24 February, 2005

Mr English gets it wrong no.5

Associate Education Minister David Benson-Pope says the National Party is again deliberately trying to mislead the public by claiming information to do with scholarship and NCEA is being hidden or withheld.

Mr Benson-Pope says a release put out by Mr English today said the late response to an information request was proof of a cover-up to do with scholarship.

Yet, the information requested by Mr English had nothing to do with the New Zealand Scholarship and asks specifically for information to do with the NCEA. Mr Benson-Pope says the information request is currently being answered and Mr English will have his response shortly. He put the delay down to the large volume of information requests being answered for the National Party on these issues, with seven OIAs and some 127 written Parliamentary questions having been answered in the past 20 days or currently being answered.

"We are endeavouring to provide the National Party with the information they request," said Mr Benson-Pope. "Mr English could have rung my office and would have found out the delay in providing the information requested was purely administrative and that a response was imminent, instead of inventing conspiracy theories."

ENDS

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