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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says “it is not the language I would have used” when asked about an email sent to ministers ordering them not to interview the media at a Covid-19 document dump last week.
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The prime minister says he does not compile all emails sent by his team.
Source: 1 NEWS
His comments come after hundreds of official documents, including minutes and advice on Covid-19, were released on Friday afternoon, followed by a leaked government email instructing Ministers not to interview the media about the published material.
Ms. Ardern was asked about the email at her post-cabinet address today.
“I don’t think anyone can accuse me of not being available.
“I don’t think that is the case either, but I will say that it is not the language I would use in an email, but I do not believe all emails sent by people who work on my team,” he said.
A political commentator this morning says that the memo sent from the Prime Minister’s Office overwhelms the idea of it being an open and transparent government.
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Josie Pagani and Ben Thomas express their opinion on the Government’s handling of the publication of documents on Covid-19.
Source: Breakfast
Josie Pagani told the TVNZ1 breakfast that the government should have “deducted points” by the time of its dump on Friday, but most worrying was the note that followed.
“The charitable light on this is that they wanted to get this out of the way before moving on to Level 2 so they could focus on security measures at Level 2, that’s the charitable interpretation.”
“But I think the memo particularly affects this idea of a different kind of politics, a transparent and open government, and adds something new that commentators have noticed, which is a kind of arrogance tone.”
Pagani also said the content of the documents was worrisome, and recommended a Royal Commission on how the government handled the coronavirus pandemic and its advice.
“Not because we think they were wrong, but because we need to understand how they made these decisions,” he said.
“One of the things that really amazes me is that you can’t say, on the one hand, that you have to trust the experts, and then, on the other hand, do exactly what the experts tell you not to do. Level 2 to Level 4 immediately, which is what the Government did. “
“[It] It may have been the right decision, I don’t know, but I do think there must be some kind of Royal Commission at some point on how these decisions are made. “
“Too many jobs were lost, too many companies were destroyed. We need to understand how they made decisions and what can be done differently in the future.”
