Attorney-General Chris Finlayson used to work with Justice Wilson who was recently investigated by Judicial Conduct Commissioner Sir David Gascoigne.

Three complaints were reported against Justice Wilson's conduct in the long running Saxmere wool case. He also recommended the Attorney-General to set up a panel to investigate further. Mr. Finlayson has delegated his role to Judith Collins on Justice Bill Wilson's failure to fully disclose his debt to a top lawyer involved in a case the judge sat on.

Ms. Collins has not yet given her acceptance that whether she will accept Sir David's recommendation on May 7 that Justice Wilson effectively face a commission of inquiry to decide if he properly disclosed to the Supreme Court that he owed Queen's Counsel Alan Galbraith nearly $250,000.

Mr. Finlayson said that he transferred responsibilities to Ms. Collins to avoid any possibility of a perception of a conflict of interest. He added that the conflict could arise only when an office holder was in a position to take action on a matter.

However, there was no possible perception of a possible conflict of interest in November because the allegations against Justice Wilson were then in the hands of the judicial conduct commissioner, so it made "no sense" to ask why he did not delegate his role earlier.