Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has rejected a suggestion she pay a solo mother $15,000 because she made the woman's welfare information public.Ms Bennett said she would not pay financial compensation because she did not believe she had done any
Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has rejected a suggestion she pay a solo mother $15,000 because she made the woman's welfare information public.
Ms Bennett said she would not pay financial compensation because she did not believe she had done anything wrong.
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff's office wrote to the minister suggesting she pay the $15,000 in compensation.
The office was passing on the request from Natasha Fuller, who complained after Ms Bennett released her details to news media when she complained about cuts to her training incentive allowance.
Ms Fuller originally asked for a public apology and an assurance Ms Bennett would not make other people's welfare information public.
She had since sought advice from a Hamilton lawyer and was told financial compensation was normally asked for, Labour MP Charles Chauvel says.
Ms Bennett said she had replied to the Commissioner's office saying she would not be paying compensation.
She said she did not regret releasing Ms Fuller's details.
"I don't think she was hurt, I don't feel like there was anything that I did that caused that."
However, some bloggers and the public showed their "ugly side" and said "necessary and quite hurtful" things, Ms Bennett said.
"What other people have chosen to do after her putting herself in the media was certainly harsh at times and not something I would entertain at all."
She released Ms Fuller's information to ensure and open debate, Ms Bennett said.
It was something to "work a process through with the Privacy Commissioner" whether she would do the same thing again.
She was "really surprised" about the letter suggesting financial compensation, Ms Bennett said.
She did not entertain the idea of paying the money "at all".
"I have never felt that financial compensation was a way to resolve any of this."
Ms Bennett said she had commented on the letter publicly because her own integrity had been questioned and she wanted the process to be as transparent as possible.
Mr Chauvel told NZPA it was difficult to put a price on what Ms Fuller has gone through, he said.
"If she's asked for a bit of compensation I have to say I sympathise with her," he said.
"This is a person who every time there's publicity about the case gets vilified as a gold digger on talkback radio, her kids get called names at school, and this all stems from the Minister of Social Development's decision to breach the Privacy Act."
He said Ms Bennett was "obviously" trying to portray Ms Fuller badly by releasing information about the compensation request.
The privacy commissioner's office was not commenting while the resolution process continued.
They said past settlements had included "modest compensation", an apology, an assurance an action will not recur, or personal gestures such as flowers or vouchers.
Prime Minister John Key said Ms Bennett had acted "honourably the whole way through and I believe acted appropriately".
"It has now got to go through a process and we have tried to respect that process."
