A probe into conflict-of-interest allegations at the Teaching Council was sparked by a whistle blower’s claims the agency spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds on an advertising firm run by the CEO’s husband.
An anonymous letter sent to Education Minister Erica Stanford in June this year, obtained by the Herald, claims Clemenger BBDO received up to $800,000 from the council for advertising and consultancy work. Brett Hoskin, who is married to Teaching Council chief executive Lesley Hoskin, is Clemenger Wellington’s managing director.
As first reported by the Herald, Lesley Hoskin went on a period of agreed leave last month amid an independent investigation into her conduct.
There’s two seperate issues here. The first is just wasteful spending. It is hard to imagine who a regulatory body would need to spend $800,000 with an advertising firm. That is around 5% of their entire budget.
The second is whether Clemenger got the contract through a transparent constable process, and one in which Hoskin was entirely recused due to her conflict of interest.
The fact that she is on leave while there is an investigation would suggest the answer is no. If she had notified the Board of the conflict and recused herself from all decision making around it, then there would not be much to investigate.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
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