Radio NZ invents a new exemption under the OIA
Like many media outlets, I asked Radio NZ under the OIA for a copy or transcript of what Justice Minister Kiri Allan said at the farewell for her partner, Mani Dunlop, after it emerged that she had to apologise later for them.
Radio NZ declined to release a full transcript but did release two paragraphs which said:
There is something within this organisation that has to be looked at. Now I know that you said that you would pick up that, the wero, that Māni left. It is not for just you, it is for your SLT to pick up. It’s for your SLT to pick up. It’s for your boards to pick up. That there is something within the organisation that will not, and has not been able to keep Māori talent and that is a question that I think deserves some deep reflection….
We are looking at these two, and we are looking at this organisation and how it treats its talent. Want to know… she doesn’t need to do it, it’s not her role to carry that anymore. So it’s to this room, and the people within this place to grow and nurture, show that they have a viable future within this organisation. That you can come in as an intern and that you can get to the top spot, not just because you are Māori but because you have trained them well, you have nurtured them well.
Now the comments are clearly inappropriate. She is a Cabinet Minister and a member of APH which effectively signs off on who gets appointed to boards such as Radio NZ. Her comments lambasting the board come very close to an illegal directive.
Having said that, I do appreciate the context was one of emotion with her fiancee leaving Radio NZ after ten years and failing to get the Morning Report job.
Ironically I do think Dunlop was discriminated against in not getting the Morning Report job, but not due to being Maori. I have no inside knowledge but I suspect being engaged to a Cabinet Minister was seen as problematic for a job which involves interviewing a lot of Cabinet Ministers.
If that was the reason, that is a pity. I don’t think your choice of partner should be held against you. Jane Clifton is an example of someone who wrote wonderfully acerbic articles about both National and Labour, while partnered up with Murray McCully and then Trevor Mallard.
So I wouldn’t have a problem if Mani Dunlop had gained the Morning Report job. I’d judge her on her performance in the role, not on preconceptions.
Anyway back to Radio NZ, and their refusal to release the full transcript. This looks bad for three reasons.
- Kiri Allan has herself said she has no problem with it being released
- The Prime Minister has already had a copy of the transcript, seemingly from Radio NZ staff.
- The refusal under the Official Information Act includes as a reason to “protect the tikanga of RNZ and its kaimahi”
Protecting the tikanga of Radio New Zealand is not grounds for refusal under the OIA. And the section of the ACT they cite only applies to natural persons, not organisations.
So I have appealed the decision to the Ombudsman. Only the second time in twenty years I have done this I think. It is not that I think the full transcript will contain any proof of further wrong-doing, but that the refusal by Radio NZ is so obviously flawed.