Aimee Gulliver reports:
Justice Minister Judith Collins says she got it wrong when she claimed she’d been cleared by the Privacy Commissioner over giving a public servant’s name to WhaleOil blogger Cameron Slater.
Collins said last night she had been cleared by the Privacy Commissioner John Edwards of any wrongdoing after he had ruled the information she passed on was not private.
This morning a spokeswoman said the minister had interpreted that from media reports.
“The Minister understands her interpretation was incorrect, as should a complaint come directly from Mr [Simon] Pleasants – the Privacy Commissioner would consider it,” the spokeswoman said.
Read more on Stuff, where Gulliver helpfully provides the background for this case. Frankly, if the Justice Minister really did rely on media reports and then misunderstood those reports instead of contacting the Privacy Commissioner’s Office first or to verify, I’d wonder about her.