Drip, drip, drip: NZ's biggest political leaks

RNZ News

28-05-2025

Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche has issued a fresh directive to public servants to stop leaking sensitive information.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Public Service Commissioner Sir Brian Roche has issued a fresh directive to public servants to stop leaking sensitive information after a wave of material finding its way to the media.
One problem:
an email containing that instruction was promptly leaked to RNZ
.
Here are some recent stories to eventuate from leaks in recent history:
RNZ was blocked from publishing a story earlier this month after
sighting a confidential pre-Budget document related to the education portfolio
.
The Attorney-General was granted an emergency injunction by the High Court after arguing the document contained "commercially sensitive information" which would damage the government's ability to engage in collective bargaining.
The National-ACT-NZ First coalition's term has been coloured by an unusually large number of leaks from the public service.
They include:
Former Health NZ IT worker Barry Young was arrested in 2023 and charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes.
He stands accused of leaking personal Covid-19 vaccine data relating to at least 12,000 people.
Hamish Walker and Michelle Boag.
Photo:
RNZ & Boag Allan SvG
In 2020, then-National backbencher Hamish Walker admitted
leaking information containing Covid-19 patient information
to media. The details included the full names, addresses, ages and quarantine locations of 18 active Covid-19 cases.
Former National president Michelle Boag - then acting chief executive of Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust - subsequently revealed she was the person who shared the material with Walker.
Both Walker and Boag resigned from their respective roles amid the backlash.
Though not a leak in the traditional sense, the opposition National Party released
sensitive details about the 2019 Budget
ahead of its official release.
Treasury initially claimed it had been "deliberately and systematically hacked" but it was later revealed National had simply accessed the
documents using the website's search function.
Former National leader Simon Bridges.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Simon Bridges commissioned a no-holds-barred inquiry in 2018 after
details of his travel and accommodation expenses
were leaked to Newshub.
The PwC investigation was unable to identify the leaker with certainty but said the evidence pointed to then-MP Jami-Lee Ross.
The findings set off an extraordinary cascade of events beginning with Ross' expulsion from the caucus. Ross then released politically embarrassing secret recordings of Bridges.
Ross also went to the police with criminal allegations which ultimately ended up before the courts - though with Ross in the crosshairs, not Bridges.
Ultimately, everyone charged was found not guilty.
Weeks out from the 2017 election, an anonymous tipster told media Winston Peters had been overpaid the pension for seven years to the tune of nearly $18,000.
Following media enquiries Peters issued a statement confirming most of the allegations and revealing he had since paid the money back.
Furious at the leak, the NZ First leader later launched legal action against senior public servants and former Cabinet ministers - including Paula Bennett, Anne Tolley, Brendan Boyle and Peter Hughes.
Peters ultimately lost the High Court case and subsequent appeal.