Spa treatment was repaid, says Anderton

Former Agriculture and Forestry Minister Jim Anderton enjoyed a massage which was charged to a ministerial credit card while staying at Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur for a conference on illegal logging in mid-2008.

Credit card statements for Mr Anderton and his staff were among those released yesterday by Ministerial Services and include a 960 Malaysian ringgit charge - about $620 - for "spa treatments" when at the hotel.

"I think my wife had a treatment and I did too," said Mr Anderton, who is leader of the former Labour Government coalition partner the Progressive Party.

"I had a massage, I think."

Although there is no apparent documentation showing it, he says the money "would have been paid back".

"Ministerial Services are not going to pay for spa treatments, I can assure you," said Mr Anderton, a contender for the Christchurch mayoralty in the pending local body elections.

Mr Anderton said his staff were yesterday unable to locate evidence the expense was repaid but had contacted Ministerial Services and hoped to locate the documentation today. He rejected the suggestion there was anything improper about paying for personal items on his ministerial cards.

"Be sensible about this - these corporate cards pay for the hotel and all the things attached to them. It's just silly to think you're going to carry a number of cards and pay for this on one and that on another."

Mr Anderton said the card accounts come through between the charge being incurred and the next payment.

"As long as you make the payments before then, which I'm absolutely certain I did, then there's no cost to anyone."