Maryan Street
State Services Spokesperson

19 February 2014

Rebstock paid $209k to write flawed report

The Government’s Ms Fix-it Paula Rebstock was paid $208,907 to write a flawed and unjustified report into the alleged leaking of MFAT documents, Labour’s State Services spokesperson Maryan Street says.

“Paula Rebstock’s report has seriously curtailed or compromised the careers and reputations of two senior MFAT officials, despite not finding them guilty of leaking information.

“Her report also disregarded advice from top civil servant Sir Maarten Wevers because it did not fit with the result the Government was seeking.

“The Government clearly has an agenda to appoint only those people who will tell it what it wants to hear.

“Free and frank advice from public servants is going down the gurgler under this Government’s administration of state services.

“This unconstitutional way of approaching the state sector demonstrates an arrogant Government which finds a principled public service to be an irritation, instead of the necessary guardian of the highest standards of public administration.

“A complete review of our state services and the legislation underneath it is required to make sure any government is getting the best possible advice and analysis from officials, and not just buying in the advice it wants,” Maryan Street says.

ENDS

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