PM defends use of cars in campaign

Key says ministers need to stay mobile, accuses rivals of ganging up on National.

Prime Minister John Key has defended his ministers' use of the taxpayer-funded Crown car service to campaign in the Northland byelection, saying it was within the rules and all the Opposition parties were ganging up on National.

Under Parliament's rules, ordinary MPs who go to Northland to campaign can use taxpayer-funded flights but must pay for their own ground transport and accommodation. However, the rules for ministers state they can use the expensive Crown car service "at any time for any purpose, at the minister's discretion". Only the rules for expenses such as meals specify that it should be for "ministerial purposes" and cost-effective.

The ministers are on high rotation in the electorate as National tries to fend off NZ First leader Winston Peters. The use of Crown cars gives National's campaign a resource the candidates do not have. Mr Key said it was commonplace to use Crown cars in campaigns. He said ministers were spending a lot of time on the campaign, saying that was partly because of the Opposition parties united behind Mr Peters and National had to focus on keeping its majority strong.

He said MPs who were not ministers had been told to pay for themselves or stay with friends while campaigning.

Mr Peters said none of his campaign was taxpayer funded and it was inappropriate for National's ministers to justify using the cars by claiming a ministerial purpose.

"They are throwing round members of Parliament willy nilly, and they have abused the rules in the extreme because they've always believed in one law for them and a different rule for anyone else."

Of the ministers spoken to, only Paula Bennett said she had used private transport when in Northland and would continue to do so because the main purpose of the visit was to support National's candidate Mark Osborne in the byelection.

Ms Bennett will be on a "road show" for a few days with Mr Osborne this week.

National's campaign chairman, Steven Joyce, has spent a lot of time in the electorate and a spokeswoman confirmed he was using taxpayer-funded flights and the Crown car service. He paid for the one night's accommodation he had used so far out of his own pocket.