Inquiry up to SSC – Bennett

Paula Bennett has met State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes to discuss the transport ministry’s handling of fraudster Joanne Harrison, including allegations two whistleblowers lost their jobs.

Bennett, who is Minister for State Services, said the issue came up in her meeting with Hughes on Monday where she asked for ‘‘clarification on what his areas of responsibility would be and the number of investigations that have already gone on there’’.

Harrison, a former Ministry of Transport senior manager, was jailed in February for defrauding the ministry of $750,000.

Then-chief executive at the ministry, Martin Matthews, has been under the spotlight for his handling of the case. Matthews is now Auditor-General..

Labour leader Andrew Little wrote to the Speaker of the House, David Carter, on Monday asking him to review Matthews’ appointment.

Little said a ‘‘genuinely independent inquiry conducted by the State Services Commissioner’’ reported back to the Parliamentary panel who appointed Matthews would allow the panel to ‘‘consider whether or not the recommendation they made still stands’’.

There was new information about Matthews’ handling of the Harrison case in his former role at the ministry that the panel wasn’t aware of when they appointed him Auditor-General, he said.

Hughes, in a statement on Monday, said he was considering an investigation into the ministry’s handling of the case.

Matthews stood down from his transport role in June, one month before the fraud was made public. He was appointed by Parliament to the role of auditor-general in November.

‘‘The commissioner has to look at whether or not he looks at what’s happened with the whistleblowers and that’s a call he makes independently,’’ Bennett said yesterday. ‘‘There’s been a number of investigations and inquiries into what happened at the Ministry of Transport. As such the then-chief executive is no longer a public servant under the jurisdiction of the commissioner so I’m not sure him doing any kind of investigation that would appease that is right.

‘‘It’s Parliament that now employs Mr Matthews and if there was any concerns it would be appropriate that it went through those channels.’’

She ruled out inquiry.

Bennett said it wasn’t appropriate for Hughes to ‘‘look backwards’’ at the then-chief executive but it ‘‘could be appropriate for him to look at what happened with those whistleblowers when they were public servants’’.

Prime Minister Bill English supported Hughes conducting an inquiry if there was ‘‘new information’’.

‘‘There would be a concern if public service employees have been unfairly treated and concern if procedures weren’t in place to deal with fraud,’’ he said. a ministerial