Claire Trevett: Stuart Nash’s sacking was a no-brainer - but questions linger

OPINION:

Gone – with no road back. That was PM Chris Hipkins’ very quick – and inevitable – decision once he was alerted to an email the under-fire Stuart Nash had sent to some of his buddies (and donors) about Cabinet discussions.

Even if Nash had not already been on his final warning, he should and would have been gone. His early sins pale in significance compared to this.

It was enough of a sin to issue an email detailing where various ministers stood on the issue of rent relief for Covid-hit businesses. That was a clear breach of Cabinet collectivity.

But what clearly appalled Hipkins was that the two people emailed were Nash’s donors - Wellington businessman Troy Bowker and Greg Loveridge.

There is no suggestion those recipients had done anything wrong.

But at the time, Nash was Small Business Minister. His heads-up to two donors on the issue raises questions that need to be answered about whether everything else was done with due propriety.

Hipkins noted that the two were also commercial property owners who had an interest in the Cabinet decision.

“That crosses a line that is totally unacceptable to me. I expect Ministers to uphold the highest ethical standards and his actions raise perceptions of influence which cannot stand.”

Yet despite those “perceptions of influence” Hipkins has said it is not his job to do a full review of whether there were other similar instances - as far as he was concerned his job ended with sacking Nash as a minister.

But it should be his job to make sure such a probe is done. Nobody should be getting inside information on decisions Cabinet has or is about to make – especially those with financial consequences.

And the public also needs to be assured that ministers aren’t lobbying for their mates or donors around the Cabinet table.

Hipkins has described himself as “gutted” for having had to take the step of sacking Nash, who he has worked with for a long time. But in the end he had no choice.

Nash’s earlier sins had some mitigating factors.

He had called Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to discuss a sentencing Nash deemed as too light and suggest it should be appealed.

He also admitted going straight to Immigration to try to hurry along a visa for a medical professional in his electorate, rather than use the usual processes of going via an Immigration Minister.

Hipkins forgave him those because Nash had no personal skin in the game: he was trying to do good, albeit in a clumsy way.

The latest incident has no such mitigating factors. Hipkins said that even without the earlier ones, he would have sacked Nash for it immediately.

It took him two hours from learning about the email to announce Nash was gone – and there was no road back.

The only reason for Nash to hang on now as Napier MP is to avoid a byelection – or if he decides he can resurrect a political career with another party and hope to use the seat to help its chances.

The latter seems unlikely from Nash – but stranger things have happened.