8 November 2023
John Luke
[FYI request #24384 email]
REF: DOIA-2324-0253
Tēnā koe John
Thank you for your email of 10 October 2023 to the Ministry for Ethnic Communities (the
Ministry) requesting the fol owing information under the Official Information Act 1982:
May I kindly request the conflict of interest register for all panel member as of today.
Also, may I kindly request the fees/payments paid to each panel member from 1st Oct
2023 to 1st Oct 2022.
I note that your email refers to panel members of the Ethnic Communities Developmental
Fund (ECDF).
In response to the first part of your request, a declaration of conflicting interests is
completed at the start of each meeting and panel members exclude themselves from fund
allocation decision making on a case-by-case basis. This information is recorded within the
meeting minutes. There is no centralised conflict of interest register which details past,
potential, or ongoing conflicts.
I note that you have previously received all meeting minutes since the establishment of the
ECDF (OIA2324-0025), up to and including the ECDF Panel meeting minutes for Friday 21
June 2023.
The table enclosed with this letter lists the conflicts declared on meetings held
from July 2023 to the date of your request.
In response to the second part of your request, ECDF panel members typically have 11 panel
meetings per year, one per month with the exclusion of Christmas period. Members have set
fees as explained below.
Panel members will be paid fees at the following rates:
• New Panel members will be paid a half day meeting rate of $108 to attend
an induction session, of up to three hours
• A ful day meeting rate of $215
• A half day meeting rate of $108 for meetings between 1 to 3 hours
• A rate of $54 for meetings of up to 1 hour
• Reading fees will be paid at a ful day rate of $215 for every 50 reviews, or on a
pro rata basis.
1
There are 4 panel members that fall in scope of your request. The fees/payments paid to
each panel member from 1 October 2022 to 1 October 2023 are listed below and the total
amounts claimed are prior to any tax being applied. To maintain a level of privacy for panel
members, please note that they will be referred to as Members A, B, C, and D.
Panel Member
Total fees (Inc tax)
Member A
$3,292.10
Member B
$3,219.00
Member C
$3,403.90
Member D
$3,382.40
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of our response
to your request. Information about how to contact the Ombudsman’s office is available at:
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone: 0800 802 602.
Please note, due to the public interest in our work, the Ministry may publish responses to
requests for official information on our website, shortly after the response has been sent. If
you have any queries about this, please feel free to contact our Ministerial Services team:
[email address].
Ngā mihi
Pratima Namasivayam
Deputy Chief Executive, Policy and Analytics
2
Table of Conflicts declared July 2023 – September 2023
Date of meeting
Request Organisation
Panel member
Position
26 July 2023
BHARTIYA SAMAJ WELLINGTON & MANAWATU TRUST
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
26 July 2023
DHAMMA GAVESI MEDITATION CENTRE INCORPORATED
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
26 July 2023
New Zealand Federation Of Multicultural Councils Incorporated
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
26 July 2023
New Zealand Federation Of Multicultural Councils Incorporated
Luke Qin
Panel member
26 July 2023
New Zealand International Students' Association (NZISA)
Michel e Huang
Panel member
26 July 2023
Rambutan Media Works
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
26 July 2023
Tamil Society Waikato Inc
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
26 July 2023
Wel ington Punjabi Women Association
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
26 July 2023
15th March Whanau Trust
Louise McLean
Funding Advisor
26 July 2023
Hakatere Multi Cultural Council Incorporated
Luke Qin
Panel member
25 August 2023
University of Canterbury African Society Incorporated
Cashias Gumbo
Panel member
25 August 2023
Zimbabwe Association Auckland Upper and North Island
Cashias Gumbo
Panel member
25 August 2023
Multicultural Nelson Tasman Incorporated
Luke Qin
Panel member
25 August 2023
New Zealand Chinese Association – Nelson Branch Incorporated
Luke Qin
Panel member
25 August 2023
Natraj School of Dance
Luke Qin, Cashias Gumbo,
Panel members
Michel e Huang
25 August 2023
Natraj School of Dance
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
25 August 2023
Wahine Charitable Trust
Prabha Ravi
Panel member
13 September 2023
Federation of Islamic Associations New Zealand Incorporated
The Panel members did not have any
N/A
conflicts of interest. Prabha noted for
full transparency purposes that she sat
on a Panel at a hui which also included
the Chair of the applicant organisation.
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