What they didn’t know at the time was that Pullar had recorded the meeting where the alleged attempted blackmail was said to have occurred, and the tape shows that it was ACC who raised the issue of the leaked documents being returned, not Bronwyn Pullar or her support person Michelle Boag.
Pullar in fact stated that she would not use the documents that had supposedly been accidentally sent to her because she respected people’s privacy. This is a far cry from what ACC claimed in various press releases and their police statement.
So the question is; what will the Minister of ACC do about it?
Judith Collins has been very quiet on this matter, while screaming blue murder that Andrew Little and Trevor Mallard defamed her. It’s hypocritical to use the courts to attack two fellow MPs just to try and silence them while at the same time allowing senior ACC management to make false statements to the media and police without any penalty at all.
The Greens have called for ACC Chair John Judge to go:
This evening's 60 Minutes item concerning ACC's interactions with Bronwyn Pullar has highlighted the need for the Minister to act decisively to restore public trust and confidence in the organisation, says Green Party ACC spokesperson, Kevin Hague.
"The further revelations about shonky assessment and claims handling practices, and lack of integrity at the highest levels means that, at the very least, the ACC Minister should remove John Judge as ACC Chair.
A noble suggestion, but the Nats don't really care if ACC is damaged. This is because a damaged ACC would be easier to privatise, which is the right-wings ultimate goal here. So while Collins can claim:
I cannot emphasize enough how seriously I view recent privacy-related issues. Privacy and information security are the biggest challenges facing ACC at present.
National would actually see no problem with just sitting back and allowing public confidence in ACC erode.
By allowing a couple of lying bastards to get away with making a false complaint to the police, Judith Collins shows she is an ineffective minister. If she does not know what is right from wrong in this situation, in my opinion, she has no place being a minister of the crown at all.
