John Luke
Whare Kaupapa Atawhai
Conservation House
18 Manners Street
fyi-request-32125-
Wellington 6140
[email address]
doc.govt.nz
Ref: OIAD-5599
8 September 2025
Tēnā koe John
Thank you for your request to the Department of Conservation (DOC), received on 26 August
2025, in which you stated:
Thank you for your reply- OIAD 5482 Response Luke.pdf
I noted that Fale Andrew Lesā claimed to hold a Bachelor of Arts in
Environmental Management. However, according to recent news reports, it was
confirmed that he does not hold any bachelor’s degree.
What steps have you taken to verify this information? If this claim is indeed
false, it constitutes a serious case of misrepresentation and potentially fraud, as
it may have influenced his appointment within the department.
Has your office begun an internal investigation into this matter? Furthermore,
what measures are being taken to strengthen your recruitment and verification
processes to prevent similar issues in the future?
If no action has been taken so far, I, as a member of the general public, urge
you to look into this matter promptly.
We have considered your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA).
Context
As noted in OIAD-5482, Fale Andrew Lesā served as a member on the Auckland Conservation
Board from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2021. At the time of Mr Lesā’s application for appointment.
there were no known issues with Mr Lesā’s credentials.
DOC expects that information provided by candidates during the appointment process is true
and accurate, and checks may be completed to verify candidates’ suitability for nomination.
However, given we receive (on average) 235 nominations for 45 public vacancies every year
(range 98 – 392 over the last 10 years), we are unable to investigate histories of every
nomination. Information about the types of checks we conduct is outlined in our response to Q3
below.
Your request
Your questions and our responses are listed below:
1. I noted that Fale Andrew Lesā claimed to hold a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental
Management. However, according to recent news reports, it was confirmed that he
does not hold any bachelor’s degree.
What steps have you taken to verify this information? If this claim is indeed false, it
constitutes a serious case of misrepresentation and potentially fraud, as it may have
influenced his appointment within the department.
Mr Lesā was not appointed as a member of staff in the Department of Conservation; he
was appointed to the Auckland Conservation Board for the period 1 July 2018 – 30 June
2021. Given Mr Lesā has not been active as an Auckland Conservation Board member for
more than four years, we do not consider it necessary to verify his qualifications.
2. Has your office begun an internal investigation into this matter?
No, given he was not re-appointed to the Auckland Conservation Board when his term
ended in 2021.
3. Furthermore, what measures are being taken to strengthen your recruitment and
verification processes to prevent similar issues in the future?
A range of checks are currently undertaken for people recommended for appointments,
depending on the type of board they are applying for. At the lower end this consists of
police/criminal checks, while at the higher end, where the boards may be handling Crown
funds, we include a wider sweep: criminal checks, bankruptcies, failed directorships, etc.
Please note that this letter (with your personal details removed) may be published on DOC’s
website.
Nāku noa, nā
Kelley Reeve
Director Governance and Government Services
Department of Conservation
Te Papa Atawhai
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