New Zealand First leader Winston Peters calls for big scalps over super leak

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters wants high profile heads to roll over leaked details of his superannuation overpayment. Photo / Dean Purcell

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is calling for two Government ministers, an experienced Beehive staffer and a commissioner to resign over leaks about his pension overpayment.

Details emerged at the weekend about an error in the senior leader's superannuation payments that saw him collect the wrong amount for the past seven years.

Peters claimed it was an error made by the Ministry of Social Development at the time he applied for his pension. When he was told about the mistake on July 24 he immediately repaid the amount but won't say how much it was.

Last night Peters said at an election finance debate in Queenstown he was the victim of a conspiracy and those who knew about his overpayment had fallen foul of privacy laws.

Fairfax reported when he was asked if Social Development Minister Anne Tolley, State Services Minister Paula Bennett, State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes and Prime Minister Bill English's chief of staff, Wayne Eagleson, should lose their jobs he replied: "Of course they should".

"They're all in breach of the privacy laws of this country and there has to be consequences - they have just been so badly caught out," he told Fairfax.

Tolley and Bennett say they were made aware of the overpayment by the commissioner but did not tell anyone.

Last night Finance Minister Steven Joyce categorically denied the leak came from the Beehive.

But Peters claimed the National Party ''broke the law and they're not going to get away from it''.

At least two investigations are under way examining the way the information was handled including the possibility the leak was by a public servant.

Peters ignored a call from ACT leader David Seymour to make all his correspondence about the matter public. - additional reporting ODT