11 July 2014

McCully mustn’t shirk scrutiny during inquiry

The inquiry into Foreign Affairs' handling of allegations of attempted rape by a Malaysian diplomat must investigate all the actions taken by Murray McCully during this fiasco, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said today.

A Ministerial inquiry has been launched into the way the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) handled the case involving a Malaysian diplomat. However, the terms of reference do not extend to what actions Mr McCully took in relation to the case.

“The terms of reference for this inquiry are very specific when it comes to investigating the actions of MFAT officials,” Mrs Turei said.

“Unfortunately the terms of reference fail to hold the Minister of Foreign Affairs to account.

“These terms of reference must be upgraded to cover all the actions, or more to the point inactions, taken by Mr McCully.

“Mr McCully has been known as a micro-manager throughout his career.

“Now, the New Zealand public is being asked to believe that Mr McCully allowed a New Zealand citizen to be denied justice and a major diplomatic fiasco to evolve, while he sat on his hands.

“The inquiry needs to be wide enough to investigate whether or not Mr McCully was guilty of incompetence or something worse.

“Mr McCully’s line so far has been that he did nothing wrong. If that is correct, then he should open the investigation up to include his own actions.

“New Zealanders expect those in power to take responsibility when things go wrong.

“The Prime Minister shouldn’t be relaxed about this inquiry. He needs to make sure his Minister’s actions are properly scrutinised,” said Mrs Turei.

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