National's public service spokesman Simeon Brown has formally written to the Public Services Commissioner raising concerns about former Labour minister Ruth Dyson's social media posts.
Dyson is the deputy chairwoman of Fire and Emergency NZ and the Earthquake Commission.
It follows a torrid select committee meeting this morning where Brown grilled Dyson over the posts.
Last week, Te Whatu Ora Health NZ chairman Rob Campbell was fired for political comments about Christopher Luxon posted on social media site LinkedIn. He was subject to a public service code of conduct which includes rules of political impartiality.
Dyson was at the select committee to present Fire and Emergency NZ's annual review to the Governance and Administration select committee.
In his letter, supplied to 1News, Brown said a social media post Dyson wrote "clearly" did not meet standards of political impartiality, which were part of Public Service Commission guidance for directors of public organisations.
"It includes a directed attack on a political party leader's speech. Furthermore, [Dyson] contains mention of the Labour Party on her Twitter biography.
"[Deputy] chairwoman Hon Ruth Dyson's social media post remains online and I am writing to you to request that the Public Service Commission investigate whether this social media post complied with the Government's political impartiality rules and whether the Earthquake Commission's processes are adequate to ensure that this doesn't take place again."
This morning, at the select committee, Brown asked if Dyson had, in her view, been acting politically impartially.
Dyson said she wasn't sure that was within the mandate of the annual review.
Select committee chairman Ian McKelvie said it was a legitimate question to ask.
Dyson said it was a "topical issue".
"Obviously I've reflected on that over the last few days, whenever the Rob Campbell dismissal took place, and I will be reviewing my social media content particularly, and reflecting on your question. But at the moment, I haven't done that."
Brown asked if a post on social media she'd sent on February 5 was politically impartial.
The post - on Twitter - read: "Oh no. It sounds like some cruel junior staffer gave Mr Luxon the wrong speech!" It then hashtagged Waitangi 2023.
Dyson said: "As I said, I'm prepared to review all my social media engagement and reflect on whether it meets the standard. I haven't done that yet."
Brown asked if she had raised it with Internal Affairs Minister Barbara Edmonds, who is responsible for Fire and Emergency NZ. Dyson said she hadn't, and Brown asked if she was going to.
Dyson said she had given Edmonds a "commitment" to review her own social media engagement.
Brown said Campbell had been sacked over social media posts and Steve Maharey's - chair of ACC, Pharmac and Education New Zealand - columns for Stuff had been reviewed by the Public Services Commissioner and received by the Government - a fact revealed earlier on in the select committee.
"Don't you think it's appropriate for you to contact your minister and have that conversation, given the fact that one, we have a code of conduct regarding political impartiality, and two, questions around the integrity of Fire and Emergency NZ and making sure that its public neutrality is protected."
Brown said it was also an election year the political neutrality of the public service needed to be protected.
Dyson repeated her commitment to review her social media engagement and "reflect on that and ensure the comparison is made between that engagement and the standards that are expected of the public service".
"I will do nothing to damage the integrity of Fire and Emergency New Zealand. It's an organisation that I care about very deeply.
"I'm committed to supporting and working hard for it. But I get the point of your questioning."
She said she would not discuss it with Edmonds until she had reviewed her posts.
Brown asked if she had requested advice from the Public Service Commission and Dyson confirmed she had not. He asked if she would.
Dyson repeated she would first review her social media posts.
"If advice is needed from anyone, I'll seek it."
Brown asked if Dyson's Twitter description - which read "still Labour" - was politically impartial.
She said it was "absolutely appropriate to say that I was a former Labour Member of Parliament, and just to make it clear, I'm still Labour".
"That does not affect my ability to be politically neutral when engaging in board activities."
Brown said the public service code of conduct required that if statements were made it needed to be discussed with the chair of the board, and asked if Dyson had raised any issues with the FENZ chairwoman Rebecca Keoghan.
Dyson said no.
Brown asked if Dyson had therefore "hadn't necessarily followed the code of conduct".
Dyson said she disagreed with the interpretation.
Outside the select committee room, Dyson said people in her position were entitled to have political opinions.
"It's how they are expressed that's the question. You should ask the public service commission."
She said a suggestion she could have reviewed her social media posts before taking on her role was a good one but hard to do retrospectively.
She said she had not read the public service code of conduct and asked why, she said she hadn't thought of it.
Asked if she wished she'd read the code of conduct, she said no, and to further questions she said "this is getting silly, I'm going to go" and left.
Brown said the same rules should apply to Rob Campbell, Steve Maharey and Ruth Dyson.
"This is a culture of political bias in senior public servants, she's making political statements in a role where she shouldn't be."
He said it was "appalling" Dyson hadn't read the code of conduct given her experience in government.
"She should resign."
It follows revelations former Labour Education Minister Steve Maharey had spoken to the Government about political comments made in a column for Stuff. He has since ceased the column. The Public Service Commissioner Peter Hughes had found Maharey had breached the code of conduct "at the lower end of the spectrum" and his dismissal was not justified.
It's not the first time Dyson has come under fire for tweets - in 2015, tweets she wrote criticising the then-Speaker David Carter were referred to Parliament's privileges committee.
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