This is the report of the investigation into the treatment of public servants within the New Zealand Ministry of Transport who raised concerns about the conduct of jailed fraudster Joanne Harrison. The investigation was carried out by former Deputy State Services Commissioner Sandi Beatie QSO.

The investigation is in response to public concern that public servants raised issues about Ms Harrison’s activities within the Ministry of Transport and subsequently lost their jobs in a restructure Ms Harrison was involved in. This investigation process was started by the Secretary for Transport, and was subsequently taken over by the State Services Commissioner after the affected staff raised concerns with him directly.

The report has found that four staff within the Ministry of Transport raised concerns about Joanne Harrison’s behaviour and then suffered disadvantage in processes Ms Harrison was involved in. However no staff were made redundant because they raised concerns.

The report makes recommendations on the implementation and management of protected discolsures or complaint mechanisms within the public service.