KEY POINTS:
I was really surprised last night to learn that the Starship Foundation is now rejecting New Zealand First's $158,000 cheque, but not half as surprised as New Zealand First will be.
It is a complete embarrassment for the party and one for the public relations 101 manual.
The party thought
it could make a virtue out of its tardiness in repaying the amount identified by the Auditor General over a year ago as the parliamentary funds having been unlawfully spent by the party in the 2005 election.
A few commentators thought it was a stunt of pure genius. More like a belligerent leader who took a year to be persuaded to do the right thing, then decided to do it his way.
But with a damning editorial in yesterday's Herald and talkback pushing the view it was "stolen" money that should be returned to Parliamentary Service, NZ First's cheque has bounced back and its virtue has been exposed for the cheap publicity stunt it was.
Winston Peters has already assumed his default position and is blaming the media - anyone but himself.
Kiwiblog now wants to dissuade other charities from accepting the money:
Someone should set up an online petition we can sign saying we will never ever donate to whatever charity accepts his money as it is morally owed to the taxpayer.
Clearly someone did not do the checks on the cheque when NZ First rang up Starship on Tuesday night to say Winston would be swinging by with photographer on Wednesday to drop off the giant cheque.
Only yesterday we had the foundation, the fundraising arms for Starship, adamantly refusing to send the money back to New Zealand First.
The story was based on quotes from Andrew Young, CEO of the foundation, a respected former colleague at the Herald who unfortunately turned to public relations (I'm sure he and the foundation do great work though why a state-run hospital should need a charity to rely on best equipment is a mystery).
Andrew was certain the foundation would not be returning the money unless it were an unlawful donation - and there is no suggestion of that.
The obligation on political parties to repay the money has always been a moral one. After Parliament passed validating legislation last year, the unlawful expenditure by virtually all parties in Parliament was legalised.
Except for the Maori Party and National, they've kicked and screamed every step of the way.
Andrew said the NZ First cheque would go towards paediatric research and that the foundation did not want to get involved in the politics of it.
His boss, chairman Bryan Mogridge, however, was out of the country at the time and has returned home, and returned the cheque.
Mogridge is no stranger to being the centre of a political stoush. He endured months of grief as former chairman of the Tourism Board under the McCully ministerial regime. Maybe he didn't want Starship to be political fodder. Who can blame him?