The Ministry for Primary Industries is accused of keeping the public in the dark after refusing to release documents about an embarrassing blunder that held up Kiwi meat exports at Chinese ports.
Shipments worth up to $NZ100 million ($A88.37 million) spent weeks on Chinese wharves earlier this year because New Zealand officials used the wrong certification forms.
MPI was forced to apologise to its Chinese counterparts after initially suggesting they had not properly recognised its name change from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry last year.
Following an Official Information Act request from NZ Newswire, MPI took nearly twice the standard time to respond - then refused to release any information, saying it would require substantial collation.
It added that a large amount of information will "shortly" be in the public domain, when it releases the findings of a review into the issues.
Labour's primary industries spokesman Damien O'Connor says the ministry looks like it has something to hide.
"MPI are clearly obfuscating and barring us from the truth. They're blocking any access to information and trying to manage what is probably a sensitive issue ... My guess is the diplomatic concerns are probably overriding those of trade."
He believes some of the documents could embarrass either New Zealand or China.
"It may expose Chinese interference, it may expose New Zealand timidity on the issue.
"All exporters into China deserve to know what has happened here so that they can have confidence or otherwise that whatever they put on the boats can be processed through the Chinese borders and into the marketplace."
Mr O'Connor says he has heard there is "a real tension, if not chaos" between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and MPI over the issue.
MFAT is yet to respond to a similar information request from NZ Newswire, saying it will take up to 40 working days to do so.
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy did not respond to a request for comment.
Share
