Labour leader Andrew Little was unaware of journalist's unpaid bill

Labour leader Andrew Little. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Emails between NBR columnist David Cohen and Labour's chief of staff Matt McCarten show Mr McCarten was asked about an unpaid bill for Mr Little's leadership campaign a month before Mr Little was told - something Mr Little admitted took him by surprise.

Emails between NBR columnist David Cohen and Mr McCarten show Mr Cohen sent the invoice to Mr McCarten on December 22 and asked him to try to get payment.

That was a month before Mr Little said he was told the invoice was outstanding at the end of January.

The email chain, released by Mr Cohen to 3 News, show Mr Cohen sent several emails to Mr McCarten chasing up the payment over the next two months with little success.

The invoice was for consulting work Mr Cohen did for Mr Little in October as part of his leadership campaign.

Asked whether he would be surprised to learn Mr McCarten had known a month earlier, Mr Little said "yes, that would be a surprise to me."

Mr Little said the first he knew that the invoice was not paid was at the end of January.

He had asked for the invoice and paid it on Tuesday this week - the same day Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce mocked him in Parliament for it and almost three weeks after he was told about it.

Mr McCarten did not wish to comment today, but Mr Little defended him, saying the campaign was his own responsibility and was in his capacity as a Labour Party member rather than the leader or an MP. "He [McCarten] was caught in the middle of volunteers trying to sort out a situation."

He admitted there had been a delay "but once I knew there was an invoice, I paid pretty much as quickly as I could."

Mr Cohen had approached Mr McCarten directly after several failed attempts to get payment from Mr Little's volunteer campaign manager.

The email chain, obtained by 3 News, shows Mr McCarten replied that he would take it up with Mr Little. However a fortnight later on January 5, Mr Cohen again emailed Mr McCarten to say he had not been paid. Mr McCarten, a former unionist, replied he would make it a priority: "every worker must be paid for work they are asked to do."

Mr McCarten said it was not his role, given it was not Parliamentary or even party related work.

Mr Cohen sent several further emails over the next three weeks until February 12. That was after Mr Little's State of the Nation address which focused on the needs of small business and the self-employed. Mr Cohen observed he had now been waiting for four months "even as [Little] gives keynote speeches on the challenges faced by small business."

Timeline:
- October: David Cohen provides consulting work for Andrew Little as part of leadership campaign.
- 10 November: Cohen sends invoice to campaign manager.
- 1 December: Cohen emails campaign manager again
- 22 December: Cohen emails invoice to Little's chief of staff, Matt McCarten. McCarten replies: "I will take this up with Andrew."
- 5 January: Cohen emails again. McCarten replies: "Every worker must be paid for work they are asked to do." A few further emails are sent over January.
- Late January: Little says he is told the invoice hasn't been paid.
- February 12: Cohen emails McCarten again and writes article in NBR about it.
- February 17: Steven Joyce mocks Little about it, Little pays the bill.