English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8320] 
4.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Did any of the Prime Minister’s staff have any communication with her or with Mary Anne Thompson about which “corngate” documents would not be publicly released; if so what was the content of that communication? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 I am advised there was not such communication. 
Hon Bill English 
: Whether or not the Prime Minister was advised can the Prime Minister herself tell us whether any of her staff had any communication with her about which “corngate” documents would not be publicly released? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The answer to that is no they did not. 
Hon Bill English 
: Is the Prime Minister going to take disciplinary action against Ruth Wilkie who wrote a memo referring to discussions she had with Mary Anne Thompson and Mark Prebble that quoted the Prime Minister’s expressed wish or did she make that up? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Mary Anne Thompson has said that she did not have such a conversation with me. She did not have such a conversation with my staff. 
Hon Bill English 
: Did her staff advise her that in fact it was not four documents that were withheld; it was 184 documents that were withheld as set out in this schedule—that is documents that were promised before the election but not released before the election? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: That has come to my attention only in the last day. In November I found out that Dr Prebble had not released the four documents relating to my own department. My understanding is that when Mr Price’s request came in then there was a very detailed look around and more documents came to light. They were for a great range of departments. 
Hon Bill English 
: Can the Prime Minister confirm that that “detailed look” 12 months after the election uncovered this document from Michael Wintringham to every Government department chief executive with this quote from a public servant and I quote from the email: “The appearance may be that these public servants”—who were at the press conference—“are no more than political puppets especially since what they are now saying is different to what official papers at the time said”; and can she tell this House that if that document had got out in the election campaign it would have been bad bad news for her? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: My instruction was that all documents were to be released. As I recall at the time Mr Wintringham had a concern that civil servants were being drawn into the campaign. That was no reason however for anyone to deliberately hold anything back. Nothing should have been held back. I understand that officials went to very great lengths to assemble as much information as they could before Mr Carbon and other officials saw media on I think Thursday the 11th. 
Hon Bill English 
: Given the Prime Minister’s commitment to total openness on this issue is it not remarkable that a politically damaging email was in the hands of the top 30 civil servants in this country—the chief executive of every Government department—on 12 July 2002 and that none of them thought to include it among the 1800 pages that were released and is it not equally remarkable that it has surfaced only now; and what action will the Prime Minister take about a civil service indulging in calculated deceit? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The first two questions can be answered. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: There is no person more frustrated than I am that all documents were not released instantly but I will not have it said that there was calculated deceit by officials. 
Hon Bill English 
: Given that this highly incriminating document was in the hands of every chief executive and that the Prime Minister had directed that all documents should be released how does she describe the behaviour that meant it was held back if it was not calculated deceit? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It is not clear whether the member is accusing Mr Wintringham of calculated deceit; I most certainly would not accuse him or other senior civil servants of that. My understanding is that they made their very best endeavours to get all relevant information out. Clearly not all was. Eventually it did all come out. The information that the member has for example went to the select committee back in April and I imagine that the Opposition has just got round to reading the file. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is the Prime Minister prepared to admit that were it not for the fact that those documents were withheld she would have lost the last election thereby belying the view of certain sycophantic reporters in this country that she is unbeatable? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I do not think that for a moment given the absence of Opposition. 
Hon Bill English 
: I seek leave to table a list of the 184 documents on “corngate” that were withheld prior to the 2002 election. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Bill English 
: I seek leave to table an email from Michael Wintringham the State Services Commissioner to every chief of a Government department setting out the concerns of a civil servant about civil service behaviour. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.