The Prime Minister’s decision to go to ground in response to questions over the GJ Thompson affair is a disgraceful failure of transparency, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says, “The Prime Minister continues to refuse robust explanation of the measures undertaken to ensure her former chief of staff, GJ Thompson, did not have access to information that could be used to benefit his consulting firm or clients, which include Huawei.”

“This deliberate murkiness at the highest level of the Prime Minister’s office makes the questioning about Julie-Anne Genter’s ‘secret letter’ trivial.

“During Question Time today, the Prime Minister was eager to remind the House that Thompson’s position as her most senior advisor was temporary. She was not, however, willing to confirm was whether sensitive documents or access to relevant meetings had been withheld from Mr Thompson to ensure New Zealanders were adequately protected from a conflict of interest.”

“In opposition Ms Ardern talked the talk on transparency. It’s about time she walked the walk.”

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