12. GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) Link to this
to the Minister of State Services
Does he stand by his statement that he ordered the inquiries into the leaking of information about the stocktake of schedule 4 of the Crown Minerals Act and changes to the structure of the public sector?
Hon TONY RYALL (Minister of State Services) Link to this
Yes. These inquiries were instigated by the State Services Commissioner following a direction from me pursuant to section 8 of the State Sector Act.
Given that answer, is the Minister suggesting that the Prime Minister misled the public when he said on Thursday that the State Services Commissioner, Iain Rennie, and not the Government had instigated the investigations into this area?
Did the Minister discuss the issue of an inquiry into those leaks with the Prime Minister at a Cabinet or Cabinet committee meeting last week?
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I do not think the member addressed the question that I asked.
Mr SPEAKERI am just reflecting on the question asked. The question asked whether the Minister discussed the matter with the Prime Minister. The Minister did not answer that; the Minister answered a different question. So I invite the Minister to answer the question.
Why has the Minister not widened the scope of the inquiries to investigate the leaking of Budget-sensitive information to the Sunday Star-Times?
I am advised that the story used information based on the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research’s estimates. No decisions have been taken on the final shape of any tax cut packages to be announced in Budget 2010.
I seek leave to table an email from the Minister’s office that states that the Minister of State Services, Tony Ryall, confirms that he asked the State Services Commission to inquire into the leaks.