PM’s fingerprints all over Handley saga

The release of documents from the Government today about the appointment of a Chief Technology Officer shows there is a raft of questions the Prime Minister needs to answer, National’s State Services spokesperson Nick Smith says.

“Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sent multiple messages to Clare Curran asking how the appointment process was progressing. The messages show she was very much across the details of the appointment. The Prime Minister needs to explain why she was so deeply invested.

“The Prime Minister’s Chief Press Secretary contacted Derek Handley asking to speak with him urgently and Mr Handley later sought advice in return. The Prime Minister’s Acting Chief of Staff also phoned Mr Handley. How can the Prime Minister have shrugged all of this off so casually when her office was so deeply involved?

“The meeting with the Prime Minister’s Acting Chief of Staff took place because Labour Party President Nigel Haworth set it up. He had met with Mr Handley before the election where Mr Handley offered his help to the Labour Party. Mr Handley then got in touch again post-election where he was referred to the Prime Minister’s Office. The Prime Minister needs to be open and transparent about whether she discussed appointing Mr Handley with the Labour Party President

“When questioned in Parliament the Prime Minister was less than up front about her correspondence, simply saying it was on record she’d known Mr Handley for a number of years. What we now know is that both she and senior staffers in her office deeply involved in the appointment process. The release of these documents raise more questions than they answer.”

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