In the court of public opinion, there is often very little difference between a conflict of interest, a perceived conflict of interest, and the potential for a conflict of interest.
At the end of the day, whether real or imagined, they all undermine public trust in governments and political parties.
That is why it is difficult to understand how it took a Right to Information request from the state opposition to reveal that the Tasmanian government had granted a quarter of a million dollars to Tasmania's new NBL team.
The documents show a grant deed for an "election commitment" of $250,000 for the JackJumpers, upgrades to the Kingborough Sports Centre (where the team is currently training), and the purchase of equipment.
It was signed in December 2021 by the deputy secretary of Communities, Sport and Recreation and JackJumpers chief executive Simon Brookhouse.
Out of context, the funding, and the fact that it was not publicly announced, are not eyebrow-raising.
But funding for the JackJumpers, and who approved it, has been a matter of fierce scrutiny since Jane Howlett resigned from cabinet in February.
Premier Peter Gutwein had previously labelled Ms Howlett the best sports minister in the state's history, but reassigned her sport portfolio in a reshuffle early this year.
Not long after, Ms Howlett resigned as a minister, citing the death of her brother.
But her resignation also followed questions in parliament about her alleged personal relationship with the chief executive of the JackJumpers, Mr Brookhouse — a relationship she has denied.
Despite being signed off by Ms Howlett's department, the Premier said on Friday the funding was negotiated by his office and "Jane Howlett was not a part of the negotiations".
Mr Gutwein said he believed it was an error that the grant had been labelled an election commitment, and the first contact his office had with the JackJumpers regarding the funding was "a number of months" after the May 2021 election.
He said it had not been publicly announced yet because the government had to put off some announcements because of COVID-19, and it would appear in budget papers.
Mr Brookhouse said he did not know if the funding was an election commitment or not, but discussions had started in early 2021.
He said he had only ever dealt with the Premier's department on funding, and never Ms Howlett.
The Premier is unequivocal: "No conflict of interest exists."
But no matter how steadfast Mr Gutwein is on that matter, public perception relies heavily on trust.
To not proactively disclose this grant at a time of such intense scrutiny over funding and subsidies to the JackJumpers is an easy way to prompt questions about this government's commitment to transparency.
And, unsurprisingly, Mr Gutwein's declarations are not enough for the opposition, which is now questioning what other funding the public might not know about as it calls for an independent inquiry into potential conflicts of interest.
