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Nats, Labour outflanked on expenses
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ISSN 1172-4153 | Volume 2 | Issue 37 |
unilateral action to declare their expenses – firstly the Greens and tonight the Act party. Their actions, while largely symbolic, leave Labour and National outflanked on the issue of public disclosure.
Dunedin
| 5 June 2009
There’s been little public scrutiny of MPs’ expenses beyond what has emerged into the public domain through other means, such as Jonathan Hunt’s taxi bills or Alliance MP Phillida Bunkle’s accommodation living allowance claims.
on the
INSIDE
By Ian Wishart
As the British government implodes over a growing MPs’expenses scandal,the New Zealand government is seriously considering whether there needs to be greater disclosure of MPs’expense accounts here. A spokesman for Prime Minister John Key tonight reiterated that the PM has not taken a decisive line on the issue yet, choosing instead to ask a parliamentary working party to consider the issue. Publicity over the Richard Worth ‘affair’ has overshadowed that move, which Key announced at this week’s post-cabinet news conference. However, it’s understood National is keenly aware that the British scandal has raised the profile of MPs’ expense accounts not just in the UK but around the world, and that finding a way to achieve better transparency is now top-of-mind. Currently, politicians’ expense accounts are controlled by Parliamentary Services and the Internal Affairs Department’s Ministerial Services unit.The Parliamentary Services programme is one of the few government agencies not subject to the Official Information Act, meaning that news media and the public are not entitled to know what individual politicians have been claiming on their expense accounts. TGIF Edition ran into this brick wall last year when trying to investigate the Yang Liu citizenship scandal, because we were denied access to the phone records of MPs involved, despite the fact that taxpayers had covered their phone bills. But this week two smaller parties have taken
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Goff, Key trade blows over woman Wellington, June 5 – Prime Minister John Key is being accused by Labour of backing down from meeting one of the women who complained about former government minister Richard Worth’s behaviour. However, Mr Key says he is willing to meet her, but after she meets his chief of staff Wayne Eagleson. The woman, who does not want to be identified, has said she received 40 text messages and 60 phone calls from Dr Worth between November 26 and
February 23, some of which she said were sexually explicit and vulgar. At the time Dr Worth was minister of internal affairs. He resigned on Tuesday after it became known that police had launched an investigation into another, completely separate, complaint against him. Labour leader Phil Goff called Mr Key early last month and told him about DrWorth’s behaviour.DrWorth was subsequently questioned by Mr Key’s office.
Mr Key said today Dr Worth had emphatically denied the allegations. Mr Goff said the woman had been hurt by Mr Key’s acceptance of Dr Worth’s version of events and wanted to meet the prime minister. Mr Key said this morning he would meet her. “I am happy to rearrange my schedule and meet her as quickly as I can,”Mr Key said. But this afternoon Mr Key said on Radio Live he wanted his staff to meet her first.
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“My chief of staff, my office, has been in contact with her today, they will arrange a meeting with her when she presents the text messages and her version of events,”Mr Key said. “If they are of a nature that would warrant a meeting, we will have a meeting with her.” Mr Goff said today Labour had tried to arrange a number of meetings between Mr Key and the woman on different terms without success. Continue reading