Ron Mark ignored medals advice from DPMC
The Herald reports:
Defence minister Ron Mark was specifically told he was breaking all the rules wearing his military medals but went ahead and did so anyway.
Documents show Mark was told on October 27 – just after being sworn in as Minister of Defence – that his rack of medals was a breach of protocol and rules.
The NZ First deputy leader went on wearing his medals until November 15 when the Herald revealed he was in breach of the regulations governing decorations.
This is a significant revelation. It’s one thing for the Minister of Defence to unwittingly break the rules around the wearing of military medals. It is quite another for him to do it deliberately. The former is a mistake. The latter is arrogance.
In the 20 days since Mark learned his medals were a breach of the Crown’s rules on decorations and honours, he wore them while standing in front of veterans, next to the Chief of Defence Force, with foreign leaders and while inspecting troops.
NZ First leader Winston Peters is asking why Mark didn’t simply follow the instructions he was given.
Mark isn’t offering any answers. He did not respond to requests for an interview and did not answer questions. A spokesman said: “This matter has now been dealt with and we consider it closed.”
What on earth was he thinking? If the honours expert at DPMC contacts your office to say your medals are wrongly displayed, why would you just ignore them? They even helpfully told him what he needs to do to conform, but again he just carried on.
The fact Peters is commenting publicly on this is interesting. It is well known Peters wants Shane Jones to succeed him as leader, and the stepping stone for the leadership is Deputy Leader – which Ron Mark is.
If I was Ron Mark I’d be very nervous about Winston’s comments.
The documents show Mark’s office was alerted over the medals’ issue by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet the day after he was sworn in.
It had been the subject of a conversation between a NZ Defence Force lieutenant colonel working in Mark’s office as a private secretary and an expert working in DPMC’s honours secretariat.
Good old DPMC. They are very good at spotting problems early on. But for some reason the Minister just ignored their advice that he was breaching the very rules that he as Minister of Defence is responsible for.