Peters renews attack on Act's 'creative' schemes

By AUDREY YOUNG political reporter

Another complaint against Act has been made to the Auditor-General, Kevin Brady, by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.

Mr Peters yesterday complained that $6000 of taxpayers' money had been spent on rent for a Wellington electorate office and paid to a company owned by Act leader Richard Prebble, when it had been suggested that the office had not been properly used as such.

Mr Peters last week sought an inquiry by the Auditor-General's office into a staffing scheme run by Act.

The scheme allowed about six staff in the last parliamentary term to be paid as out-of-Parliament "electorate agents" when they were working virtually full-time in Parliament as researchers and press officers.

The Wellington "electorate office" was set up in an office in a townhouse owned by the company Kuble, jointly owned by Mr Prebble and his wife, Doreen.

Mr Prebble said last Saturday that their company, Kuble, had been paid rental of $3000 a year for two years. Another office in the same block was getting $8000 a year.

He had stopped charging rent after the election because it had been too much of a hassle to draw up an agreement.

In a letter to Mr Brady, Mr Peters said: "The Act political party's creative arrangements to use public monies for political purposes should be thoroughly investigated."

Act deputy leader Ken Shirley said there were no grounds on which to investigate and the staffing arrangements were within the rules.

Electorate agents worked from that office, Mr Shirley said.

There was an important difference between "from," "at," or "in" an office.

"The requirement for your electorate agent funding is that they do not work within the precincts of Parliament and that they are based from an electorate office."

But they could, for example, be at an A and P show and working from the office.

"They do not have to be for those allocated hours fully 'in' or 'at' the electorate office. They are working 'from' it, a very important distinction.

"We are not opposed to the Auditor-General having a look at it all. But we don't think there is any case to answer."

If an inquiry were held, it should look at all electorate office funding, he said.

Meanwhile, the cross-party Parliamentary Service Commission chaired by Speaker Jonathan Hunt may not now discuss the Act scheme until next week.

It has a special meeting today to discuss MPs' entitlements but both Labour and Green MPs want the commission to invite an Auditor-General's inquiry into the Act scheme.

The story so far

* Reports of Act's "electorate agent" staffing scheme have prompted a complaint to the Auditor-General.

* Electorate agents were supposedly based in electorate office but worked almost full-time at Parliament

* Some agents were not given key to the office

* The electorate office is in the apartment of Act leader Richard Prebble, who was paid $6000 in rent over two years.

* Mr Prebble defends the staffing arrangement as an efficient use of taxpayers' money