Auditor-General changes mind over Greens' spending

WELLINGTON - Auditor-General Kevin Brady has accepted that the Green Party's spending of $20,000 on the election campaign was legitimate, it was reported today.

Mr Brady originally ruled that the $20,000 spent on the Green Times newsletter was out of order.

It is the second time that Mr Brady has backtracked after he cut $46,000 from the $63,000 he had originally said the Act party had misspent.

Mr Brady's final report is to be tabled in Parliament after recess, the week starting October 9.

A leaked draft report by Mr Brady found most parties wrongly used taxpayer-funded parliamentary budgets for election advertising and communications.

The Dominion Post newspaper reported today that Mr Brady's backdown is likely to provide further ammunition for Labour as it questions Mr Brady's draft finding.

Labour may be up for $800,000 mis-spending, including $446,000 on its election pledge card, paid for out of its parliamentary leader's budget.

Labour has suggested retrospectively changing the law to allow its spending something Ms Fitzsimons was wary of.

"The Greens are always cautious about validating retrospective legislation, and even more so when it involves validating our own actions," she told the Dominion-Post today.

National has already paid back $10,500 wrongly spent by its MPs and the Maori Party has paid back $53. The Progressives were cleared. NZ First and United Future also used leader's budget funds for election purposes.

Ms Fitzsimons said discussions with Mr Brady over other findings in his draft report were continuing but she would not say how much was disputed.

"We are waiting to hear back but we are hopeful that his final report will be very different from his draft," she told the newspaper.

The Greens had said its regular newsletter should not have been included as election spending.

- NZPA