Bad call: Cynical and arrogant gagging order from the Prime Minister’s office
Want to know how the PM felt about making the lockdown even tougher after surveys indicated public support for such measures?
Or why the Finance Minister lost the battle to open the wage subsidy to all businesses, not just those crippled by Covid-19?
Or what the Health Minister thought about the woeful contacttracing capacity of 10 active cases at a time when there were already 13 cases in New Zealand?
Too bad.
A gagging order was placed on all ministers on Friday, just before the Government dumped thousands of pages of official Cabinet papers, minutes and advice on its Covid-19 response up until April 17.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s office directed ministers’ press secretaries to issue only “brief written” responses to media queries.
“Do not put Minister up for any interviews on this,” the embarrassing email said. “There’s no real need to defend because the public have confidence in what has been achieved and what the Govt is doing. Instead we can dismiss.”
The PM’s office also wanted to see and sign off all written responses.
Controlling the message is critical, especially at a time of crisis.
The release is a mammoth effort when public servants who normally process Official Information Act requests have been working under extraordinary pressure.
The “no real need to defend . . . we can dismiss” reeks of arrogance — the subtext is “we are above scrutiny”.
The detail in the document drop also shows the Government and its officials tried to base decisions on sound advice.
But that is undermined by the timing of the release and the gagging order.
It is a common strategy to release bad news late on a Friday, when newsrooms are emptier and people are more focused on weekend plans.
The PMO’s email says the release of the documents was delayed by “some late items”, but that still doesn’t change the fact they dropped immediately after the last Government press conference before alert level D-Day tomorrow.
With the gagging order, there is virtually no chance to ask a minister about anything in the documents for three days, and by the time Ardern
fronts on Monday, the nation will be firmly focused on whether we are moving to alert level 2.
And it’s not just the cynical timing. The “no real need to defend . . . we can dismiss” reeks of arrogance — the subtext is “we are above scrutiny” — and blatantly flouts Ardern’s cultivated reputation for openness and transparency.
In a crisis, the role of the media as a proxy for the public is amplified and this is a slap in the face for both — a disregard for the fourth estate as well as the public interest.
A wealth of fascinating information in the documents provides a glimpse of the scale and unprecedented nature of the response, as ministers grappled with whether to leave liquor stores open during lockdown, how to deal with a spike in online pornography, and how to pay the costs — estimated at $14 million — to get Kiwis stranded overseas home.
Then there is the economic upheaval and the debate about having employers on the wage subsidy cover 60 or 80 per cent of workers’ wages, or whether businesses should get a GST holiday.
The documents also shed light on the limited means beyond hopes and prayers to ensure essential workers were being protected at work or Covid-carrying people weren’t leaving their homes.
All this underlines what Ardern has been saying — that New Zealand’s success comes as the Government made bold decisions in an unpredictable moving feast and its work would have amounted to little without Team Five Million.
Even if the information drop could not have happened before Friday afternoon, ministers should front.
The PM’s Office may have been nervous about a minister answering in a way that could embarrass the Government. But there is a chance of that happening every time a minister opens their mouth.
The shackles should be discarded and ministers should be open to scrutiny. If they can’t be trusted to answer questions about their portfolios, they shouldn’t be ministers.