KEY POINTS:
Environment Minister David Benson-Pope has spoken out for the first time over the sacking of Madeleine Setchell.
But he said it was not for him to say whether he would have been able to work with her.
State Services Commissioner Mark Prebble had felt the "sensitivity" of the
area of work Ms Setchell would have been involved in meant it was inappropriate for her to remain in the job because she was the partner of National leader John Key's chief press secretary Kevin Taylor.
"It's not appropriate for me to get involved in an employment matter," Mr Benson-Pope said.
He is presenting himself as not much more than an innocent bystander in the case of Ms Setchell, who lost her job as a communications advisor in the Ministry for the Environment.
He broke his silence on the controversy after Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday told a press conference she wasn't going to sack him over the phone call from one of Mr Benson-Pope's senior advisors, Steve Hurring, to the ministry.
Mr Benson-Pope today told Radio New Zealand he first heard about the issue when Mr Hurring told him ministry chief executive Hugh Logan had confirmed the relationship between Ms Setchell and Mr Taylor.
Mr Hurring had called Mr Logan when he heard a rumour about the relationship and had been concerned about a potential conflict of interest, the minister said.
Shortly after that Mr Logan had taken the minister aside, after a regular meeting, and told him there was an employment issue "in relation to a conflict of interest he was dealing with," Mr Benson-Pope said.
"I was surprised at the issue. It has subsequently been revealed there has been a conflict here."
Mr Benson-Pope said he was "not happy" Mr Hurring had made the phone call.
He and the prime minister's office would be having "some discussions" with Mr Hurring.
"I don't think any of this has been handled especially well and I'm not very proud of that."
Changes to the way he ran the office were "inevitable" as a result.
But, he said, "the result of that question being raised was that Mr Logan decided, after discussion with Dr Prebble and Ms Setchell, that there was either a conflict or a potential for conflict ".
Asked whether he would have had a problem working with Ms Setchell, knowing her personal relationship, Mr Benson-Pope said that was not an issue for him.
Mr Benson-Pope said yesterday he had not known about the relationship between Ms Setchell and Mr Taylor before Mr Hurring told him, and he hadn't known Ms Setchell's name until much later.
He also denied he misled the media when he said on Wednesday last week he didn't know any details about the case.
"I wasn't attempting to be anything other than helpful," he said.
The National Party has said it does not believe Mr Benson-Pope could have been unaware of the phone call.
- NZPA
