Election 2020: Billy TK sets lawyers on ex-member claiming party boss is a 'CIA Agent'

Billy Te Kahika Jr of the NZ Public Party joins the Kotahitanga Movement Aotearoa march through Whangarei last month. Photo / Tania Whyte

Lawyers acting for the controversial NZ Public Party threatened an ex-party member with defamation after they allegedly claimed the party's director was a "CIA agent".

The letter, and other pieces of financial information, was released by party co-leader Billy Te Kahika this afternoon.

The documents included the amounts in donations the party received at events across the country – the largest amount was $18,000 from an event at Auckland's Logan Campbell Centre.

It also raised $12,000 at an event in Tauranga, the documents show.

That was where the party announced it had merged with Advance NZ for the election.

It also listed advertising, travel and other expenses by the Public Party. The released records show the party spent about $63,700 and received $65,000 in donations between June and August.

The names of donors are not included: parties only need to disclose donors who give more than $15,000.

The release was in response to questions from a Stuff journalist who Te Kahika said had been leaked some outdated internal financial documents.

Te Kahika said the information in question was "an incomplete first draft" and was provided to the journalist by an ex-party member.

The Herald has not seen this information.

To prevent what he called an "information spin" by the reporter in question, he released some of the party's finances as well as two letters lawyers acting for the party sent to the ex-party member.

That letter shows Te Kahika instructed his lawyers to tell that person to stop telling people that Party Director Michael Stace was a "CIA agent" and that the party was formed for "nefarious reasons".

There were a number of other "defamatory allegations" against Te Kahika that the letter detailed.

Those allegations, the lawyers' letter said, were "untrue and defamatory".

If these allegations continue to be made, Te Kahika has instructed his lawyers to issue proceedings for defamation.

As well as sending the information in a press release to media, the party also released it on their website and Facebook page.

In July the Public Party joined up with Jami Lee Ross' Advance NZ Party for the purposes of the election, but the two parties remain separate within the broader party.

Last month, Advance NZ disclosed a donation of $65,600 from Rubicon Crossing – a registered company that Companies Office shows was set up in May and is co-owned by Kahika and Stace.

A trust deed included in the release says Rubicon Crossing's role was to look after the party's finances, including collecting donations and paying expenses.