Headline: Privileges complaint upheld
It is essential to democracy that MPs’ email accounts are protected from surveillance by the Prime Minister.
The Green Party welcomes today’s decision by the Speaker to allow the Privileges Committee to consider the issue of access to parliamentary email logs and security access records.
This comes after the Green Party laid a Privileges complaint against Prime Minister John Key, following revelations in Question Time that Peter Dunne’s email logs were accessed without authority.
The David Henry Inquiry, authorised by Prime Minister John Key, accessed Peter Dunne’s parliamentary, not ministerial, email logs without Mr Dunne’s permission,” said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman.
In his ruling, the Speaker raised the serious issue of the ‘exercise of intrusive powers against members’.
“It is not clear that the Henry Inquiry had any lawful right to access Peter Dunne’s email account without his permission.
“It is essential to democracy that MPs’ email accounts are protected from surveillance by the Prime Minister.
“It is very disturbing that John Key thinks it is acceptable for his department to access an MP’s parliamentary email accounts without their permission.
“Mr Dunne received the Kitteridge report as a leader of a party, not as a minister. The email log was a parliamentary email, not a ministerial one.
“The parliamentary server belongs to Parliament, not the Government. MPs control whether their email logs are released from the parliamentary server, not the Prime Minister’s office.”
The Speaker also raised significant concern at the actions of the inquiry that may have put at risk journalists’ ability to report freely.
“It’s also critical that journalists aren’t tracked without their permission, and without authorisation. Freedom of the press is crucial to our democracy, and it needs to be taken seriously.”
For more information:
Dr Russel Norman’s Privileges complaint to the Speaker – http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/130702_letter_to_speaker_privileges_complaint.pdf
Decision of the Speaker – http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/response_from_the_speaker_regarding_dr_russel_normans_question_concerning_parliamentary_priviledge_1.pdf
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