Opposition leader Simon Bridges has accused Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield of refusing to "answer simple health questions" in a turbulent select committee meeting on Wednesday.
The National Party leader implied that Dr Bloomfield, one of the country's leading physicians, was holding back important information regarding New Zealand's COVID-19 outbreak and response.
Bridges began his attack by referencing the Government's suspension of the Official Information Act (OIA), saying the Ministry of Health has failed to answer written requests for information for over two weeks.
"Why don’t you answer simple health questions to the one parliamentary committee on this remarkably significant issue?" he said heatedly. "I think it comes down to one simple thing: you don't want to answer because you want to control the information flow."
Dr Bloomfield denied the accusations and reiterated his commitment as a public servant to providing information to the public. The Director-General of Health has fronteed almost every press conference, often on a daily basis, regarding the country's battle with the virus since the outbreak began.
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