PM Faces Grilling Over Setchell Sacking

Monday, 23 July 2007, 6:22 pm
Article: Kevin List

"Is there anything more substantial anyone would like to ask," was the Prime Minister's question to the parliamentary press gallery after facing a barrage of questions regarding a public servant's recent sacking.

The public servant in question, Madeleine Setchell, lost her job as a head of communications at the Ministry of the Environment after three days. Ms Setchell job loss was due to what was seen as a potential conflict of interest because her partner, Kevin Taylor, is the press secretary of National Party leader, John Key.

Although Miss Setchell had been up-front throughout the process of her job application as to her partner's place of employment it was not made known to the Chief Executive of the Ministry of the Environment, Hugh Logan.

Mr Logan became acquainted with Ms Setchell's background after a phone call from a staff member of the Minister for the Environment - David Benson-Pope.

The staff member, Steve Hurring, made the phone call after rumours floated around Parliament regarding who Ms Setchell's partner was. According to briefing notes released by the State Services Commissioner Mr Logan became concerned that there could be the potential for a conflict of interest and consulted the State Services Commissioner, Mark Prebble.

Following this consultation Mr Logan, according to the briefing notes, acted independently of the Minister's office and offered Ms Setchell another job within the Ministry. This offer was turned down and Ms Setchell left the Ministry for the Environment's employment.

The State Services report into the dismissal of Madeleine Setchell from the Ministry of the Environment reveals that Mr Benson-Pope's office did raise the matter with Mr Logan.

The Setchell case has lead to calls from National's Leader John Key that the Public Service has been politicised. Mr Key considers it extraordinary that David Benson-Pope didn't know what his staff member Mr Hurring was doing.

"[The State Services Commision briefing notes] makes it clear that [David Benson-Pope] must have known. No Beehive staffer would act on an issue as serious as this without the Minister's say so. "David Benson-Pope has been dancing on the head of a pin," said John Key in a press statement [not written by Kevin Taylor] from last Friday.

The bulk of the Prime Minister's press conference was thus concerned with what and when the Minister knew of regarding Ms Setchell and her unfortunately short stay at the Ministry for the Environment.

"Should the Minister be sacked because his staff member made a call he didn't know about then the answer is obviously no," was the Prime Minister's take on the situation.

The Prime Minister would have been basing her trust in David Benson-Pope's staying out of the loop regarding Ms Setchell's employment on the State Services Commisioner briefing notes.

"My understanding is that Mr Logan informed the Minister of the issue. However, Mr Logan is very clear that the Minister stressed that staff issues were the responsibility of the chief executive alone," wrote Mr Prebble

"The key thing is that Mr Hurring made [the initial] call without the knowledge of his Minister," explained the Prime Minister to the media.

"I have spoken very directly with Mr Benson-Pope - I have put the questions you are putting and have asked them several times and I have received very clear answers," said the Prime Minister.

When asked if David Benson-Pope was found to have deceived her in any in any way what action would be taken the Prime Minister replied "I think the answer to that is pretty obvious."

Listen to the Prime Minister discuss the sacking of Madeline Setchell in detail and take a couple of other questions on other topics of the day

ENDS

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