THAT DR WARREN TUCKER, Director of the Security Intelligence Service in 2011, agreed to the release of politically sensitive material – thereby intervening in an on-going contretemps between the leaders of the National and Labour parties – without receiving the express permission of his boss, the Prime Minister, John Key, is simply not credible.
The release this morning of a letter written to Newstalk-ZB Chief Political Reporter, Felix Marwick, by Dr Tucker, states unequivocally, that:
“I notified the Prime Minister (in accordance with my usual practice to keep the Minister informed on a ‘no surprises’ basis) that I was going to release redacted documents in response to the request from Mr Slater. I advised the Prime Minister that I had received legal advice that there were no grounds for withholding the information given the public disclosures already made about the existence and some of the content of the briefing. I informed the Prime Minister that I had informed Mr Goff of my decision to release the information.” (My emphases.)
Shortly after 10 o’clock this morning, Radio New Zealand-National informed its listeners that the former Director, Dr Tucker, had issued a statement “clarifying” the information contained in his letter to Mr Marwick.
The crucial two sentences of Dr Tucker’s latest statement assert that:
“My practice under the ‘no surprises’ convention relating to Official Information Act requests was to brief the Prime Minister through his office. The reference to the PM in this context means the PM’s office.”
To which, I believe, the rest of the country is entitled to call – “Bullshit.”
The person under scrutiny here is a former Director of the SIS. In this role he would have been well aware (if he was doing his job!) of Cameron Slater’s identity; of the political complexion of his Whaleoil bog; and of the close relationship existing between not only Mr Slater and the PM’s Office but also with the senior Cabinet Minister, Judith Collins.
That he was about to expedite the release of sensitive political information to Mr Slater – a decision without precedent in the experience of the mainstream news media – was, of itself, extremely unusual and highly controversial. Especially so, considering the Director’s decision not to release the information to any other media outlets – in spite of a least one formal OIA request to do so. In other words, the Director of the SIS was planning to provide Mr Slater’s Whaleoil blog with a “scoop”.
All this, and we are being asked to accept that the Director was willing to rely on the people working in the Prime Minister’s office to just pass along the information, you know, when they had time!
I have spoken to two people who have worked in ministerial and prime-ministerial offices and both of them have told me that this is a preposterous suggestion. Ministerial and Departmental Chief Executives (not to mention SIS Directors!) do not mistake or conflate the Prime Minister’s Office with the Prime Minister him or herself. They do not put their jobs and reputations on the line – as Dr Tucker undoubtedly did when he organised the exclusive release of sensitive political information to a notorious right-wing blogger – without hearing the voice of their boss, or receiving a signed instruction, giving them the go-ahead.
Unless.
Unless the intention of the Director was to provide his boss with “plausible deniability” by deliberately not seeking express (i.e. spoken or written) prime ministerial approval. And if that is the case then it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that Dr Tucker was behaving in an entirely inappropriate and highly politicised fashion.
He must have known that what he was proposing to do was highly unusual and open to serious question, and yet he is telling us now that he handled Mr Slater’s OIA request in a way that, should his own actions be subjected to official scrutiny at some point in the future, the Prime Minister would be protected from any and all ethical, political and legal repercussions.
But that would have entailed Dr Tucker abandoning his role as a neutral public servant and becoming the Prime Minister’s political accomplice.
And that, if true, would be an utter disgrace. Even worse, it would be subversive of New Zealand’s democratic system of government.
Proposing that Dr Tucker acted independently paves the way for the entire blame to be laid at Dr Tucker’s feet.
This appears to be yet another government friendly piece. A shame.
He’s just offered himself as the fall boy.
The bullshit is flowing so fast and thick it could set National up to make billions by selling animal dropping compost.
If this was not so god darn serious I would be laughing.
My question is why is there so much acceptance for all this deception?
The acceptance is basically just cognitive dissonance – up until now John Key’s personal popularity with a lot of people has been more than enough to make up for all of the dodgy going-ons. It’s terribly difficult thing for people to accept their opinion of someone over a long time has actually be wrong.
And then they tend to hate the person who destroyed their illusion more than they hate the person who let them down in the first place
It is easier to lie to a person, than it is to convince them they have been lied to.
That is the conclusion ‘we’ have come to after 15 years of trying to convince you all.
thrilling stuff
“Prime Minister” to a reasonable person means “Prime Minister” not “Prime Ministers’s Dept”. Should ex Director Tucker’s letter have been laden with asterisks and parentheses describing what he really meant?
We have laws, processes and structures based on largely agreed terms and language, abuse of power is likely if this is deviated from.
Cheryl Gwyn is investigating this and one hopes she intends to do it properly.
Well given Cheryl Gwyn was appointed by none other than Mr. Key himself, it would seem we’re in for a good old-fashioned ‘whitewash inquiry’ which will place full responsibility on some patsys, keeping that nice Mr. Key sparkling clean…
Excellent summary
So it would appear that Dr Tucker has agreed to fall on his sword. A neat trick – falling upwards onto the Sword of Damocles that is dangling above the PM’s head.
This whole thing reeks of corruption, favouritism and frantic denial.
The thought that our PM can stand in the middle of this swirling storm of excrement, pretending none of it touches him and say “I didn’t know” is galling, and insulting to the public.
It’s your JOB to know, Mr Key. Gross negligence and ignorance in the highest office of the land is not acceptable.
I heard he has retired. So not sure what motivation he would have here.
@Heather G – could be some pressure is being applied to Tucker now.
But he wasn’t retired when the OIA passed through his hands. Was his subsequent retirement coincidental? If he participated in this game knowing that if it exploded in his face at a later date his position would be untenable, that would be reason for retiring rather than waiting for the worse alternative to occur.
Many of us knew that we had a democratic deficit in this country but the contempt for the democratic system which we are now learning that Key has displayed is appalling.
So he notified Phil Goff personally but only notified the Prime Ministers Office? If anything you would think it would be the other way round. What a pathetic lie.
Well said Chris.
NZ’s political scenario (as exposed by the Nicky Hager book revelations) is an absolute disgrace. An insult to NZers, to say the least!
And wasn’t it John Key, PM of NZ who said at one stage of his premiership – “you speak to my office, you speak to me”!
This statement alone makes him responsible for anything and everything which goes through his office or staff!
But will FJK remember saying this? I very much doubt it!
Yep Mary:
Key probably can’t even remember when he last paid Crosby-Textor to spin a new line of bullshit for him to spew out all over the good people of NZ (if you’ll pardon the mixed metaphor).
See the postings concerning Crosby-Textor on ‘Pundit’ and on Nicky Hagar’s website, for example. . . . . .
Just google something like “Is crosby-textor still working for key”. (I’d love to know the actual answer). Could some reporter PLEASE ask him that?
According to Claire Trevett (twitter), Key was on holiday in Maui at the time his “office” was informed that the OIA request had been approved. Still to see proof of this though.
Also, just two days before Slater made the OIA request, John Key said that the SIS had briefed Phil Goff about the behaviour of Israeli nationals in Christchurch. Key was interested in scoring political points from this issue, and was the one who initiated the whole saga. Is it really credible that he had no knowledge of the Slater’s OIA request or approval at the time? No way. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10743290
Even if he was on holiday, I think it highly unlikely that he would not be in daily contact with the Director of the SIS
“Unless the intention of the Director was to provide his boss with “plausible deniability by deliberately not seeking express (i.e. spoken or written) prime ministerial approval”. –
And the only reason that could have possibly happened is because Key directed it to happen, its the same difference. Actually it goes from outright breaking the sound barrier lying to elaborate and premeditated deception and corruption.
Take your pick.
How could the PM possibly have been consulted in Maui? I mean it’s not like we have some magical device for talking at long distance.
The moral flexibility of the current regime is breathtaking.
The play should be to call on democrats among the Nats to hold their noses and kick this pack of rat-bags out.
These displays of Wall Street morality will destroy our democracy.
Can you imagine this under Helen or Geoffrey Palmer – or even Bill English?
If this kind of grubby bullshit is allowed to pass, it will be considered kosher – even necessary – for all sides.
Do you want that kind of political environment.
This is beyond partisan.
As someone who has worked in the security industry …I can say straight up that anyone who breached such high level standard operating procedures on a national level….would most surely have been sacked.
Not only that , but an investigation (as is currently happening ) most surely would have been laid to ascertain precisely who was responsible. This occurs in the private sector , let alone the highest office in the land.
You DO NOT deviate from standard operating procedure in such matters because YOU think YOU’RE above or wiser than the systems in place that have been put there to safeguard against abuse. Relying on staff who do not have the correct security clearance ,or to sign off documents they are not vetted for breaches those procedures.
If there is no consequences to this investigation , if it is left in some sort of ambiguous ‘grey area’ either unwittingly or by design ….one can only deduce there is here a case of political favoritism , contempt for standard procedure , in short …..a motive and cover up to not only deny those systems validity , but also the validity of the concept of justice and law in New Zealand.
It’s pretty obvious why Tucker’s taking the rap – Key / Collins / Slater have some dirt on him.
Once Collins is gone will there be a clean out in the National party of her toxic little group of sycophants.
Or is this the direction the Nats have set themselves on for the future.
If Mr Tucker would still be in his former job, he would be “Dog Tucker” now. Indeed, it is highly suspicious what happened, and no wonder then, that when Campbell Live visited his home today, he had vanished inside, and did not respond, after having been seen outside on his yard before.
The man is hiding something. Either he got instructions directly from the PM to pass on the OIA information so unusually swiftly, or instructions from the PM’s staff, with written or other reliable authority to follow instructions to do what he did.
If he acted without beforehand properly consulting his boss, the PM, who was actually away on Hawaii that time, as we heard tonight, then he would have acted outside of his duties, and should have been sacked right away.
This is getting murkier by the day, and so many people are going to ground, it seems a fair few have some info that could harm the PM, hence he hangs on to Collins and even that staff member Ede.
I smell a huge scandal about to explode.
Bring out some more emails tomorrow, on ‘Whaledump’ tomorrow, Mr Hacker Anonymous, please!
This government, and the lobbyists and business circles it works with, are corrupt to the core, downgrade New Zealand in the Transparency International “least corrupt nation” listing, I suggest!
“But that would have entailed Dr Tucker abandoning his role as a neutral public servant and becoming the Prime Minister’s political accomplice.
And that, if true, would be an utter disgrace. Even worse, it would be subversive of New Zealand’s democratic system of government.”
I dare to think, that there have been a fair few cases in the public service, where Chief Executives and other senior staff have been “compromised”, due to relentless government pressure, from various ministers.
The harsh line on the public service, not only with extremely tight fiscal restraints, is a very typical aspect of this government. That is also why they ensured they get some of their favourable candidates into certain jobs.
“Independence”, yeah right, now who sits on the boards at Radio NZ, TVNZ and some other state owned enterprises and agencies, and in other places? Do some reflections perhaps, we read only bits in the media, over recent years, but that alone gave many reasons enough to be worried, where the journey was heading.
Yes, slimy secret hand shakes me thinks* very creepy!
Here’s Key contradicting Key
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10411491/Keys-SIS-claims-contradicted-by-video
Notice how smug he looks when his national party and cam slater dirt machine was working just as they intended.
I’m picking Key to resign before or just after the election which he, collins and slater are going to lose for the nats.
@Reason – yes, I watched this video today. FJK is now at odds with himself, through historical statements he’s made about this issue!
This proves he’s a pathological liar, indicating what most of us already knew. That is, he’s been lying to the country all the way through, since 2008.
Warren Tucker is scared I think, given his reaction on TV3 last night, when he was approached by the network to give an interview. He was seen in his garden, but bolted inside his house quick smart, when he saw the journalist approaching, refusing to answer his door.
Being leaned on perhaps, through political pressure being applied?
Tucker has no reason to lie. Goff, on the other hand…
Hehehe…the Instrinsicfool here to grace us with more inane comic relief 🙂
I swear this guy is actually a Left blogger here to bump and get people to present even more pertinent facts and truths….well done , buddy !!
Do try and keep up IV or you lose your troll value
It is key who is the liar here
Key 2011 … it was at that point he told me he’d release it because he has to tell me that under the no-surprises doctrine.”
[Emphasis added]
So, who are we to believe? Key-now, with fading memories and every reason to lie, or Key-then, with an immediate grasp of events and none? I think that’s a no-brainer. Key is lying to us to minimise his role in National’s dirty politics. And the fact that he feels the need to lie tells us something important: his sticky fingers are all over it.”
From http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/key-fails-to-keep-his-lies-straight.html
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