The Fonterra email sent to a non-government address raises the question of whether the handling of sensitive documents was an isolated incident or standard practice on the ninth floor, political commentator Richard Harman says.

Harman, editor of political newsletter Politik, says the individual at the centre of the incident, senior Beehive operative Matt Burgess, would have known the protocols precisely. Burgess previously worked for Bill English and spent time at the New Zealand Initiative before returning to the ninth floor.

“He would be thoroughly familiar with the protocols about the handling of how you dealt with sensitive issues and sensitive lobbyists, so you can only conclude or speculate that he knew what he was doing, and I think that’s the issue.”

The Public Records Act and Cabinet Manual require ministers to keep written records of their decisions, a requirement made obvious by the volume of inquiries into what the previous Labour government did, Harman says. The incident is, as he puts it, “not very tidy.”

The bigger question is if this was a one-off or not.

“The other issue is whether or not this was a once-er, or whether it was and is a prevailing practice on the ninth floor.

“We don’t know.”

Fonterra’s role in the matter was unwise rather than wrong, says Harman.

“They’re sophisticated operators… agreeing to be party to a cover-up, which is really what this was all about.

“They’re skating a little bit on this one, I think.”

He says there could be a perfectly innocent reason for the choice of email address.

“I communicate with MPs on their private emails, and it might be that they’re at home or that they’re at the bach or whatever.

“I think the question we have to ask about this one is why?”

CountryWide CONNECT with Andy Thompson & Sarah Perriam-Lampp is our daily rural show livestreamed from 11am-1pm. Visit country-wide.co.nz on how to watch/listen or download the CountryWide CONNECT mobile app, available on Apple iOS and Android.