Acting Prime Minister Kelvin Davis has spoken on government transparency following revelations MP Shane Jones failed to disclose 61 meetings.
Mr Davis joined TVNZ's Breakfast this morning to discuss the Government's bid to be "the most transparent government" and MP Shane Jones' billion-dollar regional development fund.
Read more: Shane Jones forced to correct answers after failing to disclose 61 meetings
Mr Davis said, "Well, those meetings were in his diary, he just hadn't coded them under the portfolio, so they were always there".
"I believe the National government sat on this information for a month or so and waited for the best time to try and embarrass us, but let's understand that in the entire three years of the last National government, I think we lodged 42,000 written questions. This Opposition has lodged 42,000 written questions just in this one year alone, so 42,000 questions and there's three, maybe four anomalies.
"Look, to be honest, the fact that's the best they can do - poring over all this information in the back office, looking for the one or two anomalies out of 42,000 questions – I think we're actually doing pretty well."
However, Breakfast host Jack Tame called it "basic administration", saying, "If we can't trust a minister with basic administration, then how can we trust a minister with a billion-dollar regional development fund?"
Mr Davis responded, "Oh, come on, we have hundreds – hundreds – of meetings over the course of a month. Hundreds and hundreds. We do our very best – no one sets out not to give the appropriate information, because, I mean, you do get in trouble if you have, you know, if you miss something out, so we try our best, but, you know, 42,000 questions and there's, what, three or four anomalies?"
"61, though," Jack fired back.
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