STACEY KIRK
Last updated 16:35, November 26 2017
It’s understood the decision to release the briefings to incoming ministers is to come from the top. So far, all requests have been denied on the basis they are to be released publicly, but it’s unclear what the holdup is – they were read by their ministers in their first week.
OPINION: The Government is facing a mountain of questions – more than 6000 to be exact.
They’ve been lodged by an army of National MPs with nothing but time on their hands and it should be no surprise to Labour Ministers, who have so far refused to release much detail, if any, about their first actions in office.
In a 100-day programme, where major reform is being pushed through at break-neck speed, that is cause for concern.
Labour is facing a mountain of what’s known as “Written Questions” from the Opposition, but it’s not pleased about answering them. It should be worrying to all however, if the Government is gatekeeping public information this early on.
Claims of “hypocrisy” levelled by some commentators at National’s record in Government are true, but they’re no defence. We should all be demanding those answers.
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And it might be early, but on the current trend those accusations aren’t far from being squarely levelled back to Labour. They and the Greens made much of their desire to “bring transparency back to Government” on the campaign trail.
Trevor Mallard asked 7000 questions of National in one 2010 month alone.
Labour is also yet to release what’s known as the “Briefings to Incoming Ministers” – or BIMs.
They are the documents prepared by the experts and officials, delivered to ministers in their first week to give them a crash course on the portfolio they’ve just been handed – in some cases rendering them responsible overnight for the spending of public funds totalling billions.
All of them have been requested under the Official Information Act by reporters across New Zealand. All of them have been denied by the Government on the grounds they’re about to be released publicly anyway.
The trouble with that is the law actually applies to occasions where the document in question is yet to be printed or the minister hasn’t had a chance to read it first.
These were read by the ministers more than a month ago, and its understood to decision on when to release the BIMs – state sector wide – is to come from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“[The section] should not be used to delay the release of information which is intended to be incorporated in other material which, although to be made public at a later date, may still require the making of other policy decisions,” is the expressed order of the Ombudsman.
Bill English gave Labour fair warning when he said “we’re not here to make this place run smoothly”. He copped criticism, but he’s right; they are there to hold the Government to account – nothing more.
Many are familiar with the verbal jousting of Question Time where this is publicly done. But Opposition MPs have another very important democratic tool available to them in the form of Written Questions.
They can lodge questions to ministers on matters related to their portfolios, and ministers must respond within six working days. There is no limit as to how many questions can be lodged, they must be concise and targeted.
Undoubtedly, 6000 written questions in a month is a lot.
But is it fair to demand those answers? Absolutely. Is it hypocritical of National to be complaining they’re being blocked? You bet. Does that matter? Not one bit.
Because the answers, or at least the willingness to provide those answers, benefit New Zealand as a democracy.
In July 2010 Labour asked 8791 questions in a single month.
More than 7000 of those questions came from MP Trevor Mallard alone.
Now in the Speaker’s chair, it’s his jurisdiction to force answers where they are not fairly being withheld if a complaint is laid.
Labour is getting off to a poor start on transparency.
– Stuff