NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Audrey Young: Just when Simon Bridges had turned a corner, along comes Serious Fraud Office probe

Audrey Young
By Audrey Young
Senior Political Correspondent·NZ Herald·
11 Mar, 2019 11:39 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
    • captions off, selected

      This is a modal window.

      Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

      Text
      Text Background
      Caption Area Background
      Font Size
      Text Edge Style
      Font Family

      End of dialog window.

      This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

      Autoplay in
      3
      Disable Autoplay
      Cancel Video
      Simon Bridges says it won't effect him personally but there is never a good time to be referred to the SFO. Police have referred Jami-Lee Ross' complaint about National's election donations to the Serious Fraud Office.
      Audrey Young
      Opinion by Audrey Young
      Audrey Young, Senior Political Correspondent at the New Zealand Herald based at Parliament, specialises in writing about politics and power.
      Learn more

      COMMENT: Let's face it, there is never a good time to be referred to the Serious Fraud Office.

      And there may certainly have been a worse time for the National Party to be referred to the SFO - a month before a general election, for example.

      But the decision by police to refer a complaint about donations made by ex-National MP Jami-Lee Ross to the SFO will be damaging - no matter what the outcome and especially now.

      It comes at a time when leader Simon Bridges was starting to gain traction against Jacinda Ardern over the proposed capital gains tax.

      And it comes at a time when Ardern has been forced to defend some pretty D-grade behaviour by New Zealand First minister Shane Jones.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Ironically, this week was probably the strongest Bridges has looked in his job since his parliamentary travel expenses were leaked on August 13 last year - most likely by Jami-Lee Ross if the evidence is correct.

      Following the setbacks of last year, expelling Ross from the caucus for gross disloyalty, and the setbacks from polling results in January and February, Bridges looked to be in recovery mode.

      It now appears to be a case of one step forward, three steps back. Despite his composure moments after reading the police press statement, it will have hit Bridges like a 10-tonne truck.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      That is not to suggest that Simon Bridges has done anything criminal, or even wrong, but there is no avoiding the stigma of having the SFO looking into your party's affairs.

      Just ask Winston Peters, who was subject to an SFO inquiry in 2008 over electoral donations which, together with an unrelated privileges committee hearing into his non-disclosure of a $100,000 donation from Sir Owen Glenn, saw Peters and New Zealand First tipped out of Parliament at the 2008 election.

      It may be months before the result of SFO inquiries are known and the stigma will give Bridges no clear air.

      Given the relationship between the police and Jami-Lee Ross, it may have been advisable for the police to have transferred the case to the SFO earlier.

      Discover more

      New Zealand|politics

      Natalie Bridges' verdict on her husband: 'A dirty little street fighter'

      01 Mar 04:00 PM
      Tax

      Matthew Hooton: CGT debate shows Ardern's weakness

      07 Mar 04:00 PM
      New Zealand|politics

      Capital Gains Tax could affect 400,000 lifestyle blocks: Simon Bridges

      10 Mar 03:21 AM
      New Zealand|politics

      'Every time I'm told I'm wrong, I come up with something': Ross on SFO probe

      12 Mar 12:41 AM

      The SFO's mandate extends to cases deemed to be in the public interest and this certainly fits the bill.

      The police is the only organisation which can confirm 100 per cent that the phone used to leak Bridges' travel expenses last year belonged to Ross.

      They were able to track down the culprit and assure Bridges that the leaker had necessary support for mental health issues.

      Bridges' inquiry into the leak showed that, on the same day police gave him those assurances about the health of the leaker, Jami-Lee Ross had been in repeated phone contact with the police in his area.

      The National Party caucus will reserve judgment on Bridges until the case is resolved one way or the other. Whether the public will do the same for National is more unlikely.

      Save

        Share this article

      Latest from New Zealand

      New Zealand

      One person dead after two-car crash in Canterbury town

      13 Jul 06:30 AM
      AucklandUpdated

      'Our energy market is broken': Letter from industry bodies asks PM for urgent reforms

      13 Jul 06:00 AM
      Athletics

      Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

      From early mornings to easy living

      sponsored
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Recommended for you
      'Our energy market is broken': Letter from influential organisations ask PM for urgent reforms
      Auckland

      'Our energy market is broken': Letter from influential organisations ask PM for urgent reforms

      13 Jul 06:00 AM
      Roads closed in Auckland suburb after motorist dies behind wheel
      New Zealand

      Roads closed in Auckland suburb after motorist dies behind wheel

      13 Jul 05:00 AM
      Tauranga's Sam Ruthe breaks two NZ records in LA
      Bay of Plenty Times

      Tauranga's Sam Ruthe breaks two NZ records in LA

      13 Jul 04:58 AM
      Machete-wielding man shot dead by police at Sydney shopping centre
      World

      Machete-wielding man shot dead by police at Sydney shopping centre

      13 Jul 04:52 AM
      Warriors bounce back with big win over Wests Tigers
      Warriors

      Warriors bounce back with big win over Wests Tigers

      13 Jul 04:50 AM

      Latest from New Zealand

      One person dead after two-car crash in Canterbury town

      One person dead after two-car crash in Canterbury town

      13 Jul 06:30 AM

      The Serious Crash Unit will undertake a scene examination.

      'Our energy market is broken': Letter from industry bodies asks PM for urgent reforms

      'Our energy market is broken': Letter from industry bodies asks PM for urgent reforms

      13 Jul 06:00 AM
      Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

      Sam Ruthe breaks NZ records in LA

      Roads closed in Auckland suburb after motorist dies behind wheel

      Roads closed in Auckland suburb after motorist dies behind wheel

      13 Jul 05:00 AM
      Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
      sponsored

      Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

      NZ Herald
      • About NZ Herald
      • Meet the journalists
      • Newsletters
      • Classifieds
      • Help & support
      • Contact us
      • House rules
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms of use
      • Competition terms & conditions
      • Our use of AI
      Subscriber Services
      • NZ Herald e-editions
      • Daily puzzles & quizzes
      • Manage your digital subscription
      • Manage your print subscription
      • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
      • Subscribe to Herald Premium
      • Gift a subscription
      • Subscriber FAQs
      • Subscription terms & conditions
      • Promotions and subscriber benefits
      NZME Network
      • The New Zealand Herald
      • The Northland Age
      • The Northern Advocate
      • Waikato Herald
      • Bay of Plenty Times
      • Rotorua Daily Post
      • Hawke's Bay Today
      • Whanganui Chronicle
      • Viva
      • NZ Listener
      • Newstalk ZB
      • BusinessDesk
      • OneRoof
      • Driven Car Guide
      • iHeart Radio
      • Restaurant Hub
      NZME
      • About NZME
      • NZME careers
      • Advertise with NZME
      • Digital self-service advertising
      • Book your classified ad
      • Photo sales
      • NZME Events
      • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
      TOP
      search by queryly Advanced Search