Rennie admits 'surprise' Key called Fletcher about spy boss job

UPDATE: State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie told a midday press conference he was “surprised” to learn about Prime Minister John Key's phone call to alert Ian Fletcher the director role was open at the GCSB.

“But it didn’t dissuade me from considering Mr Fletcher because he was a highly credible person who was known professionally to me,” Mr Rennie said.

He added, “With the benefit of hindsight, what would have avoided some of the perceptions we have at the moment is if I had contacted Mr Fletcher rather than the Prime Minister."

Asked if it would have been normal practice for him to make the call, Mr Rennie replied “Absolutely.”

Regardless, he believed correct protocol was followed throughout the appointment process.

No moral or legal rules were broken.

An almost Twitter ban
The press conference began with a minor brouhaha as a State Services Commission communications manager told journalists they were banned from tweeting live - although they were allowed to email. The Commission was concerned journalists could not both tweet and pay attention to the press conference.

After a brief argument, the ban was abandoned - although the comms manager noted that communications and PR staff in general were worried about the practice of tweeting live from events. 

NBR technology editor Chris Keall noted events are recorded for accuracy. Journalists can multitask. And Twitter is a useful tool for collecting story tips, gauging community reaction and, yes, reeling in an audience to your subsequent story.

Sharpened defence
Earlier, the Commissioner sharpened his earlier defence of the process that let to Mr Fletcher's appointment.

"Mr Fletcher is an outstanding public servant and this has been proven in Australia and the UK.  I am outraged that there has been baseless attacks on the credibility of Mr Fletcher's appointment," Mr Rennie says.

"Firstly those who applied in response to the advertisement were thoroughly considered. It is normal for recruitment consultants to make some initial selections of candidates for potential long and short lists based on their assessments. It is also normal for the State Services Commissioner to make judgements about which applicants, if any, should proceed to interview or to seek out additional candidates," Mr Rennie said.

"Interview panels established by SSC do not interview applicants unless it is believed that they could be suitable for appointment. This is a high bar. Sometimes only one candidate goes through to the panel interview stage as in this case.

"As was previously stated, a potential shortlist was prepared by a recruitment consultant but I advised the Prime Minister that, given the requirements of the job, that these candidates should not be considered further. Instead, further search should occur to identify a suitable candidate or candidates.

Mr Rennie's comments seem aimed at former GCSB head Sir Bruce Ferguson, who told media he new of at least one candidate who was dumped at the last minute.

Sir Bruce said, from anecdotal evidence, it appeared the full candidate selection process had not been followed.

"For this position, and I want to make this very clear, it was not essential to have a military or intelligence background. GCSB is a civilian agency, and the position description emphasised  the importance of leadership and change management expertise in this role. Leadership and change management expertise can be gained through experience in a variety of settings, as Mr Fletcher's background demonstrated," Mr Rennie says.

"Appointments to the position of Director of the GCSB is made on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, as the responsible Minister, to cabinet.

"The selection panel was made up of people of high standing in the State services whose integrity is beyond question. The panel was aware that the Prime Minister and Mr Fletcher knew each other and had spoken on the telephone. This would not and did not influence the panel's decision or my recommendation to the Prime Minister."

EARLIER: As Labour calls for an inquiry, State Services Commissioner Iain Rennie has issued a statement defending Ian Fletcher's appointment as GCSB director.

Mr Rennie says the position was advertised, and a recruitment agency assisted in the candidate search. 

Mr Fletcher was interviewed by a panel led by Mr Rennie, and subject to background checks and a psychology test.

The State Services boss does not touch on John Key's call to alert Mr Fletcher that the GCSB job was open.

But it does confirm John Key disclosed to Mr Rennie (at an undefined point) that Mr Fletcher was a childhood friend, and that they had been in touch intermittently since.

More, Mr Rennie says he had previously met Mr Fletcher.

“I had first met Mr Fletcher in 2009 and knew that he was interested in returning to New Zealand at some stage,” the Commissioner says.

Yesterday, Mr Key phoned Mr Fletcher in early 2011 to alert him a shortlist of candidates was being drawn up for the GCSB director role.

Labour says the appointment reeks of cronyism and has called for an inquiry.

Mr Key says he simply forgot about the call to Mr Fletcher.

Last week, the Prime Minister was questioned in parliament about his person and family ties to Mr Fletcher, but did not mention the shoulder-tapping call.

 "I'd forgotten that at that particular time," Mr Key said yesterday.

Leader David Shearer says Mr Key breached parliamentary privilege by not fully answering questions in the house.

However, Mr Shearer has again been wobbly on attack.

On TV3's Firstline this morning, he avoided directly answering the question when asked if he thinks John Key lied.

As with the Tiwai Point smelter-standoff, where Labour has criticised the government but refused to says if it supports a bail-out, the party lacks a follow-through punch.

"[I] thought they may call for the appointment to be over-turned, or an inquiry - but nothing," Firstline host Rachel Smalley told NBR shortly after her interview with Mr Shearer.