Clark Defends "Chinese Walls" in Husband's Grant Applications

Helen Clark has stated that despite her husband being on the grant committee for the Marsden Fund, he was not present when his own applications were assessed and approved for a $600,000 project to analyse Census data.

My experience of Chinese Walls is they are made of paper and don't go right to the top.

The very fact the applications are from (co) panellists is why they will be approved. Who wants to sit in judgement of their peers and find the peer unworthy of your grace and favour.

The potential for conflict is here - when a recipient is later a judge for the grantor at some later time. The conflict won't be declared because under Clark's rules there is no conflict if the grantee is from some "unrelated" department.

This is exactly the sort of grace and favour accusation socialists have railed about for a century.

Pot Kettle Black.