Cullen apologises after roads meeting

Finance Minister Michael Cullen has personally apologised to Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett about Labour Party president Mike Williams' behaviour at a meeting on road building.

Relations have soured between the Government and Auckland business lobby groups after the Beehive meeting last Tuesday.

The meeting is understood to have been called after Labour learned of a Northern Employers and Manufacturers Association plan for a campaign highlighting a lack of progress on Auckland roads.

A draft of the association's campaign strategy was leaked to Labour, outlining what the party called a highly political drive aimed at the run-up to the election.

Last week, Labour bought the rights to a website - www.revupthegovt.co.nz (see link below) - cited in the strategy.

Yesterday in Parliament, National transport spokesman Maurice Williamson stoked the issue further, asking why Dr Cullen had arrived unannounced at Mr Barnett's Auckland office last Friday to apologise.

Dr Cullen's office confirmed he apologised for Mr Williams' "behaviour" at the Tuesday meeting.

The issue could raise fresh questions about Mr Williams after he helped to fuel expectations before last month's Budget by referring to a "deep, dark secret".

Mr Williams said last night that he was unaware of the apology and it surprised him, but he would not take the issue up with Dr Cullen.

"I don't feel that I have anything to apologise for," he said. "I thought the meeting was called on false pretences.

"There was an anti-Government campaign on roads being plotted and that wasn't revealed to the meeting, and I certainly didn't become aware of it until after the meeting."

Mr Williamson told Parliament that Mr Williams had made a "complete clown of himself" at the meeting.

He cited a letter written by Mr Barnett to Dr Cullen after the meeting which said: "At an early point it became very clear that the Transit board member Mike Williams did not accept the evidence of huge slippage in Transit NZ timelines and believes work programmes have been accelerated; in short, that Transit is delivering good outcomes.

"Nothing could be further from the truth, despite his assurances that each of the projects I listed had now begun."

Mr Williamson said Mr Williams then left early and did something "despicable" by leaking a version of its outcome to the Herald, which then portrayed Mr Barnett as rolling over to the Government.

Mr Barnett could not be contacted last night.

The cost of the employers' campaign is said to be $200,000, although the Herald understands more is now being sought from Auckland business groups.

The association has been unrepentant about the campaign, but said the leaked strategy was a draft and it never intended to use the web address.

Another address - www.revup.co.nz - would be used.