Chapman rejects claims he knew of leaky buildings problem

Former National Party president Sir George Chapman has rejected claims made in Parliament that he knew about the leaking building problem while he was chairman of the Building Industry Authority from 1992 to 2000.

Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins said both Sir George and chief executive Dr Bill Porteous knew of the issue, but Sir George said he understood that the first time the board learned of the problem was August last year.