Ombudsman seeks urgent meeting over Education Ministry OIA claims
Chief Ombudsman John Allen has requested an urgent meeting with Secretary for Education Ellen MacGregor-Reid over allegations that Ministry of Education staff tried to work around the Official Information Act.
Allen said he has significant concerns about the allegations. He said public trust and confidence in the Ministry and the OIA, the law that allows people to request official documents, would be undermined if the allegations proved true. He is considering a broader investigation under the Ombudsmen Act 1975 to provide independent scrutiny, according to RNZ.
The request followed publication of a video showing a ministry manager asking staff not to mention in writing feedback from the Education Minister's office about draft secondary school curriculums. The footage centres on how officials recorded ministerial input into the drafts. Allen wants answers quickly.
The person who provided the footage told RNZ it was the most brazen of several attempts to avoid scrutiny via the OIA. That claim presents the video as part of a pattern, not an isolated remark. Allen has made no finding on that point. His language stays conditional.
Principals Federation president Jason Miles said the video was a "cause for concern". The response from the sector has been measured so far. The Ministry described the official's comments as inconsistent with its expectations. Education Minister Erica Stanford said action was being taken and denied her office sent instructions, according to the NZ Herald. Labour alleged a "culture of cover-ups". Those accounts are background to Allen's move. No finding has been made.
The Ministry has been examined on OIA practice before. Its 2022 OIA compliance and practice report was released as part of 'Ready or not?', an investigation of OIA practices at 12 core agencies, according to the Ombudsman. That report is the most recent system-level baseline for how the Ministry handles requests.
The broader context here is about process and where accountability sits. Allen directed his request to the Secretary, not the Minister. That reflects the statutory position. Chief executives own their agencies' OIA systems, record-keeping and staff guidance. Ministers answer for their offices' conduct and for policy. An urgent meeting signals concern without pre-empting a formal inquiry.
Looking at what this means for those who work the system, the choice of vehicle matters. An OIA complaint tests a specific request and response. An Ombudsmen Act investigation can examine conduct, guidance to staff, and whether practice risks subversion of the Act. Like minutes of a meeting, the written record matters. For curriculum work, where ministerial feedback and departmental advice intersect, how that interaction is documented is central. If it is kept off the written record, the requester cannot test it and the Ombudsman cannot review it.
What to watch for now is straightforward. The Ministry needs to satisfy Allen on what was said and what staff understood. The Minister's office needs to set out what feedback was given and how it expected that feedback to be handled. Principals and teachers need to know the curriculum drafts reflect an open process, and trust in that process depends on a complete record.
