Ombudsman to probe Ministry of Education over OIA claims

Chief Ombudsman John Allen has confirmed he will formally investigate allegations that officials at the Ministry of Education tried to get around the Official Information Act. The decision follows a leaked video in which a senior official was heard telling staff not to put information shared with Education Minister Erica Stanford's office in writing, because it could later be released under the Act.

Allen announced the investigation after meeting the secretary for education, Ellen MacGregor-Reid, and Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche on Friday morning. He said it would not be appropriate to discuss the details of that meeting, but confirmed a formal probe is now under way.

The allegations matter because the Official Information Act 1982 exists to guarantee the public and ministers access to the information behind government decisions. If officials were advising each other to avoid creating a written record specifically to keep it out of reach of the law, that goes to the heart of how transparent the public service is required to be.

The record

The Official Information Act gives people, including journalists and ministers, the right to request official information, with agencies expected to release it unless a specific reason applies. The Ombudsman's office exists in part to investigate complaints and concerns about whether agencies are meeting those obligations.

The controversy became public when a leaked video showed a senior Ministry of Education official telling staff not to put information shared with the Minister's office in writing because of OIA risk. Whoever leaked the video said this was not an isolated incident.

Separately, a review commissioned in response to staff concerns reported this week, identifying a range of issues at the ministry including allegations of favouritism, unprofessional workplace behaviour and a reluctance among staff to speak up.

MacGregor-Reid also commissioned her own internal review this week and was due to hand its terms of reference to the Chief Ombudsman after speaking to media on Friday.

What doesn't add up

MacGregor-Reid told Morning Report she "could not explain" the senior official's comments, while also saying plainly that "what she said was wrong, she should not have said it." That leaves open the question of why an official would give that instruction in the first place, and whether the secretary has since asked her directly.

The leaker's claim that this was "not an isolated incident" has not been addressed in what MacGregor-Reid has said publicly. It is not yet known whether the Ombudsman's investigation will test that specific claim, or how far back it might look.

The staff-led review reported this week also raised allegations of favouritism and a fear of speaking up. It is not clear from what has been said so far whether those cultural concerns are linked to the OIA allegations, or whether they will be examined separately.

MacGregor-Reid has paused her own internal review "until she understands what the Ombudsman would look into." That raises a practical question: will the two processes end up covering the same ground, and if so, why was a second review commissioned before the Ombudsman's scope was known.

The other side

MacGregor-Reid has not defended the comments captured on video. She told Morning Report the official's statement was wrong and said her expectation is that everyone at the ministry, "including that staff member," should be meeting their obligations under the Act.

She has also welcomed scrutiny rather than resisting it, describing the Ombudsman's investigation to RNZ as "an objective and thorough assessment." Pausing her own review pending the Ombudsman's terms of reference can be read as an attempt to avoid duplicating work rather than avoiding accountability.

Minister Erica Stanford's office, when approached by RNZ, said the matter was one for MacGregor-Reid, effectively leaving responsibility for the response with the chief executive rather than the minister. No comment has been sought from the senior official at the centre of the leaked video, and none has been reported.

Allen, for his part, has signalled the investigation will take the time it needs. He said he aims "to complete my investigation as soon as possible but speed will not be at the expense of thoroughness," suggesting this is unlikely to be resolved within days.

What happens next

The immediate step is for MacGregor-Reid to provide the Chief Ombudsman with the terms of reference for her own internal review, after which she says its status "will be considered." That decision will show whether her review continues alongside the Ombudsman's, is folded into it, or is dropped altogether.

Allen's formal investigation will now proceed on its own timeline, with no date given for when it might conclude. Because the Ombudsman is an independent officer of Parliament, the ministry cannot direct how the investigation is run or what it examines.

Sir Brian Roche's involvement as Public Service Commissioner points to a broader interest in how the ministry, and potentially the wider public service, handles OIA obligations. Whether the investigation extends beyond this single incident, and whether the allegation of a wider pattern is confirmed or ruled out, remains to be seen.