Revelations from Newsroom show the Prime Minister's Office appeared to conspire to cover up information which demonstrated serious ministerial misconduct, National’s Deputy Leader Nicola Willis says.

“The timeline revealed today by the Prime Minister’s office is damning. In 2021, Stuart Nash’s office specifically consulted with the then Prime Minister’s office not once, but three times, over the release of an email sent by Mr Nash to donors to him, which revealed the contents of discussions at Cabinet.

“It is clear that the Prime Minister’s office knew about Stuart Nash's email to donors in 2021, but it seems that the Prime Minister’s office conspired with Stuart Nash’s office to keep the email secret.

“What we have here is a Government which only remembers its ethics when it gets found out.

“The minute the Prime Minister's Office became aware of Stuart Nash's email to donors, they should have released it and immediately acted to strip him of his Ministerial warrants.

“The idea that the email to donors was ‘outside of scope’ of the Official Information Act is laughable.

“This is a clear, potentially criminal, breach of the Official Information Act 1982, a breach of the Cabinet Manual, and a breach of the basic precepts of good government.

“The Ombudsman needs to urgently investigate this serious breach of the Official Information Act and the Prime Minister's Office must urgently release all documentation associated with the handling of this request. He must also explain why this email was not released to New Zealanders when the Prime Minister's Office found out about it.”

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