Accident Compensation Commission chairman John Judge says he has no idea how, or by whom, the name of the woman at the centre of Nick Smith's resignation as a cabinet minister was released.
Bronwyn Pullar has accused the corporation of leaking her name and information to the media in an attempt to destroy her privacy and reputation after an email was accidentally sent to her, detailing hundreds of ACC claimants.
Dr Smith resigned on Wednesday after admitting he had written a reference under ministerial letterhead for Ms Pullar, who is a friend, and failed to declare a conflict of interest when dealing with the case.
Ms Pullar has had a long-standing disagreement with ACC about its support for her.
Mr Judge told Morning Report he doesn't believe the release of Ms Pullar's name has anything to do with the corporation but said if she has evidence to the contrary he would be pleased to receive it and deal with it.
"I don't think it has anything to do with ACC at all as far as I'm aware. I have absolutely no idea how it appeared in the media."
Mr Judge says Dr Smith was straightforward to deal with and never raised any questions about individual claimants. He has complete faith that his staff are not, and would never be, subject to undue political influence.
Prime Minister John Key has rejected opposition calls for an independent inquiry to find out more about ACC's handling of Ms Pullar's claim, and whether there was ministerial interference, though Dr Smith supports an investigation.
Ms Pullar issued a statement on Thursday in which she outlined how she ended up being emailed the details of more than 6000 ACC claimants. She believed it was a genuine mistake.
Ms Pullar also apologised to Nick Smith, saying it is regrettable he had to resign, and she knows he was only trying to help a friend.
Listen to John Judge on Morning Report© 2012 Radio New Zealand
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/101563/acc-not-involved-in-releasing-name,-says-chairman
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