By FRANCESCA MOLD political reporter
Parliament's master leaker has been beaten at his own game.
Act MP Rodney Hide is famous for his ability to obtain and selectively leak documents which embarrass the Government and raise questions about state-owned enterprises.
But Labour MP John Tamihere surprised the king of leaks yesterday with the
news that he had obtained private emails between Mr Hide and an unidentified source who offered to dripfeed the MP information to attack Transend, a subsidiary of New Zealand Post.
An email from xtransend@hotmail.com to Rodney. Hide@xtra.co.nz discusses an inquiry into the behaviour of Transend employees and the amount spent on offices in Madrid and Britain.
It suggests questions Mr Hide could put to NZ Post before the finance and expenditure committee.
"Go for it, Rodney!!! When you do get them back in front of the committee, then let me know and I'll give you some more info - there is plenty of it," said the email.
Mr Hide has roasted NZ Post officials for months over Transend's troubled contract with the South African Government.
He also caused NZ Post to be referred to the privileges committee to answer accusations of misleading MPs by denying possession of a report which Mr Hide later tabled.
Mr Tamihere told Parliament that the emails and other documents he had obtained, including correspondence with a Maltese journalist, exposed Mr Hide's "modus operandi" and his "premeditated disembowelling" of one of the country's largest SOEs.
Mr Hide had moved from scrutiny of the SOE to a form of "treachery".
Mr Hide said Mr Tamihere was a "nutcase".
He said his investigation of NZ Post had resulted in the entire finance and expenditure committee agreeing there was a need to question the agency further.
Labour MPs were trying to shut him down because they were afraid of what he might discover.
Mr Tamihere's attack was followed up by his colleague Clayton Cosgrove, who again raised questions about Mr Hide's guest speaker role at a Fiji conference for an investment seminar that lost up to 300 New Zealanders about $10 million.
Mr Cosgrove said a politician of Mr Hide's experience should have checked the "bona fides" of the conference.
Act leader Richard Prebble refused permission for Mr Tamihere to table the documents in Parliament yesterday.
He defended Mr Hide, who was not in the House, saying he had raised valid questions about NZ Post's operations.
