State Services Commission Inquiry into leaked MFAT documents

June 21, 2016
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Ombudsman Ron Paterson has today published his opinion on an investigation into a complaint by Derek Leask, a former High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, about the State Services Commission's inquiry into leaked MFAT documents, undertaken by Paula Rebstock on behalf of Commissioner Iain Rennie. He finds that SSC acted unreasonably in the conduct of the inquiry and in the findings it made about Mr Leask, who was not responsible for the leaks.

Professor Paterson recommends that SSC offer a public apology to Mr Leask, reimburse him for actual and reasonable expenses, compensate him for harm to reputation and review its guidance for future inquiries under the State Services Act 1988, in light of this report. You can read the opinion here.

Scoop copy of opinion: investigation_into_ssc_conduct_of_mfat_leaks_inquiry.pdf