Academic and author Barbara Sumner. Photo: Supplied/Barbara Sumner
Two Ministry of Justice workers are in hot water for describing a researcher as a "bitch" in an online conversation.
Academic and author Barbara Sumner made a number of Official Information Act requests as part of her PhD research into the systems around adoption. Then, in October last year, she asked for all correspondence mentioning her by name.
"Because I had felt all along that there was a resistance to everything I sent in and you know, just the sort of snottiness, I guess, of some of the responses that came in that request. I wanted to understand how they were treating me throughout the process."
One page of the response stood out among more than 100 others. A November 2022 Teams conversation between two staffers, whose names were redacted, complained about Sumner's latest request.
They described it as "a waste of time" and said it "should have been refused on the ground of substantial collation" or that the ministry should "charge her for it and get a contractor".
"our ministerial services team sucks cuz they wouldnt let us refuse, and helen didnt push back hard [sic]," one worker wrote.
"but also shes a bitch for wanting everything. does she think govt just has unlimited resources for this type of crap lol.
"like theres no public interest in our emails back and forward."
In Microsoft Teams messages, a Ministry of Justice worker called academic Barbara Sumner a "bitch". Photo: Supplied/Ministry of Justice
Sumner acknowledged she had asked for a lot of information, but said the requests were reasonable.
"If as a PhD researcher I am trying to understand a subject and all of the background, the legislative background to those issues, then, I mean, I can't afford to get it wrong," she said.
"I understand that it must be difficult to spend your days answering Official Information Act requests, that you've got to know a lot and you've got to have access to a lot of documents and records to be able to answer correctly. But it is the very foundation of our rights as citizens to have access to this information."
Sumner said she was shocked to read how staff had been speaking about her, and found the reaction to her request "deeply disturbing".
The ministry apologised to her in a cover letter sent with the OIA response, which Sumner received in February.
Deputy secretary policy Rajesh Chhana said he had hoped to discuss in person "a serious issue which came to light as part of the collation of material".
"Inappropriate and unacceptable language was used in reference to you in a Microsoft Teams exchange between two Ministry of Justice employees. On behalf of the Ministry, I would like to apologise for the comment made about you. This comment was totally unacceptable under the Ministry's Code of Conduct and its RISE values of Respect, Integrity, Service and Excellence.
"I can also advise that this issue has been treated with the utmost seriousness by the Ministry and appropriate action has been taken."
Listen to Barbara Sumner talk about her adoption journey and memoir, Tree of Strangers
However, Sumner said the ministry had not done enough to remedy the situation. She wrote back to ask what had happened to the employees, but the ministry only wanted to communicate via phone, she said.
"I prefer always to do things in writing, so I don't know how, where it's gone at this point. I imagine nowhere.
"I think there does need to be transparency and I think there needs to be some sort of staff recommendation that this is not an acceptable way to speak about people who are requesting, legitimately requesting, information."
The ministry also refused to clarify what action it had taken when approached by RNZ.
"This exchange contained remarks about the person which were unacceptable, unprofessional and contrary to our values as an organisation," Chhana, who is currently the acting secretary for justice, said.
"I apologised to the person for the remarks, and we have addressed the issue with the employees concerned."
The ministry did not answer questions about whether any other staffers, including management, were aware of the correspondence at the time, or what department the two people worked in.
Sumner said she would be sending a copy of her thesis to the ministry once it was completed.