The Government has published the latest edition of the Cabinet Manual. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Government has published the latest edition of the Cabinet Manual. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Government has clarified rules around stripping people of their royal honours, whether ministers can use their personal email and phone numbers, and what sort of jobs ministers can do after leaving office.
The Cabinet Manual is a rulebook for Government ministers. At the beginning of each term, Cabinet agrees to adopt the Cabinet Manual. Breaches are enforced by the Prime Minister who has the ability to sack ministers should they breach the rules in a serious way as Stuart Nash discovered when he was sacked after leaking confidential information to donors.
A new edition, published today, includes a handful of updates - some relating to developments and scandals that have occurred since the last edition was published in 2017.
Following an outcry over lobbying, including former Cabinet Minister Kris Faafoi becoming a lobbyist less than three months after leaving Parliament, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins promised that the new Cabinet Manual would make clear that “while in office, ministers’ conduct and decisions should not be influenced by the prospect or expectation of future employment with a particular organisation or sector”.
The new rules reaffirm ministers’ right to “engage in employment after they cease to hold office”.
Kris Faafoi raised questions of a revolving door between the Beehive and business. Photo / Mark Mitchell
However, it adds that “[w]hile in office, ministers’ conduct and decisions should not be influenced by the prospect or expectation of future employment with a particular organisation or sector”.
The Manual also states that in their post-ministerial lives, ex-ministers should “not use any confidential, commercially sensitive, or legally privileged information to which they have had access as a minister in any way that affects their personal interests or the personal interests of their family, whānau, or close associates, while that information is not generally available to the public”.
It added Ministers should not “use any confidential, commercially sensitive, or legally privileged information to which they have had access as a minister in any way that affects their personal interests or the personal interests of their family, whānau, or close associates, while that information is not generally available to the public.
Constitutional expert, lawyer Graeme Edgeler drew attention to changes to the infamous “no surprises” policy which have curtailed the ability of that policy to be used to delay official information requests.
He said it was “good that the ability of the ‘no suprises’ policy to delay the release of information in response to official information and privacy act requests has been curtailed, but it is unfortunate that the rule changes did not go further”.
“A particular example arises in the release of personal information about Winston Peters from the Minstry of Social Development to their Minister. That should never have happened, and the Cabinet Manual should recognise that “no surprises” doesn’t override the Privacy Act, which should prevent ministers bring told certain things, with this being an obvious example,” he said.
Other new rules appear to be a response to the decision of former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to strip disgraced financier Ron Brierley of his knighthood following his admission to possessing child pornography.
This section restates existing rules that the Prime Minister may advise the King or Queen to cancel honours “where an individual’s actions are such that, if they continue to hold that honour, the honours system would be brought into disrepute”.
It also sets out rules where an honouree wishes to forfeit their own honour.
In such a case, the Prime Minister would inform the King or Queen and advise them to cancel the individual’s honour.
The Manual also sets out rules for using a personal email account while a minister. In Labour’s first term, former minister Clare Curran admitted to conducting some ministerial business using a Gmail account.
A new section of the Cabinet Manual states that this is undesirable, but not banned.
“Ministers should not use their personal email account or phone number to conduct ministerial business.
“Where the use of a personal account or phone number for ministerial business is unavoidable (for example, when ministers are travelling and/or have issues accessing their ministerial account) it is important that:
(a) information is protected from unauthorised access, use, and disclosure and that classified and personal information is handled appropriately;
(b) the minister’s office and officials have ready access to relevant information;
(c) timely responses can be made to requests for access to that information, for example, under the Official Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 2020; and
(d) accurate records can be preserved of ministerial decision-making in line with the Public Records Act 2005 (see also paragraph 8.104).”
The Cabinet Manual says the minister should take steps to ensure those communications are captured for the official record.
Other new sections include an obligation to engage with Te Arawhiti, the office of Crown-Māori relations, if a minister believes a new bill may impact a Treaty settlement.
This is to ensure the Government upholds existing settlements.
