1. Prime Minister—Confidence in MinistersHon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSPrime Minister—Confidence in Ministers1. Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in all her Ministers?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Mr Speaker malo e laumalie. Yes.Hon Simon Bridges: When was she or her office first advised that there was a staffing matter in the Hon Meka Whaitiri's office requiring an investigation by Ministerial Services?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I have said I do want to keep the detail of this issue with Ministerial Services where it belongs as an employment matter though I can say that I was informed my recollection was last Wednesday night—if my memory serves best—and of course within a 24-hour period the Minister offered up to stand aside while the investigation took place.Hon Simon Bridges: Who told her on Wednesday night? Was it the Minister herself or someone else and if so who?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I don't want to get into the details of something that is being inquired into by Ministerial Services. That is the best place for this investigation to take place. It is entirely appropriate that that is how it is dealt with.Hon Simon Bridges: Did the Minister tell the Prime Minister?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I've made it clear that obviously I've had a conversation with the Minister directly about it. She has said she wants this dealt with openly and transparently. That is what we're doing. That is why she offered up to stand aside while this was dealt with. But it is being dealt with by Ministerial Services and that's the best place for it to be dealt with. If the Opposition leader has a range of specific questions around dates and times he's most welcome to put those in writing.Hon Simon Bridges: Well was it the Minister that told the Prime Minister or was it someone else?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: This is an issue that is being dealt with—rightly so—by Ministerial Services. That is the best place for it to be dealt with. I believe in natural justice. I also want to protect the privacy of individuals who are involved and that's why we're dealing with it in the most appropriate way possible.Hon Simon Bridges: Did she ask the Hon Meka Whaitiri directly what happened?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: It is fair to say that the allegation is contested which is why it's being dealt with by Ministerial Services and that is appropriate.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she stand by her reported statements that Labour monitored staff turnover in its Ministers' offices; if so how is this monitoring undertaken?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As would be the case for the member when he was in office obviously Ministerial Services are aware of staff turnover and the different circumstances that lead to staff turnover. When in Opposition then it's Parliamentary Service that plays that role.Hon Simon Bridges: How will her Government foster a more open and democratic society as outlined in the Speech from the Throne when she has had to demote her Minister for open government for not being open and transparent in her answers to written questions?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That is exactly why the Minister has had to bear the brunt of the consequences of not upholding her own standards. And on her own measure she has acknowledged that those errors led to a perception that she wasn't open in her actions which is why she absolutely accepted and offered up the role of open Government.Hon Simon Bridges: Did she ask Clare Curran why she had not noted her meeting with Derek Handley in her diary considering that just one week prior to that meeting she'd been asked an oral question in the House about her failure to record her breakfast meeting with Carol Hirschfeld?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I've been asked this question via the media and have given the same answer I'm happy to give to the House. The member of course recalls the meeting she had. It wasn't recorded and that's something that she acknowledges was a complete error. It was set up via herself and she has released all of the documentation surrounding that meeting and the establishment of that meeting to make it clear what happened in the lead-up to those events.Hon Simon Bridges: Has she or her office sought an undertaking from the Hon Clare Curran that she has now transferred all appropriate records from her private Gmail account to her ministerial email accounts so that they can be searched for official information and to ensure that appropriate public records are maintained?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As the member will know the Official Information Act (OIA) is mode-neutral. Regardless of whether or not information is held on a Gmail account or a parliamentary account it is subject to the Official Information Act. That is the key. The member though proactively when this issue came out released a number of different pieces of information relating to this particular incident in order to be transparent around what happened. But it's OIA-able.Hon Simon Bridges: Does she agree with Bryce Edwards' comments that the same mistake by the same person leading to the same serious outcome—misleading Parliament within a few months—is corrosive and if not why not?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: I do not.Hon Simon Bridges: Was David Cormack correct in his New Zealand Herald column on 27 August when he said the Department of Internal Affairs told the Prime Minister's office about Clare Curran's meeting with Derek Handley and how does this square with her press conference on 24 August when she said Minister Clare Curran's office alerted her office about the meeting?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That is the case. I was alerted by Minister Curran's office.