Education Minister Jan Tinetti is being asked to appear before Parliament's powerful Privileges Committee over a delay in correcting an inaccurate statement in the House.
Members of the committee met on Thursday morning behind closed doors.
Chair David Parker confirmed afterwards that they have decided to write to Tinetti asking her several follow-up questions and for her to appear before them next Thursday.
Tinetti will be asked questions by members of the committee at the meeting, which will be open to the public, Parker said.
The chair said the decision to have Tinetti appear before the committee was unanimous.
The members want a response to the letter by next Tuesday. Parker wouldn't say what questions have been sent to Tinetti.
Parker also wouldn't say how long the process is expected to take. It is up to the committee to determine the timelines, he said.
The Privileges Committee is considered Parliament's court. She is the first minister since Winston Peters in 2008 to be referred to it.
The minister has been been referred to the committee over the delay it took for her to correct an answer given during Question Time on February 22.
She was asked to categorically state she played no part in the delay of the release of school attendance information and replied by saying she already had and it was a decision for the Ministry of Education for when to release the data.
But Newshub revealed this month that Tinetti's office instructed officials to delay the release of the information so it could be timed with a truancy announcement by the Government. The minister told Newshub she wasn't aware at the time that her office was holding up the data.
Speaker Adrian Rurawhe on Tuesday said Tinetti received a letter from him on May 1 telling her the answer needed to be correct, and she did so the next day.
However, that correction came long after Tinetti learnt her office was involved. She found that out after Question Time on February 22.
She claims she didn't know her answer needed to be correct until the Speaker's letter, but Rurawhe said it should have been done as soon as possible.
"It is an important principle that the House can trust the accuracy of ministerial replies to parliamentary questions," the Speaker said.
"While mistakes are sometimes made, which can result in the House receiving an answer containing a misleading statement, it is vitally important that as soon as this is discovered, the minister returns to the House to correct the answer at the earliest opportunity."
He said it was for the Privileges Committee to determine whether the "delay in correcting an inaccurate statement in this instance amounts to contempt".
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Wednesday said he retained confidence in her and wouldn't stand her down.
"She has dedicated her whole life to the cause of New Zealand's public education system," he said. "She is a very experienced teacher and school principal who I have absolute confidence in making good decisions around our education system.
"I think she is going to be a great Minister of Education."
Tinetti said Hipkins could have confidence in her as Education Minister. But she too wouldn't offer up much more comment.
"I have already said I am not commenting on that. I wonder if anyone has got anything else that they want to talk to me about," she said.
Newshub revealed on Wednesday night that staff in the Prime Minister's office knew the Education Minister's office were holding up the release of the attendance data.
