In a comment yesterday about the government's witch-hunt against those who leaked information on its mining plans, John Key pointed the finger firmly at the public service:
Government relied on having a neutral and independent public service and most people in the public sector operate without political bias, Mr Key said.But of course its not just public servants who have access to this information, but also Ministers and their (politically appointed) advisors. And as John Key well knows, they may also have reason to leak. But I guess its just more politically convenient to blame the public service and impugn their professionalism rather than admit to divisions within the Cabinet."You have to acknowledge there might be one or two people that don't and if they chose not to then that information is quite easily distributed to others."
Mr Key said he was reluctant to limit access to cabinet papers because it could reduce the quality of the advice the Government received.
