Govt whistleblower claims that he was told to bury bad news
Public servant tells the Herald he was told to sit on information that could embarrass the Government. Former Customs lawyer says he resigned after being told to refuse legitimate requests for information. The claims come at a tough time for the Govt wi
Aformer high-ranking Customs lawyer says he resigned from his job after allegedly being told to bury information that could embarrass the Government.
Curtis Gregorash said he was told by senior Customs executives to refuse Official Information Act and Privacy Act requests. He believed this was at the direction of former Customs Minister Maurice Williamson.
It comes at a time the Prime Minister’s office is under inquiry over the release of intelligence material through the OIA and accusations that former Justice Minister Judith Collins was manipulating OIA responses for political purposes.
Mr Williamson rejected the claim last night, as did the legal services chief at Customs.
Mr Gregorash, the chief legal counsel, quit Customs in March this year after more than a decade as a government lawyer.
The lawyer-turned-whistleblower said: “I’ve sat on it for a long time. But the story itself is so awful it needs to be told. I think people really need to see what ministers and some senior executives do.”
He had decided to speak because he believed the alleged instruction “was unlawful”, undermined the way the public service was meant to operate and was given for what was ultimately political reasons.
“The direction came down [from the minister] through the CEO [Carolyn Tremain] and group manager [of legal services] Peter Taylor to me saying, ‘you don’t release anything — I don’t care what the OIA says, I’d rather fight it in the courts’.”
He said it was as if ministers were prepared to say: “F*** the OIA, I’d rather fight it through the Ombudsman because it takes three years.”
Mr Gregorash said the alleged instruction came during a briefing from Mr Taylor to the legal team in which he referred to Ms Tremain and meeting with Mr Williamson.
“I resigned over it. I couldn’t stare my staff in the face and say this is actually serious conduct that’s being presented to you in a lawful way.”
Mr Gregorash said there was a specific instruction on “sensitive” issues including entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, wanted for copyright violation in the United States.
“Mr Taylor directed me to with- hold all information and pass the same direction on to my team.”
Mr Gregorash said he was told “don’t you dare release anything — nothing at all”. He was then investigated after releasing information in which Customs staff discussed earning “brownie points” by passing on Dotcom information to the FBI.
“I got dragged over the coals for it. I was cleared. I resigned after that.”
Mr Taylor confirmed an investigation into the “brownie points” OIA release.
He said there were no issues found with Mr Gregorash’s judgment.
He also confirmed he referred to the minister and Ms Tremain when he briefed the legal team on applying the OIA.
“References to the minister and the chief executive may have been made but in the context of making sure we apply the correct principles.”
He said he couldn’t recall if the minister had concerns about how the act had been applied.
A “no surprises” policy requires departments to tell their ministers when information on which they might be questioned is to be released — but it is not a grounds for withholding information.
Mr Taylor rejected any suggestion there was a ban on releasing Dotcom-related material.
Asked if there were different views on what should be released, he said: “There’s iterations over how we actually respond to issues and there will be discussions over what’s in and what’s out.”
Mr Williamson, who did not return calls, said in a written statement he was “diligent” in telling ministries “we must meet our legal obligations” and denied any improper behaviour.
Mr Williamson resigned as a minister in May after contacting police over a National party donor who was facing domestic violence charges.