Brownlee Gives SSC Grilling

Wednesday, 14 November 2007, 2:28 pm
Article: Kevin List

Brownlee Gives SSC Grilling

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While the State Service Commissioner's tie shone brightly in a luminescent yellow mode the Commissioner himself Mark Prebble had a somewhat less sunny day facing questions from the media and politicians regarding a report into the handling of the employment of Madeline Setchell.

The report into the process surrounding the employment of Madeleine Setchell was carried out by former State Services Commissioner Don Hunn.

Ms Setchell had been employed at the Ministry for the Environment but lost her job after only a few days after it was discovered she was the partner of National Leader John Key's chief press secretary Kevin Taylor. For his part in the fiasco that followed Ms Setchell's sacking Mr Prebble decided to fine himself 2.5% of his pay which given his salary is around $400,000 per annum works out at a tad under $10,000.

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Making things worse for Mr Prebble on a day he was clearly not enjoying was National's Gerry Brownlee who had studied the Hunn Report in some detail and proceeded to give Mr Prebble a stiff parliamentary grilling this morning at the Financial Review of the State Services Commission.

Making life easier for Mr Prebble was the fact that due to the Dominion-Post publishing a police file into the recent arrest of activists Mr Prebble is no longer likely to be the main news of the day.

Mr Brownlee's many questions on behalf of an employee who had suffered harsh treatment from an employer would have done any cloth capped union rep proud.

Listen to Mark Prebble face a grilling from National's Gerry Brownlee and other MPs

ENDS

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