Documents show Erica Stanford forwarded some emails which included government policy and Budget details to her personal email address. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
Education Minister Erica Stanford is not alone in forwarding Parliament and ministerial emails to her personal account.
Both Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop confirmed on Tuesday they are guilty of having done the same thing in order to print or access a document while away from the office.
Documents show Stanford forwarded emails to her personal email address, some of which included details of government policies and Budget documents.
She said it was for the purposes of printing documents that could not be printed from her Parliamentary email. The printer problem had now been fixed.
The Cabinet Manual says ministers should avoid using personal mobile and email accounts wherever possible.
On Tuesday morning Stanford told reporters she had sorted the issue, and the prime minister has backed her saying he's "super relaxed" and "comfortable" about the changes she has made.
Stanford admitted, however, it was not a good look.
"The Cabinet Manual says where you have to you must take these steps, which I believe I have followed. But you're absolutely right, it's untidy, it's not best practice and I've taken steps to fix that."
Stanford denied ever forwarding sensitive Budget documents onto a third party from her personal account.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop said he had "occasionally" forwarded Parliament emails to a personal email to get it printed faster - but had never forwarded Budget sensitive information.
"As a habit I don't forward ministerial documents or work to my gmail... Budget sensitive information is held sensitively."
Bishop said MPs had multiple email addresses across Parliament, ministerial, electorate, and party accounts.
"All sorts of stuff arrives in all sorts of inboxes and we've got a pretty complicated process of forwarding things on so it's in the appropriate inbox, so for my ministerial business I let my staff manage that."
He said ministers should not be sending Budget information to private email addresses but did not believe it was "the biggest sin in the world".
"MPs are on the road a lot, there are printing problems often. I can't print at my Parliament office, for example."
Asked if his printing difficulties were a system error or a user error, Bishop responded, "that is a legitimate question - I don't know".
"We shouldn't be doing it, but is it the worst thing in the world? No."
Finance Minister Nicola Willis also recalled sending draft speech notes from her ministerial account to her personal email so she could print it in a hotel room.
Labour says more to come on Stanford emails
Labour's education spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime is casting doubt over how much the Prime Minister has been told about Stanford's email use, given his comments that he is "super relaxed about it".
RNZ understands Labour made the original request for the emails from Stanford's office under the Official Information Act, which have been collated and subsequently sent to media, including RNZ.
"It's clear that somebody has misrepresented to the prime minister and his office the extent of the minister's use of her private gmail account for ministerial business," Prime said.
She said Luxon said it was "just a few emails for printing" but Prime referenced "folders" of "many many emails that have been used on her gmail account" uncovered by the OIA.
The minister organising meetings through her personal email was inconsistent with the Cabinet Manual, because it was "ministerial business", she said.
Asked again about the issue today, Luxon repeated Stanford had used her private email to deal with "unsolicited emails" and printing issues. He said Stanford had made changes to her processes and he was comfortable with that.
When asked whether it was appropriate to organise meetings using the personal account, Luxon said it was important that all meetings were captured in a ministerial diary, "whether those meetings took place or it didn't take place".
He acknowledged it was not "ideal" but he maintained what was important was "all those materials are captured and are available through official information requests, which is what's happened here."
He also reiterated the Cabinet Manual allowed for instances where ministers needed to use their private accounts for "printing emails or sending materials to themselves so they can print it for a number of different reasons".
A timeline of Stanford's work conducted via personal email
The emails included draft reports and media statements and information about sensitive Education Ministry projects.
On Sunday 21 July last year a redacted email was used to forward Stanford a 20 July email including an information sheet and proposed media statement regarding a decision to halt 100 school property projects. About five days later parts of the plan were revealed by news media.
The same day a redacted email was used to forward Stanford a copy of the final draft of a damning report on school property.
The final version was not made public until 4 October that year.
On Saturday 25 May last year a redacted email was used to forward Erica Stanford a message titled "Pre-Budget notes" with several attachments including talking points, pre-Budget announcements and speaking notes.
"Hi Minister, Here is all the documentation for tomorrow," said a message sent to a Parliament email just two hours earlier and included in the forwarded email.
The emails also included messages from teachers, principals and parents, photos of Stanford as a child and teenager, and talking points for RNZ interviews.
The senders' details were deleted but showed that a teacher was at one point sending Stanford daily emails as a form of protest, while others praised her work and suggested areas of action.
An email from October last year complained about the amount of Māori content at the primary school attended by the writer's son.
"We continue to be shocked with the extremely laxed [sic] approach to teaching and extreme focus on Te Reo and Māori studies... One could be mistaken for thinking they were on a marae at school assemblies...," the complainant wrote, asking if a curriculum audit might be possible.
An email Stanford forwarded to herself in February this year dated October last year came from a sender unhappy with the Education Ministry's approach to rewriting the school science curriculum, referring to a ministry "agenda".
An email Stanford sent to a redacted recipient in March this year included a message from a school principal last year praising her work as "bloody hard and blood [sic] courageous" and asking her to seek views beyond her Ministerial Advisory Group on literacy and numeracy.
A December 2024 email contained a list of actions including a reminder to schools about closing too early.
"Last day of school finishing at 12. Can we send an urgent letter to all schools to say this is not to happen. It's illegal."
In September last year, Stanford forwarded to her personal email an email from a person regarding her husband's burn out from education.
"Stop using us a [sic] your political pawns please!" the email said.
A 13 June email showed that a woman had been emailing Stanford every day as a form of protest and asked her to abandon proposed changes to the school lunch scheme.
"Can you please find all the emails this lady has sent to me and send me a summary of her thoughts and why she emails every day and what her main issues are pls?" Stanford wrote.
An email from 19 December 2023 came from a teacher with more than 40 years experience unhappy with new NCEA literacy requirements.
"Actually addressing concerns raised by experienced teaching practitioners rather than brushing them off would help," they wrote.
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