Molesworth & Featherston on Hunn Report
Molesworth & Featherston‘s always interesting weekly newsletter has a good column on the the Hunn Report. Extracts:
Above all, Mr Hunn’s report on the episode report is an indictment of Hugh Logan and senior staff at the Ministry of the Environment. Throughout, Environment’s behaviour smacked of petty bureaucracy by officials promoted beyond their competence. Once Mr Logan decided to remove Ms Setchell, the department’s behaviour was duplicitous and blundering.
The report damningly finds that Mr Logan at no point had any discussion about how a potential conflict of interest could be managed. No effort was made to protect Ms Setchell’s personal integrity.
The Ministry fought bitterly to defend its view that not enough was disclosed at Ms Setchell’s initial interview. Mr Hunn rejects the ministry view, leaving it in an utterly untenable position.
The evidence is conclusive that the potential conflict of interest question was raised at interview and Ms Setchell was blameless. The ministry’s attempts to raise confusion over what was disclosed were petty and vindictive.
It all adds up to failures on Mr Logan’s part not only Ms Setchell’ employer, but in his management of his ministry.
The report shows, but doesn’t highlight, that at senior levels of the public service there are grotesque misjudgements about what constitutes an unmanageable conflict of interest. At MAF, Murray Sherwin disgracefully rejected Ms Setchell from consideration for a subsequent job not because she couldn’t do the job, but because he was too frightened of the pressure he may have faced.
The idea a woman can be fired because of her partner’s job is neanderthal (the silence of senior Labour women MPs on the issue is deafening.)
Suggestions the Sherwin-Logan view is shared by other ceos suggest backside-covering is more important than performance in the public service. The public service is smeared by this unspoken policy, because it means public servants are appointed for their servility, not ability.
Not much there one can disagree with.
Also No Right Turn has a good missive on the issue.