Bronwyn Pullar, the woman who cost senior Cabinet Minister Nick Smith his job this week, has apologised to him this afternoon. In a statement she said she was "very sorry" Dr Smith resigned yesterday, saying it was an "unintended consequence'' of her actions.© 2012 APN Holdings NZ Ltd
Dr Smith resigned yesterday as it emerged he had at least twice intervened in Ms Pullar's ACC claim while he was ACC Minister in the last term of Government.
"It is truly regrettable. I know you were only trying to help a mate - I wish you well Nick," Pullar said in a statement issued to Fairfax media.
Two weeks ago Ms Pullar, who suffered head injuries in a 2002 cycling accident, went to the media with data about 6700 ACC claimants, including victims of incest and sexual abuse. The information appears to have been accidentally emailed to her by an ACC employee in August last year.
ACC alleges Ms Pullar attempted to secure a two year guaranteed benefit in exchange for the data, a claim that Ms Pullar disputes. In her statement today, she said an ACC staff member had improperly accessed her claim file and lied to management about it. She said ACC had early this week leaked her name to the media.
"[ACC] set out to intentionally destroy my privacy and reputation - an excellent example of how little regard ACC has for claimants' rights including respect for their privacy.
"It shows how ACC treats claimants with disdain. It show how ACC will smash anybody who dares speak out. Yet I am not easily intimidated," she said.
Last night, Mr Smith - who resigned his portfolios in an emotional statement to Parliament yesterday - said he would not comment on the nature of his relationship with Ms Pullar, "except to say I have a wonderful wife and family who are actually very distressed today, that I have been absolutely loyal to my wonderful wife and I will be to the end of my days".
The Nelson MP said he was not going to get into a commentary over who he had been in relationships with. "I think many of you may be involved in relationships and if you were required to give evidence and other information and that if 10 years later you were asked how would you describe that person, we don't normally talk about our intimate private lives in public and I think it is quite proper, providing it doesn't change the circumstances, to say that person was a friend."
When Dr Smith met Ms Pullar in the 1990s, she was a volunteer regional communications manager for the party and worked for Enza which did a lot of business in Dr Smith's electorate. She now works in branding and marketing and has previously been a brand manager at Zespri, a brand consultant at Frucor Beverages and a consultant at Carter Holt Harvey.
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