Supporters demand Tamihere comeback

Helen Clark's plan to delay John Tamihere's return to the Cabinet until after the election will be battled by his supporters, who claim he is entitled to be restored immediately.

But Mr Tamihere, who is assessing just how much leverage he really has, was diplomatic yesterday about the Prime Minister's intentions.

Serious Fraud Office director David Bradshaw yesterday cleared Mr Tamihere of allegations of financial irregularities while he was chief executive of West Auckland's Waipareira Trust.

"The evidence in relation to his involvement in the matters that I have investigated does not support the laying of charges."

The SFO has, however, laid three charges relating to false invoices and irregularities in the handling of poker machine money against his former chief financial officer, Mike Tolich.

Other charges will also be laid against a second defendant, who has name suppression and will appear in court on April 17.

Mr Tamihere resigned from the Cabinet in November after admitting accepting a golden handshake he earlier said he wouldn't take and while two inquiries were conducted into claims of financial misconduct.

Helen Clark said then that she was keeping his position open, but during a Cabinet reshuffle in December she reallocated his portfolios and signalled he would not be returned to the Cabinet after the election if cleared.

Mr Tamihere reacted angrily to that and was a day later effectively cleared of serious wrongdoing by the first inquiry, conducted by Queen's Counsel Douglas White.

Helen Clark then appeared to take a more conciliatory approach, leaving open questions about the timing of his return if cleared by the SFO.

Yesterday she said Mr Tamihere and his family had had a "terrible time" and had now been vindicated.

She wanted him "back working at the highest levels of the Labour Party" but said "it may well be that that's after the election, given that is reasonably close".

Asked if she was saying definitively he wouldn't be back until after the election, she reiterated: "The question is one of timing."

The Herald understands a return before the election is unlikely, despite the PM's open-ended statement. The Government is aware the SFO court case could see the spotlight refocused on Mr Tamihere and is unwilling to risk the potential for further negative headlines on the issue in the run-up to the election.

The pair discussed the SFO findings yesterday, but are understood to have avoided the Cabinet subject.

Mr Tamihere said he was pleased with the findings and was looking forward to "being on the front foot for a change".

Asked whether he believed he should be immediately returned to the Cabinet, he said only: "Everyone has expectations of advancement in this joint [Parliament]."

But his supporters suggested there would be a push to have him returned to the Cabinet before the election. He had resigned quietly last year on the understanding a place had been left open for him if he was declared innocent.

The supporters said he would play a key role for Labour fighting for the retention of the Maori seats and also had the public behind him.

Mr Tolich, who appeared in the Auckland District Court yesterday and did not make a plea, was also Mr Tamihere's electorate chairman until the middle of last year.

He refused to comment, referring questions to his lawyer, who could not be reached.

Waipareira Trust deputy chair Naida Glavish said the result had to be accepted, "but if he [Mr Tamihere] wasn't a member of Parliament in a sitting Government the outcome may have been very different".

Although he was not found to have broken the law, there were moral issues that were still unresolved, Mrs Glavish said.

Act leader Rodney Hide, who led the accusations against Mr Tamihere in Parliament, was unrepentant, saying "Helen Clark knows John Tamihere can't be trusted".

The allegations

* Mr Tamihere has been cleared of allegations of financial irregularities while running the Waipareira Trust.

* He stood down from his ministerial positions last year after allegations about his taking a $195,000 tax-free payout from the trust and about financial mismanagement.

* These allegations included claims false invoices had been issued.