ACC Minister Judith Collins says she's taking defamation proceedings against two Labour MPs and a news organisation. She says they have defamed her outside of Parliament, but won’t name them. Ms Collins says she takes her reputation seriously, which is why she is launching proceedings today.© 2012 MediaWorks TV
Labour wants a QC or a judge to hold an inquiry into the leaked email. There's a political firestorm around the email because only four people are known to have had access to it - Ms Collins, a member of her staff, ACC chairman John Judge and chief executive Ralph Stewart. Ms Collins says her office didn't leak it to the media and Mr Judge says it didn't come from ACC. The email detailed a meeting ACC claimant Bronwyn Pullar had with corporation officials, and was sent to Ms Collins by former National Party president Michelle Boag who was helping Ms Pullar with her claim.
Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff is going to investigate the leak but Labour MP Trevor Mallard says that's not good enough. He says the investigation should be raised to the level of a full ministerial inquiry.
"The privacy commissioner can't put people under oath or require information in the way a QC or a judge doing a ministerial inquiry could," he said on Thursday.
"We need someone with those powers to conduct and organise a proper inquiry."
Ms Collins has told parliament the leak didn't come from her office but she's admitted a hard copy of the email was printed.
"We now have electronic copies and hard copies running around and we need someone who can look at faxes, emails and text messages," Mr Mallard said.
He disclosed to Radio New Zealand on Thursday that he's been receiving information for a year from a source who knows about "internal things within the National Party" and hinted he knew more about the email than had been revealed so far.
http://www.3news.co.nz/Collins-launches-defamation-cases-over-ACC-scandal/tabid/1607/articleID/248463/Default.aspx
No comments:
Post a Comment