Gabs's last hurrah - Makhlouf apologises, agrees he erred
By Pattrick Smellie
June 27 (BusinessDesk) - The departing secretary to the Treasury, Gabriel 'Gabs' Makhlouf has issued an apology for his
department's lax website security and agreed that he got it wrong in describing the resulting breach of Budget security
as a case of being "deliberately and systematically hacked".
The National Party had discovered it could access Budget materials using the search bar on the Treasury website and
released documents ahead of the May 30 Budget, derailing the lead-up to the coalition government's first 'well-being'
Budget.
In a statement issued by the Treasury just before the end of Makhlouf's last working day and overshadowed by a Cabinet
reshuffle announcement, Makhlouf said he was pleased the report into the security breach by deputy state services
commissioner John Ombler had found that "my honesty and integrity are not in question".
"Mr Ombler’s investigation was conducted thoroughly and fairly," said Makhlouf. "I have read the report carefully and
encourage others to do so. I apologise that Budget information was not kept secure. The inquiry that I asked the SSC
Commissioner to undertake will help us understand exactly how that happened and how to stop it happening again.
"The report confirms I acted at all times in good faith and with political neutrality. It also confirms that I acted
reasonably, other than in my descriptions of the incident."
Makhlouf, who described himself at a surprisingly civil farewell at Parliament on June 13 as someone who had arrived to
take the job as "a Pom, and leave a Kiwi" said it had been "my privilege to have had the opportunity to serve New
Zealanders and I’m very proud of what my Treasury team has achieved over the last eight years".
The Ombler report prompted SSC head Peter Hughes to "call it out" that Makhlouf had failed to take personal
responsibility for the breach of Budget secrecy and intimated at a press conference that he would have expected Makhlouf
to offer his resignation over such a serious breach of a core responsibility of the Treasury to protect sensitive
economic information.
"No offer was forthcoming. He was aware of his options," said Hughes.
(BusinessDesk)