Helen Clark can’t get away with describing her attempt to bypass the minority Government’s partners as some sort of
typing error, National MP Nick Smith said today.
“When did her direction to officials to initiate work for an inquiry into genetic engineering and to include lesser
options than a Royal Commission become a mistake? Was it when she sealed the envelope? After ‘Minister Simpson’ fessed
up about it? After the Greens found out what she was up to? Or only when she was caught out in Parliament today?
“This debacle has exposed another “mistake” too. Today in the House she skited about how dedicated she is to a
transparent government.
“It was obviously a mistake, then, when she and her Ministers signed out 12 letters declining Official Information Act
requests for her letter.
“There are honest mistakes and then there are failed attempts to get one over the Greens. This letter was clearly the
latter,” Mr Smith said.
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