KEY POINTS:
Broadcaster Tony Veitch agreed to pay $5000 to a women's anti-violence group as part of a confidential settlement with former lover Kristin Dunne-Powell.
Herald on Sunday inquiries have uncovered previously secret details about the legal negotiations between Veitch and Dunne-Powell, and the aftermath of the alleged assault in
January 2006, including:
Dunne-Powell initially sought $127,000 in October last year, then upped that to $150,000 after Veitch twice went back with lower offers;
Veitch also agreed to pay $5000 to a women's anti-violence group;
Details of a Valentine's Day encounter between Veitch and Dunne-Powell a month after the alleged assault;
Specific details of an anonymous letter sent to the parents of Veitch's wife, Zoe Halford, shortly before the couple celebrated their engagement last year.
On Thursday, Veitch resigned from his roles with TVNZ and the Radio Network after almost a fortnight of speculation over what happened in January 2006, who knew what, and why no action was taken against Veitch when he first raised the issue with his employers. Police also announced last week they were investigating and had received a complaint from Dunne-Powell.
In his only interview, Veitch confirmed last week to Paul Holmes in the Herald on Sunday that he continued to see Dunne-Powell now and then in the months after the alleged assault.
The newspaper can reveal today that one of those occasions was in February 2006 when Dunne-Powell turned up at Veitch's home with what Veitch describes as a surprise "Valentine's Day treat".
He said when he arrived home from his morning radio show that day Dunne-Powell was there waiting.
"A couple of weeks after the incident Kristin actually set up a Valentine's Day treat for me at my house, and when I got off air on radio I turned up and there was a massage table in the lounge room and she had cooked me breakfast and various other things, and [she] gave me a box of goodies that represented our relationship," Veitch said.
This week Veitch and Dunne-Powell refused to comment any further on the saga, but Herald on Sunday inquiries have confirmed their eventual financial settlement was not as straightforward as first thought.
In the months following the incident, Veitch paid up to $20,000 for rehabilitation and physio.
Well-placed sources have confirmed that on October 3 last year, the day Veitch left to cover the Rugby World Cup, he received a letter from Dunne-Powell's lawyers seeking a further $127,000 compensation.
Sources say Veitch went back to Dunne-Powell on November 29 with a counter offer of $40,000.
On December 5, that offer was rejected and a demand for $150,000 was made - $23,000 more than had been originally sought.
Six days later, sources say, Veitch made another counter offer, this time for $63,000.
On December 14, Dunne-Powell rejected that offer, and her lawyer told Veitch in a letter that discussions were at an end.
Three days later, Veitch met a senior TVNZ lawyer and executives Jeff Latch, Anthony Flannery and Peter Parussini where he said he told them about the January 2006 incident. There are questions about what exactly Veitch said at that meeting, but TVNZ says the matter was not regarded as serious enough to report it to chief executive Rick Ellis.
TVNZ chairman Sir John Anderson declined to comment yesterday about whether that had been the right decision, but did reiterate his belief that Veitch had made no mention of a physical assault at that meeting. Sir John's report is now with Broadcasting Minister Trevor Mallard.
After nearly three months of negotiations, the issue of compensation was finally settled on December 23 last year, when Veitch agreed to pay Dunne-Powell the $150,000. As part of the deal he agreed to also make a further $5000 contribution to a women's anti-violence group.
Meanwhile, early last year, Dunne-Powell had been asked about the alleged incident by journalist Stephen D'Antal.
He told the Herald on Sunday yesterday that at the time Dunne-Powell was "so shaky and frail". She had not complained to police.
D'Antal, who signed a confidentiality agreement at the time, said as far as he was concerned he had come to a "dead end" with the story.
Shortly before Veitch's engagement party in August last year, Paul and Glenys Halford received an anonymous letter warning them about their soon-to-be son-in-law.
Veitch said last week the letter arrived a week before the party and claimed he was a violent person.
"I don't care what anyone says about me but... to have somebody out there who could say I would attack... I've only had three girlfriends in my life, and my first one was the love of my life early on in Australia, my university girlfriend. This letter contained details that I had beaten her up and had assaulted my other girlfriend as well. And that to the day is the thing way beyond even this that is the most hurtful thing out of all this."
Veitch said he had a "heart-to-heart" with Paul Halford, explaining that he was not the person the letter made him out to be. He said the letter was false.
Dunne-Powell's father told the Weekend Herald she would definitely not have sent the letter.
D'Antal also said he had no knowledge of the letter and accused Veitch supporters of running a smear campaign to discredit Dunne-Powell, a claim supported by her former boss at Vodafone, Russell Stanners.
