Clarkson to face court over costs

Winston Peters felt his loss in Tauranga keenly. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

NZ First leader Winston Peters is heading to court to overturn the election result in Tauranga by alleging his National opponent overspent the $20,000 campaign spending limit by a staggering $80,000 at a minimum.

If Mr Peters wins, the man who took Tauranga from him, Bob Clarkson, will be out of a job and a byelection held with the businessman disqualified from standing again for three years.

But the outcome of a byelection either way would not affect Parliament's configuration.

Mr Peters refused to comment yesterday on the election petition. He lost Tauranga by 730 votes and is understood to have taken it hard.

During the campaign questions over Mr Clarkson's spending began, centred on a three-page advertising spread in the Bay of Plenty Times on July 20 which the Chief Electoral Office began investigating.

The papers Mr Peters' lawyer, Brian Henry, filed in the High Court at Tauranga yesterday allege that in the three months before election day - when the limit applies - Mr Clarkson spent nearly $100,000 on advertising and a campaign manager.

In addition the papers cited Mr Clarkson's employment of a salaried campaign manager, Wayne Walton, who got paid for a minimum of 480 hours at $87 an hour, meaning the reasonable market value of his job was not less than $41,760.

Mr Henry said the burden of proof was on Mr Peters and he had evidence.

A trial would be held before three High Court judges on a date yet to be decided.

If Mr Clarkson is found to have overspent he would be found guilty of a corrupt practice under the Electoral Act, meaning he would be banned from standing for Parliament for three years and there would be a byelection.

Mr Henry said the trial could be just before Christmas or later, but the courts usually gave such matters priority.

A National Party source said last night the party was not particularly upset at the petition, considering the state of the relationship with Mr Peters before the Tauranga stoush.

But the party had expected he would have waited until candidates' election expenses had been filed with the Chief Electoral Office, the deadline for which is January 16.

Mr Clarkson denied he had overspent and said the party had checked his spending.

He said the main argument was over the Bay of Plenty Times advertising spread on his construction business.

"But even if we lost that part of it, we still have enough margin to cover that. Luckily Winston Peters' campaign manager wrote us a letter three weeks before the election and warned us that they might be going to do that."

Mr Clarkson said among Mr Peters' claims was that he had used his van for the campaign, but he was legally allowed to use a vehicle.

Mr Peters has been involved in two previous successful election petitions. He helped National's Wyatt Creech take a successful petition alleging overspending against Labour's Reg Boorman in Wairarapa in 1988, even though Mr Creech had already won the seat.

And as a candidate in the 1978 election Mr Peters successfully overturned Labour MP Malcolm Douglas' success in Hunua with an election petition. On a recount Mr Peters became the seat's MP.

Mr Clarkson was unimpressed, pointing out he had hired the lawyer Mr Creech had used, Brian Henry.

NZ First adviser and former National MP Roger McClay, who was also involved in the Wairarapa petition and won an electoral petition himself in 1982 in Taupo, is understood to have urged Mr Peters to take the latest action.

Meanwhile, Chief Electoral Officer David Henry said no applications for judicial recounts of the results had been received by the Wednesday deadline.

Winston Peters says new Tauranga MP Bob Clarkson far outspent his $20,000 campaign limit. In court papers Mr Peters identified spending including:

* The Bay of Plenty Times advertising which had an estimated "reasonable market value" of not less than $6600.

* A "push-polling" phone campaign costing not less than $22,500.

* Billboards and roadsigns including one on the side of the Baypark Speedway Mr Clarkson built costing not less than $23,000.

* Full-colour brochures costing an estimated $3000 plus distribution costs and other advertising costing at least $2640.

* A van with signage costing at least $350.

* A campaign manager was paid at least $41,000