PSA MEDIA RELEASE August,16 2007

PSA Concerned At Rush To Blame Public Service

The Public Service Association is concerned that there's been a rush to blame the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Air New Zealand flying Australian military personnel to the Middle East, where they may have ended up in Iraq.

"We are concerned at the rush to point the finger at the Ministry and its staff, before all the facts are known," says PSA National Secretary, Brenda Pilott.

"The union is particularly concerned that MFAT chief executive, Simon Murdoch, a highly respected and experienced public servant, is being lined up as a possible scapegoat before we know what actually happened," says Brenda Pilott.

She says the PSA agrees with Foreign Affairs Minister, Winston Peters, that we need to wait until all the facts are in before we pass judgement on the matter.

"At this stage it's not clear that the Australian military personnel, transported by Air New Zealand, did end up in Iraq," says Brenda Pilott. "And if they did, whether they were combat troops, or involved in the type of reconstruction or humanitarian work that New Zealand troops performed in Iraq after Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled."

"We need to take time and establish what actually happened before we start pointing fingers and laying blame," says Brenda Pilott.

ENDS

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