Craig
McCulloch Deputy Political Editor
Top ministry
officials have been found in contempt of Parliament, with
the Privileges Committee ruling they deliberately misled MPs
about a bungled multi-million dollar IT project.
The
committee delivered its verdict on the extraordinary saga on
Wednesday, but stopped short of recommending any further
sanction for MBIE boss Nic Blakeley or former-Immigration NZ
head Alison McDonald.
In a separate statement,
Blakeley said he accepted responsibility for the failure and
apologised unreservedly.
During a select committee
appearance in March, both Blakeley and McDonald were asked
about the progress of a biometric upgrade programme, but
they failed to disclose that that project had already been
cancelled.
In its findings – published on Wednesday –
the Privileges Committee said the officials would have known
their incomplete answers would leave MPs with a false
impression.
“The limited manner in which the ministry
answered questions… was intentional,” it said.
“We
find that the ministry deliberately misled the Education and
Workforce Committee and, in doing so, committed a
contempt.”
The report said it was “alarming” that
neither of the senior public servants were aware they could
have requested to provide evidence in private or
secret.
“We wish to be very clear: officials appearing
before select committees have an absolute obligation to tell
the truth. Being truthful, responsible, and acting in good
faith is the very essence of public service.
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“To fail
to meet these obligations is an insult to the entire public
service.”
The committee did not recommend any further
punishment given the officials had already publicly
apologised: “We intend that our findings will be of
sufficient consequence on their own.”
In a statement,
Blakeley said the committee’s findings were “extremely
serious” and he was committed to rebuilding trust.
“As
Chief Executive, I accept responsibility for this failure.
Accountability rests with me. Parliament, Ministers and the
public are entitled to expect better from MBIE.
“My
focus now is making sure a failure of this nature does not
happen again.”
Blakeley said he was making immediate
changes to strengthen MBIE’s preparation and training for
select committee appearances.
Blakeley took over as
chief executive of MBIE in January 2026. His salary has yet
to be published, but his predecessor was paid in excess of
$600,000 a year.
When giving evidence in July,
Blakeley admitted the ministry got it wrong, but denied a
deliberate attempt to mislead.
He said officials
believed they could not reveal the project’s cancellation
because MBIE was still negotiating a final payment with
Japanese technology company NEC.
“We felt that we’d
[addressed] the questions as best we could, given the
limitations we were under,” Blakeley told
MPs.
Blakeley refused to answer questions from
reporters after the hearing, saying he would wait for the
committee’s findings.
MBIE’s conduct surrounding the
failed project is also being investigated by former
Solicitor-General Michael Heron KC at the behest of the
Public Service Commission.
That investigation is
looking into whether MBIE was fully upfront with ministers
about the project over its full seven year timeline and
whether or not they engaged in “creative
accounting”.
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