State Services Commission

John Allen hasn’t mentioned bullshit towers but he might be thinking about bullshit missions in places where we don’t need them.

Restructuring at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in which more than 200 jobs or a fifth of its staff are likely to go and some overseas posts closed, is expected to be detailed shortly, the Herald understands.

Plans to cut about 200 of about 900 staff at the ministry were revealed in the State Services Commission’s report on the Government “cap” on public service numbers in September last year.

Chief executive John Allen is understood to have indicated to staff he expects more than 200 jobs to go as the ministry is restructured under Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully’s plan to create “a leaner, more adaptable organisation, better able to meet New Zealand’s future needs”.

While he is at it perhaps he might like to look at New Zealand’s most expensive flat.

Fran O’Sullivan isn’t at all reassured by Adam Feeley’s groveling email or ticking off by the SSC:

…we now know courtesy of State Services Commission (SSC) boss Iain Rennie that toasting the Bridgecorp fraud prosecution with a bottle of the directors’ Gosset champagne is not a sacking offence as far as he is concerned. Neither was the decision to hand out a biography of the late Allan Hubbard at the SFO’s Christmas party, even though the failed Timaru financier was still under investigation at that time.

Feeley’s actions were merely “ill-advised” and showed a “lack of judgment”. But, said Rennie, the SFO’s performance had improved under Feeley’s leadership. The SSC boss would talk to him about the standards he expected of government chief executives.

Fundamentally, Rennie has failed to address the real issue.

The police and criminal bar have raised valid concerns that Feeley’s antics have contaminated the SFO’s integrity – particularly its reputation for unbiased judgment.

Clearly Fran is unimpressed with the State Services Commissioner.

Feeley’s reputation is that of a self-promoting gunslinger who “shoots from the lip”. There has been growing dismay within his own office for some time over the way SFO staffers have felt themselves compromised by their boss’s cavalier approach. But none of this features in the SSC statement.

Feeley has flicked an emailed apology to Police Minister Judith Collins for causing her embarrassment. But the people he should be apologising to are his staff. And in person.

If I am reading Feeley correctly, he won’t have been too fazed by Rennie’s mild censure. But he would be wise not to go on a witch hunt within his own office to try to get to the series of leaks which undermined his authority in recent weeks.

Unfortunately a witch-hunt is well underway at god knows how much of a cost. PWC doesn’t come cheap. Fortunately it will all be searchable under the OIA, including the engagement letters/contracts/emails.

The Waikato Times editorial yesterday was scathing:

We can be sure how Minister of Police Judith Collins would have reacted, because she is minister in charge of the SFO. She is reported to have been concerned when she learned Mr Feeley had toasted the charging of Bridgecorp directors Rod Petricevic, Rob Roest, Gary Urwin and Peter Steigrad with a $70 bottle of the fallen finance company’s sparkling wine. Media accounts of an ill-considered email from Mr Feeley to SFO staff triggered the minister’s concerns.

Moreover, Mr Feeley was reported to have given a copy of Allan Hubbard’s biography, A Man Out of Time, as a booby prize at an SFO Christmas raffle. Ms Collins did not see the funny side. She referred the media revelations to the State Services Commission – his employer – for investigation. The book incident fortified the supporters’ view that the Hubbard investigation was biased from the outset. The Bridgecorp wine incident further meant Mr Feeley was no longer fit to work for the SFO if it were to maintain any credibility.

Mr Feeley has disputed using the Hubbard biography as a booby prize. It was a genuine prizegiving to reward good performance, he insists, although he acknowledged the gift of that book could have been misinterpreted.

SSC chief Iain Rennie said recognising staff achievement in the Bridgecorp case was reasonable, but using a bottle from the company and making the association clear in the staff email was “ill advised and demonstrated a lapse of judgment on this occasion”. But Mr Rennie credited Mr Feeley with being an “effective chief executive and leader” (although the leaking of the email suggests at least some SFO staff think otherwise).

Ms Collins has said she will be making her views clear when next she meets Mr Feeley. That is not an experience he will relish. She is not called “Crusher” for nothing.

Fran O’Sullivan has reprised her NewstalkZB flaying of Five Fingers Feeley with one in the NZ Herald.

The standard PR rule in a case like this is to stop digging.

But the SFO director is so assured of his righteousness that he cannot see that he has brought his own office into disrepute by this misjudgment.

Clearly, Feeley also doesn’t know his boss well enough.

When the Herald story broke, Police Minister Judith Collins promptly asked the State Services Commission to investigate the “employment” matter.

Collins – who is not known as the Crusher for nothing – is understandably furious that the SFO director, whom she personally hawked around town as the sheriff who was going to drive the fraudsters out of Dodge City in the wake of the multibillion-dollar finance companies sector collapse, would trivialise such an important issue.

Collins is a tougher bird than Prime Minister John Key or Finance Minister Bill English, who have each trivialised the matter. If I read her correctly, she will see this as a matter of character.

The full facts are yet to be disclosed.

Crusher is not one to be trifled with. SHe already has two CEO scalps, a third in the cabinet would be aesthetically pleasing.

“Five Fingers” Adam Feeley’s job may be on the line after Judith Collins, the minister responsible for the Serious Fraud Office referred the matter tot he State Services Commission.

The head of the Serious Fraud Office is facing an employment investigation for celebrating criminal charges against Rod Petricevic by serving to staff champagne belonging to Bridgecorp directors.

And a legal expert says it is disappointing to see such behaviour from a government department responsible for such high-level investigations.

A spokesman for Serious Fraud Office Minister Judith Collins said she had referred SFO head Adam Feeley’s actions to the State Services Commissioner, his employer.

Prominent lawyer Nigel Hampton, QC, said last night that Mr Feeley’s actions were “not appropriate at all”.

“A, to celebrate as it were steps along the way and then to publicise it is not appropriate. And B, to do it with property that arguably isn’t yours anyhow seems to me to be rather questionable in its own right. Just because it’s left over or sitting in someone’s office doesn’t make it yours,” he said.

“This is supposed to be an agency that is created to uphold certain principles as to appropriate ownership.”

Mr Hampton said the incident had potential to harm the SFO’s court case against Bridgecorp.

“In the hands of a capable questioner, [the incident] can make them look rather embarrassed and lessen their credibility.

“I think it’s disappointing. You wouldn’t expect, part way through a task, the Commissioner of Police inappropriately celebrating a step along the way in an investigation.”

It is highly inappropriate that the boss of the countries top law enforcement organisation misappropriated the assets, no matter how small, of the shareholders, receivers and liquidators of Bridgecorp, then skited about it to staff and then rubbed those charged noses in the fact by quaffing the stolen assets at a party.

The problem Five Fingers Feeley has is that he doesn’t think he did anything wrong.

This is the guy who is in the paper and news more than tv celebrities and boasting all the time about what his agency is going to do. Compare the incidence of Adam Feeley in the news with that of new Police Commissioner Peter Marshall.The SFO regularly leaks details of investigations and seems to conduct itself as though they are the Untouchables. This case just highlights the culture that exists and has been allowed to fester at the SFO.

Five Fingers Feeley might have got away with this sort of behaviour under CHris Finlayson or Simon power but I doubt he will get off scot free under The Crusher.

The government is investigating leaks by Labour rats weasels moles sympathisers in Public Service.

Grant Robertson is aghast and filled with faux outrage;

Labour’s state services spokesman Grant Robertson said the leaks were a result of the Government’s secrecy about important public issues, and that it needed to look at its own handling of them instead of starting a “witch-hunt”.

In relation to public sector restructuring, he said the Government had not even talked to key stakeholders involved in areas affected by the proposed mergers in the state sector.

“Mucking around with agencies like the Food Safety Authority and Archives New Zealand” had far-reaching consequences for the public, which didn’t appear to be having a say, Mr Robertson said.

He said he understood the investigations had been underway for more than a week and appeared to be a result of pressure from ministers.

“Given the Government’s handling of these issues it is not surprising that public servants want to blow the whistle.

“The Government is serial leaker of information when it suits them. They need to take a good look in the mirror, rather than wasting resources on a witch-hunt of these whistleblowers.”

But Grant forgets that there is a thing called Google and they even have handy graphics to aid with searchs of a particular item, like…oh I don’t know…uhmmmm…maybe something like “State Services Commission leaks investigation“. Grant worked in the Prime Minister’s office until 2005. How come all these stories weren’t a waste of government resources pursuing a witch-hunt.

And how about all these stories after his time but still under the control of the Heleban in Clarkistan.

Grant is being a hypocrite, which is a shame because he is actually a nice bloke, and smart as well, in fact he probably is the new Brains Trust of the Labour Party, they just don’t know yet because the old warhorses are still supping at the trough.

Well, my site has taken a hammering since posting the infamous secret scampi video. Now by way of a backrounder here is some filler information that tells you why this video is so explosive. It is from Hansard and the debate on Scampi. When you read this you can see why Winston Raymond peters, 63, List MP of no fixed abode is going to be squirmingthat the video has now seen the light of day. You would also do well to read Question 5 from the other day as well.

Hon KEN SHIRLEY (ACT): On 16 October 2001 Winston Peters, the leader of the New Zealand First Party, issued a press release. It was titled: “Gross incompetence in fisheries. Heads need to roll.” He was calling for a dismissal of the chief executive of the Ministry of Fisheries, and he claimed that the ministry was guilty of gross incompetence, faulty allocation of scampi quota, wanton disregard for due process, and unlawful treatment of fishers. He called on the Minister of Fisheries to invoke an immediate inquiry. He said that the allocation of scampi was to be taken away from the ministry, as it could not be trusted. Those were very serious allegations, and some even called them reckless. It was classic Winston Peters innuendo.

Six months later, on 24 April 2002, in the general debate-this very debate we are having now-Winston Peters lambasted the Minister of Fisheries for not taking action. He accused the Ministry of Fisheries of condoning corruption, aiding and abetting corruption, and involving itself in that corruption. Winston Peters said: “I will produce evidence that the ministry knowingly condoned that corruption.” He went on further to say: “In the next few weeks I intend to demonstrate with voluminous evidence and affidavits why this ministry should be removed from its job and the Serious Fraud Office asked, belatedly, to do its job.”

Eventually, a parliamentary inquiry into the scampi allegations was instigated by the Primary Production Committee, following a very high-profile Assignment programme that screened on television. One would have expected Winston Peters, having made those allegations, to rejoice at having got that inquiry but, oh no, he gave not a whisper, not a murmur. He quickly replaced Doug Woolerton, the permanent New Zealand First member on that select committee, and then spent his time focusing on narrowing and closing the terms of reference for the committee. It was all, one would say, rather curious.

The Primary Production Committee sat for several months, consumed an enormous amount of Parliament’s time, and reported on 2 December 2003. Winston Peters produced no evidence to support the reckless allegations he had made, and he certainly did not table the “voluminous evidence” he had promised. He was as quiet as a lamb, with barely a whisper.

Last night on television further allegations were made, and reference was made to a sworn affidavit. The functioning of this Parliament and its processes was raised, and the programme focused on a former member of this House-perhaps one of the most unsavoury members who has passed through this House-a Mr Ross Meurant.

It seems that a former member of Parliament, Ross Meurant, was engaged by Simunovich Fisheries as an adviser and lobbyist. Concurrent with that, of course-and a lot of people do not realise this-Mr Meurant was also hired by the New Zealand First Party and was on its payroll; actually, on the taxpayers’ payroll through the Parliamentary Service.

We were told that Mr Meurant attended several meetings, together with principals of Simunovich Fisheries. Mr Meurant’s former partner of some 9 years, Yvonne Theresa Dossetter, swears that Ross Meurant met at the Simunovich’s olive farm following the infamous Kermadec restaurant meal, and the proposal was put that the payment of $300,000 to Meurant would be a good investment for the Simunovich business. It is alleged that the deed was done, and that the money would be available from an Australian bank account. Subsequently, it is alleged that Mr Meurant boasted to Yvonne Dosseter, who has sworn an affidavit, that the money was paid, and that Meurant indeed had it in a brown paper bag.
This is an extremely serious allegation, and it brings into question in the public’s mind the functioning of our representative democracy. What we have to realise is that Winston Peters was in there with him.