Casey Costello Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The associate health minister has defended in Parliament claims she specifically sought out advice on freezing the tobacco excise tax.
Documents show Casey Costello asked her ministry for advice on freezing the excise, despite denying in an interview with RNZ she had specifically sought the advice out.
Speaking during Question Time on Thursday, Costello maintained she had not specifically asked for the advice, and she had not written the documents she sent to officials.
"The documentation is a range of historical policy positions and notes that were held in New Zealand First policy positions. Some of it relates to things that were passed in the legislation when New Zealand First was in government. This is a range of points and positions and it's about five pages long."
She said her actions had been distorted by the media.
"The fact is, I was asked a question about whether I had sought specific advice. I had not sought specific advice, which was the question I answered. I referred to a range of advice I had sought from officials," she said.
Costello said she was unsure who wrote the documents.
Labour's health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said the minister was still responsible for the documents she presented, and the prime minister should relieve Costello of her duties.
"When a minister gives documents to officials, if that is done or collated by her office it is still her responsibility. Her office acts on her behalf, she needs to take responsibility for it."
Senior National minister Chris Bishop said while ministers were responsible for things they gave officials, there was a question over whether they were responsible for the generation of that material.
"I would argue they cannot be, in the same way that if, for example, a Labour Party minister gave a document to the Ministry of Education, that was the NZEI or the PPTA or the CTU, for example, they cannot be questioned about the CTU in Parliament.
"They can be questioned about the handling of that document and what's in the document, but the generation of that document I think would fall outside the scope of ministerial responsibility."
Speaking to media after Question Time, he said the matter of the authorship of New Zealand First's policies was for Costello to answer, but he had certainly presented party policy to officials.
He said talking to a range of groups was how the country gets good policy.
"People have easy access to ministers and MPs in New Zealand. All political parties work with a range of groups when it comes to developing policy."
Standing in for the prime minister in the House, ACT leader David Seymour said he had had assurances from all coalition partners they had had no funding from the tobacco industry.
"I am confident that there has been no undue influence on the policies of this government by the tobacco industry."
Seymour told reporters it was possible Costello had misinterpreted RNZ's questioning, and RNZ had misinterpreted her answers, which had caused confusion.
"I think that she was being open to the best of her ability. The other thing I just say is this: we say we want people in our democracy to stand up, run for office, and become ministers, and actually go and listen, take the best advice, and make the best policy. She's done all that stuff and people are jumping all over her."
Prime minister has confidence in minister
The prime minister insisted his Cabinet colleague was fully committed to bringing down smoking rates.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Christopher Luxon said Costello was asking for a broad range of advice at the time, and excise tax on cigarettes has gone up and will continue to do so. He said Costello was determined to reduce smoking rates around the country.
"I've spoken to her about it, she's passionate about it, she cares about it, I've got confidence that she wants to do that," Luxon said.
"She maybe asked for a broad range of advice and feedback [from officials] … all I can tell you is excise tax has gone up, it's been implemented, it's happening."
Luxon said he had also sought and received assurances from all parties in his coalition that they have not received donations from Big Tobacco.
"I think we've got a very robust conflict of interest process," Luxon said, adding that it would not be desirable to have a tobacco lobbyist writing a tobacco policy. Costello is a former board chairperson of the Taxpayers' Union, which has received financial support from British American Tobacco.