Pandora's box full of koha, lafo and chocolate

Hone Harawira says koha is a 'beautiful practice'.

Helen Clark says MPs can accept a thank-you present of a box of chocolates, a theatre ticket or hospitality in a corporate box, but they should never take money in exchange for services.

Less clear, however, is whether they are entitled - legally or under Parliament's rules - to take cash donations as a personal gift if the money is not given in exchange for a service or on the condition of some type of representation.

Public law expert Robert Buchanan, a former assistant auditor-general, said yesterday he believed the latter issue remained uncertain and MPs might want to consider establishing guidelines.

The Office of the Auditor-General is now working on guidelines on "sensitive expenditure" for public sector bosses and employees, set to be published this year.

The debate about MPs' entitlements to gifts, koha and what has been labelled - some Samoan leaders say mistakenly - lafo erupted again over the weekend when Maori Party MP Hone Harawira sought to defend Taito Phillip Field, Labour's Mangere MP.

Mr Field, who has been stood down pending a police investigation, has said he received lafo in his electorate office which was passed on to the Labour Party as a donation.

He faces allegations that in some instances the money was received in exchange for services to constituents.

The comments by Mr Harawira - who regularly accepts koha from constituents, but never for himself - revealed different views within his own party on the issue, with co-leaders Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples appearing to disagree on the appropriate use of koha by MPs.

Concerned about the mixed messages emanating from the MPs, the party shut them down ahead of a caucus meeting today, but not before Mr Harawira was interviewed on Radio Waatea. He said koha, which he regularly accepted, was a "beautiful practice" and the media were trying to "force us to hide it".

Helen Clark said no MP should receive cash for a service or from someone soliciting a service - regardless of whether it was called koha or lafo.

"It may well be that Parliament doesn't have guidelines on these things, but I would have thought it was just absolutely plain common sense that in New Zealand an MP's service was given for free."

Boxes of chocolates or flowers as a thank-you were common and acceptable, as were rugby or opera tickets.

Invitations to corporate boxes - unless an MP was in a decision-making role in relation to the corporate - were considered legitimate lobbying, she said.

Labour Party president Mike Williams earlier told the Herald "there is only one way, the Kiwi way".

Helen Clark had recently accepted $33,000 in party donations from the Indian community at a dinner in South Auckland because they wanted to hand it to the party leader, he said. She had immediately handed it to him.

National deputy leader Gerry Brownlee said his party's rules were that donations should always go through officials, never MPs.

He might accept a gift of a bottle of wine after a speaking engagement, but would never solicit one.

Mr Buchanan said that while it was clear MPs could not accept cash in return for services, "further along the continuum there is the fact that MPs inevitably receive gifts and hospitality all the time."

"Given that there seems to be some confusion ... in regard to receipt of koha or other sorts of gifts or hospitality, it would be sensible for Parliament to turn its mind as to whether there's a need for some guidance on this matter."