Dunne breaks silence by taking to Twitter

Prime Minister John Key forced Mr Dunne to resign. Photo / Mark Mitchell

United Future leader Peter Dunne has broken nearly two weeks of silence and is back on Twitter, but steering away from the scandal that ended his ministerial career.

Mr Dunne said on Twitter that a magnificent rainbow over Wellington at present could be a good omen of thing to come.

Mr Dunne resigned 11 days ago and told Newstalk ZB he had had a tough time since his resignation but had received an overwhelming level of support.

He still maintains he did not leak the Kitteridge report but wouldn't expand to Newstalk ZB who could have been behind the leak.

"No I don't, and I don't really want to comment on this issue at all until the matter of the privileges hearing is resolved.

"It would be improper for me to comment while the Speaker's still considering a privileges case,'' he told Newstalk ZB.

He said he would not be backing National MP Jami-Lee Ross's bill allowing employers to hire contract workers when their employees go on strike.

Mr Dunne said it was a step too far and he thought the right to strike was an important part of industrial law.

"I think this is really the Ports of Auckland Bill, frankly. And while I understand the motivation behind it, I think it's too big of a sledgehammer to deal with this specific issue.

"I think that there will be people who will misuse it, and I think that's detrimental.''

Meanwhile, the board of the Electoral Commission will meet tomorrow to consider the process for re-registration of the United Future Party.

The party was deregistered after Dunne said he could not guarantee it had 500 members.

United Future asked the commission to change its procedures and accept electronic evidence of the party's membership, rather than having to provide paper copies of membership forms.