Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has revealed an email which led to Stuart Nash's sacking was originally part of an official information request and had been brought to the attention of the prime minister's office at the time.
National Party leader Christopher Luxon is calling it a "cover up", something Hipkins denies.
The request was in 2021 and Hipkins has clarified neither the former prime minister Jacinda Ardern nor her chief of staff were made aware of the email.
The email was one sent by Nash in March 2020 to two contacts regarding a commercial rent relief package that Cabinet had considered.
The contacts, Troy Bowker and Greg Loveridge, via GRL Holdings Ltd, had both donated to Nash.
In the email, Nash divulged both confidential Cabinet discussions as well as the position fellow ministers took, which is against the Cabinet Manual. It was Nash's fourth offence and saw him sacked from all of his portfolios last night.
Today, before entering the debating chamber for Question Time, Hipkins said he had been advised the email had been included in consultation around a 2021 Official Information Act request.
"It was deemed to be outside the scope of the Official Information Act [OIA] request... and the prime minister's office was consulted by Minister Nash's office on that before it was released.
They say he's betrayed the Government and his colleagues after breaching the Cabinet Manual more than once. (Source: 1News)
"I have checked and neither the then-prime minister [Jacinda Ardern] nor her chief of staff were alerted to the existence of that email but it did clearly go through the office.
"I have made it very clear to my office that I expect to be alerted about any such matters should they arise and should my office become aware of them."
Hipkins said the email was "not covered up" it just was not within the scope of the OIA request.
Luxon said Hipkins needed to explained why the prime minister's Office had "covered up" the existence of the email for two years and in his view the admission was "damning".
Luxon said staff may have deliberately chosen not to advise Ardern or Hipkins of the documents to allow both of them "plausible deniability".
"This is a serious and shocking revelation, and the public deserves to know why, when staff in Mr Nash's office and the PMO knew of his behaviour, he was allowed to continue in Cabinet until yesterday."
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