NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Nats break-in: Business next door also had laptops stolen

RNZ
20 Jan, 2020 08:15 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Focus Live: National Party Spokesperson for Finance and Infrastructure Paul Goldsmith responds to the break-in that saw thieves take off with three laptops Monday morning
Focus Live: National Party Spokesperson for Finance and Infrastructure Paul Goldsmith responds to the break-in that saw thieves take off with three laptops Monday morning. ...
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
    • captions off, selected

      This is a modal window.

      Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

      Text
      Text Background
      Caption Area Background
      Font Size
      Text Edge Style
      Font Family

      End of dialog window.

      This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

      Fatal crash rocks community, Kiwirail imposes new rules | NZ Herald Morning Update

      UP NEXT:

      Autoplay in
      4
      Disable Autoplay
      Cancel Video
      Focus Live: National Party Spokesperson for Finance and Infrastructure Paul Goldsmith responds to the break-in that saw thieves take off with three laptops Monday morning.
      NOW PLAYING • Focus Live: National Party Spokesperson for Finance and Infrastructure Paul Goldsmith responds to the break-in that saw thieves take off with three laptops Monday morning
      Focus Live: National Party Spokesperson for Finance and Infrastructure Paul Goldsmith responds to the break-in that saw thieves take off with three laptops Monday morning. ...

      By Jo Moir of RNZ

      The National Party suspects dirty politics are at play after laptops were stolen from its headquarters, but a business next door was victim to the exact same crime a couple of months ago.

      An employee of Brunton New Zealand - an accounting software company - told RNZ the Auckland business had several laptops stolen late last year in similar circumstances.

      Both Brunton New Zealand and the National Party headquarters have offices on the busy Great South Road in Greenlane.

      The two buildings side-by-side are separated by a driveway and have clear signage advertising their offices from the road.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.
      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Now both have had three laptops stolen after somebody also jimmied a window open to get entry to National's offices on Sunday night.

      The party's deputy leader Paula Bennett said the fact it was an election year couldn't be ignored.

      "It's incredibly concerning and I've got to say it looks pretty sinister and suspicious and not a good start to an election year where we'd rather be talking about the issues that affect New Zealanders, but it seems others have other ideas.''

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      But a woman who works for Brunton New Zealand isn't convinced and told the party so.

      "I did tell them, I told the guy at the National office, I said 'well we had the same thing happen to us a few months ago','' she said.

      She was surprised when she heard speculation about it being politically motivated.

      "Yea, I just wanted them to know I don't think it could be that because we had the same thing happen to us.

      Discover more

      New Zealand|politics

      'F*** off back to Russia': Political message to PM on farmer's field

      19 Jan 01:36 AM
      New Zealand|crime

      National Party's Auckland HQ burgled overnight

      19 Jan 08:58 PM
      New Zealand|crime

      Gangs and gun licences: Police minister's plan to rein in Napier shootings

      22 Jan 11:52 PM
      New Zealand|politics

      'Highly suspicious': National suspects foul play in office burglary

      20 Jan 01:30 AM

      "And a lot of businesses it's happening with, that area down there, it's probably quite easy to break into too with those windows,'' she said.

      Senior National MP Paul Goldsmith also has an office at the headquarters, which wasn't targeted in the burglary.

      National Party Headquarters on Great South Road. Photo / RNZ
      National Party Headquarters on Great South Road. Photo / RNZ

      Like the Brunton New Zealand burglary, other valuable items including bottles of wine were left behind.

      He worries the burglary is the beginning of something much worse.

      "We just want to spend election year talking about things that matter to New Zealanders - it's about a growing economy, delivering on promises and so forth and what worries us is that this is a signal about the sorts of politics that will be played this year.

      "It's early days, I'm not making any accusation against anybody in particular but to have three laptops stolen from party offices in Auckland is disturbing,'' he said.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      Asked whether he thought whoever stole the laptops was after party secrets, he said:

      "Well, that's a distinct possibility, so we'll have to wait and see.''

      The Labour Party's campaign chair Megan Woods didn't wanted to be interviewed but said in a statement "if it were found to be politically motivated it would be highly concerning and totally unacceptable".

      She said, "that's not how politics is done in New Zealand".

      Senior Labour MP and Trade Minister David Parker highly doubted it was politically driven.

      "I'm quite sure there will have been no involvement from some of the main political parties of which I'm aware.

      Advertisement
      Advertise with NZME.

      "I'd be very surprised if there was anything gone wrong there but I suppose it's always possible, as they found in the United States at times," Parker said.

      "I can only really speak for the party of which I'm a part and I'm sure we would have no part in it.''

      The burglary comes just a week after the headquarters was the target of anti-Chinese propaganda aimed at National MP Jian Yang, who also has an office in the building.

      Focus: Thieves steal laptops from National Party HQ
      Focus: Thieves steal laptops from National Party HQ. ...
      Video Player is loading.
      Current Time 0:00
      /
      Duration 0:00
      Loaded: 0%
      0:00
      Stream Type LIVE
      Remaining Time -0:00
       
      1x
        • Chapters
        • descriptions off, selected
        • captions settings, opens captions settings dialog
        • captions off, selected

          This is a modal window.

          Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

          Text
          Text Background
          Caption Area Background
          Font Size
          Text Edge Style
          Font Family

          End of dialog window.

          This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

          Fatal crash rocks community, Kiwirail imposes new rules | NZ Herald Morning Update

          UP NEXT:

          NOW PLAYING • Focus: Thieves steal laptops from National Party HQ
          Focus: Thieves steal laptops from National Party HQ. ...

          Bennett said it was dangerous to speculate on whether the two incidents were connected, but said it seemed very suspicious.

          While police continued their investigations Bennett said the party would look to beef up its security at the headquarters.

          - RNZ

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.
          Save

            Share this article

          Latest from New Zealand

          New Zealand

          Should teen rapist be sentenced as a youth he was at the time, or the adult he is now?

          Sport

          All Black legend shares new health update after shock gym collapse

          Crime

          AK-47, heroin and explosives: The surprise stash inside former teen killer's home


          Sponsored

          Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          Recommended for you

          Relax, Dine And Dream At The Ultimate Winter Escape
          Sponsored Stories

          Relax, Dine And Dream At The Ultimate Winter Escape

          Tactix book ANZ final spot with comeback win over Pulse
          Netball

          Tactix book ANZ final spot with comeback win over Pulse

          'Hazardous' tsunami warnings after 7.4 magnitude quake strikes off Russia's coast
          World

          'Hazardous' tsunami warnings after 7.4 magnitude quake strikes off Russia's coast

          Halasima scores stunning solo match-winning try to beat Knights
          Warriors

          Halasima scores stunning solo match-winning try to beat Knights

          Should teen rapist be sentenced as a youth he was at the time, or the adult he is now?
          New Zealand

          Should teen rapist be sentenced as a youth he was at the time, or the adult he is now?

          Financial mentors warn of $300m debt risk in family payment changes
          Politics

          Financial mentors warn of $300m debt risk in family payment changes



          Latest from New Zealand

          Should teen rapist be sentenced as a youth he was at the time, or the adult he is now?
          New Zealand

          Should teen rapist be sentenced as a youth he was at the time, or the adult he is now?

          The Supreme Court is being asked if it was fair to sentence him as an adult.

          20 Jul 08:00 AM
          All Black legend shares new health update after shock gym collapse
          Sport

          All Black legend shares new health update after shock gym collapse

          20 Jul 06:08 AM
          AK-47, heroin and explosives: The surprise stash inside former teen killer's home
          Crime

          AK-47, heroin and explosives: The surprise stash inside former teen killer's home

          20 Jul 06:00 AM


          Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
          Sponsored

          Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

          06 Jul 09:47 PM

          NZ Herald
          • About NZ Herald
          • Meet the journalists
          • Newsletters
          • Classifieds
          • Help & support
          • Contact us
          • House rules
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of use
          • Competition terms & conditions
          • Our use of AI
          Subscriber Services
          • NZ Herald e-editions
          • Daily puzzles & quizzes
          • Manage your digital subscription
          • Manage your print subscription
          • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
          • Subscribe to Herald Premium
          • Gift a subscription
          • Subscriber FAQs
          • Subscription terms & conditions
          • Promotions and subscriber benefits
          NZME Network
          • The New Zealand Herald
          • The Northland Age
          • The Northern Advocate
          • Waikato Herald
          • Bay of Plenty Times
          • Rotorua Daily Post
          • Hawke's Bay Today
          • Whanganui Chronicle
          • Viva
          • NZ Listener
          • Newstalk ZB
          • BusinessDesk
          • OneRoof
          • Driven Car Guide
          • iHeart Radio
          • Restaurant Hub
          NZME
          • About NZME
          • NZME careers
          • Advertise with NZME
          • Digital self-service advertising
          • Book your classified ad
          • Photo sales
          • NZME Events
          • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
          TOP
          search by queryly Advanced Search