Senior Cabinet minister Louise Upston insists the disappearing document debacle in the Prime Minister's Office is an "isolated incident" and says it is "disingenuous" to suggest otherwise.
But Labour MP Tangi Utikere says the case "does not pass the sniff test" and raises questions about whether it was a deliberate cover-up.
The exchange on Morning Report's politics panel today comes after revelations a former top Beehive staffer used his personal Gmail account to conduct official business - meaning at least one document was not released under the Official Information Act when it should have been.
That document - which lobbied for changes to climate change legislation - was sent by dairy giant Fonterra to Matt Burgess, who was Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's chief policy adviser at the time.
Upston told Morning Report the process was "clearly not good enough" and fell short of expectations.
"You'd expect that interested parties would talk to ministers and their staff on policy issues, but that information has to be recorded and transparent, so that it is on the record for everybody to see.
"Those expectations have been very clearly reinforced with all staff in the Beehive."
The Department of Internal Affairs and the Ombudsman are conducting separate investigations into the matter.
But Upston said the breach in process was a "one-off" and should be seen as such.
"There is no evidence that this is [anything] other than an isolated matter, and I think it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise.
"There is one individual in this instance who has not followed well-rehearsed and well-practiced procedure around recording meetings and recording documents that have been received."
"This simply does not pass the sniff test."
Utikere said the more information that came to light, the more the public would question whether there had been a deliberate attempt to "hide the full extent of industry lobbying and influence".
"We are talking about the Prime Minister, for goodness' sake. Kiwis deserve to know the full extent of lobbying. They deserve to know transparency.
"If he can't run his own office, it's no wonder that he can't run the country."
Luxon said today he did not know why his former staffer had used a personal Gmail account, but it did not meet his high standards.
"We've got very professional staff who are well aware of their obligations, but that's why we are putting full-court press on it. It's a good teachable moment to remind staff of their obligations."
He reiterated that ministers had not been influenced by the lobbying efforts and were always intending to change the climate change framework to ensure it reflected the state's intent, rather than the courts.
"It's actually a no-brainer when you look at the substance."
Burgess left the Luxon's office in October last year and Parliament in January. Luxon has repeatedly refused to answer questions about the reasons behind his departure.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
