In denying Hager's claims, the Minister for the Environment, Marian Hobbs, accused him of writing "conspiracy theories".

[2] The Christchurch newspaper The Press studied the official documents and concluded: "So who's telling the truth, Hager or the Government?

Officials at a special briefing for journalists last week memorably commented that they did not disagree with most of Hager's facts, just his conclusions.

The documents raise some serious questions about the level of open government New Zealand really has and the strength of our much-vaunted biosecurity regime.

[5] The Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) later ruled that the infamous "Corngate" interview was unbalanced, unfair and lacked impartiality and objectivity.