amount on an item or purchased something for personal rather than parliamentary use, the MP was asked to return the item or reimburse the parliamentary service. If the member refused, the amount could be deducted from his salary.
The rules also state that all purchased assets remain the property of Parliament and not of the Member.
Under the Official Information Act, the parliamentary service is one of the only government agencies exempt from providing information on request, meaning there is no official channel to determine what an MP is for. has spent taxpayer funds or has been investigated for embezzlement.
And unlike ministers, who fall under the Official Information Act, public transparency is almost zero when it comes to MPs spending.
Departmental credit card spending is published quarterly along with travel and accommodation spending.
The funding of parliamentary services for MPs is not subject to the same scrutiny, including the funding of ministers in their capacity as MPs.
However, only the overall travel and accommodation expenses of Members are made public. Other expenses incurred by Members of Parliament for their offices are overseen by the Party Whip and the Minister responsible for Parliamentary Services – Speaker Trevor Mallard.
Hipango was previously the MP for Whanganui, first elected in 2017 after the retirement of longtime Whanganui MP Chester Borrows.
Hipango then lost the seat in last year’s election by more than 8,000 votes, but returned to parliament this week as a replacement list MP Nick Smith, who retired from politics after allegations of verbal altercation with his staff.
Hipango had already made headlines last year after dishonestly attributing a quote to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on agriculture – a quote Ardern did not.
Hipango declined to delete the post, claiming instead that the quote was not fake, but rather a “construct of keywords aligned with Jacinda Ardern.”
Earlier, Hipango had caught the country’s attention after a strong Facebook post criticizing the prime minister’s stance on abortion.
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