'Sobering': Review ordered over former Lotto presenter finds swathe of issues at Ministry of Justice

A review into the Justice Ministry has revealed a culture marred by leadership, decision-making and accountability issues.Outgoing Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith ordered a rapid review of his ministry in August following its handling of a former employee, saying his confidence in the agency was "seriously shaken".Former Lotto presenter Russell Harrison was suspended for five years on full pay - more than $500,000 - as he faced charges relating to organised crime following a global FBI sting.Harrison pleaded guilty to money laundering in July, and then lost his job as a kaiārahi - Family Court navigator.The Public Service Commission carried out the review and described the Harrison case as "a microcosm for our broader findings".It found leaders were not sufficiently focussed on public trust and confidence, too accepting of flawed internal advice and overly concerned about legal action. Staff who tried to speak up were not listened to.Harrison had only been at the Ministry two weeks when he was charged with organised crime, drug offences and money laundering, all of which were serious, the Commission said.It said the "sensible thing to do" would have been to attempt to undertake the disciplinary process under employment law."Instead, Ministry leaders, for five years, accepted the flawed internal advice that proceeding with the employment issue could not occur until the criminal matters were resolved."Despite the multiple occasions when managers raised the issue over the years, no one appears to have been prepared to proceed with the disciplinary pathway available. There also appears to have been no challenge to the initial internal advice. "Leaders were too accepting of that advice, it said."This seems to us to be symptomatic of an internal culture based on risk avoidance, as opposed to risk management."The Commission said staff it interviewed relayed a perception that the Ministry would do everything it could to avoid a legal dispute."The Ministry was overly concerned with the notion of appearing in its own system for possible legal error."One respondent said: "There appeared to be a strong reliance on legal and employment advice, with less consideration given to wider organisational impacts such as staff confidence, public confidence, reputational risk and alignment with the Ministry's values."The report also uncovered a lack of ownership."Over five years and multiple touch points, no single leader or decision-making body made a decisive call on how to proceed," it said."No one appears to have fully appreciated that not making a decision might well be the worst possible decision."It also found some staff tried to speak out, but were not listened to."They appear not to have been able to influence the more senior leaders that discussed the case."Some respondents felt that this was indicative of broader difficulties with influencing agency direction and speaking truth to power."The Commission found the Ministry took "a defensive posture when challenged" and it was surprised it had only undertaken an internal "on-the-papers only" review into the matter."Although the Ministry's Chief Executive has publicly apologised for the agency's handling of the matter, we consider that a more independent review process would have better identified the underlying cultural issues that contributed to this failure, and would have demonstrated openness to challenge, organisational learning and public accountability," it said.Justice secretary Andrew Kibblewhite said the report offered "sobering and challenging" insights."I am committed to fronting them with the whole organisation and delivering the necessary changes."