KEY POINTS:
National leader Don Brash says he has no more to hide than anyone else, after winning a court order to prevent publication or distribution of emails taken from his computer.
Dr Brash took the step - believed to be a New Zealand first - after being dogged for months by rumours that potentially damaging emails to and from him would be made public.
The interim injunction, issued by the High Court at Wellington on Thursday, restrains anybody from putting Dr Brash's emails on a website, broadcasting them, handing them to someone else or revealing what is in them.
It also requires anyone with the emails to hand them over to the court.
Dr Brash said yesterday that he sought the order because he did not want his private correspondence broadcast to the world.
"I think no member of the public would take kindly to having their private correspondence, potentially over some years, published for the world to see."
He also wanted to protect people who had corresponded with him in confidence.
Asked if he had something to hide, Dr Brash said: "Only the same as any other public member has something to hide."
He believed such action was justified.
Part of the argument put to the court on behalf of Dr Brash was that publication of the emails would have "serious implications" for him, as the confidence of anyone who might want to communicate with him by email could be eroded.
The court order is particularly unusual because the identity of the person at which it is aimed is not known.
Several of Dr Brash's political opponents, including Prime Minister Helen Clark and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, have claimed to know about his leaked emails. But who has them remains unknown.
For that reason, the court order has been issued against "Jane and John Doe". It is considered that John or Jane Doe will be "known by their works" - meaning they will reveal themselves by their actions.
The court order would then be served on them.
Helen Clark said the injunction suggested Dr Brash was concerned about the emails.
"You wouldn't go for an injunction unless you were concerned, but it's an interim injunction, which means there is an argument we need to hear further," she said in Vietnam, where she is attending the Apec conference.
Asked if she knew what was in the emails, the Prime Minister said "nothing specific".
There were suggestions in September that Dr Brash's emails would be published as a book which might include some personal messages.
The National leader called the police in to investigate what he believes to be the theft of emails from his computer.
The inquiry is continuing.
Asked yesterday why he sought the court order now rather than months ago, Dr Brash said reports in the Herald and North & South magazine suggested publication of the emails was imminent.
He paid for the action out of his own pocket and did not consult the National Party board on the matter.
"It was important we took this action quickly. We didn't want someone deciding to rush something out before the court order was made."
- Additional reporting Audrey Young
