Anderton denies money siphoned to new party

11.55am

The Alliance party's parliamentary leader, Jim Anderton, has denied allegations Alliance funds were siphoned off into the new party he will lead into the election.

Alliance Party president Matt McCarten told NZPA today he was getting an audit of Alliance accounts after funds were allegedly transferred into the coffers of what will be Mr Anderton's new political vehicle, the Progressive Coalition.

Mr McCarten said he was trying to recover $15,000-$30,000 that had been withdrawn and put into Progressive Coalition accounts and had given the material and information he had to an auditor.

He said money had been taken from Alliance accounts since February -- two months before Mr Anderton announced he would split from the Alliance and lead another party into the election.

The Alliance had national, regional and local accounts and the money had been taken from several local accounts -- North Shore, South Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch, Mr McCarten said.

However, Mr Anderton today denied any money had been siphoned off from the Alliance into the Progressive Coalition and accused Mr McCarten of conducting a sleaze campaign.

"No it has not. The money that has been raised by people in the Alliance at electorate level...has gone for the purposes for which it was raised -- promoting the policies and the candidates or the MPs that it was raised to promote," he told National Radio.

"We are still Alliance MPs. I'm working in Wigram as an Alliance MP and I'm promoting the work on the policies I stand for."

Mr McCarten's accusation "that money has been misused or misplaced... is typical of the sleaze that you get and it's one of the fundamental reasons why many of the MPs are standing with me (and) will not be standing with the Alliance at the election".

Progressive Coalition co-chairman Peter Kane yesterday told NZPA the allegations were "just absolute nonsense".

"There isn't even a Progressive party account open to my knowledge...it's (the party's) only in the process of being registered today," he said.

The party did, however, have "bank accounts where supporters' money has gone forward, in terms of campaign accounts".

Asked if any money had been taken from the Alliance and put into any account for any party Mr Anderton would lead into the next election, Mr Kane said: "Not to my knowledge."

Mr Anderton also said claims by National MP and former prime minister Jenny Shipley that Alliance parliamentary money had been used for Progressive Coalition websites were "untrue".

"Not one cent has been used for that."

The news that a name had been chosen for the political vehicle Mr Anderton will lead into the election caused a furore in Parliament yesterday with opposition MPs claiming the situation was farcical.

Mr Anderton has been expelled from the Alliance but remains the parliamentary leader of the party until the election campaign.

The Progressive Coalition intends starting to enrol members from next week, but Mr Anderton and his supporting MPs will not sign up until Parliament is dissolved for the election to avoid being forced to resign from Parliament under party-hopping legislation.

National leader Bill English today described the situation as "a nonsense".

Mr Anderton said he was "not actively involved" in setting up the Progressive Coalition.

"The people who are active on the ground doing the work that they want to do to set up this party are volunteers, they are not employed by me...," he said.

- NZPA