Editorial: Time to get the chat out in the open

National Party leader John Key and Act Party member John Banks. Photo / Dean Purcell

The pressure on John Key to reveal exactly what was said during his conversation with Act Epsom candidate John Banks was always going to build. Trying to shut down the issue by laying a complaint with the police because the eight-minute chat had been recorded without consent was never going to work. Nor was the Prime Minister's attempt to steer the episode into the realm of media ethics. And refusing to answer questions about the "tea cup" tape and walking out of a media stand-up was certainly going to cultivate, rather than discourage, interest. So much so that Mr Key now has no viable option but to release a transcript of the conversation.

The episode has moved far beyond issues related to the media. Even during that phase, however, the Prime Minister floundered. His attempt to link the tape to News of the World-type secret taping tactics was nonsensical. Worse still was the tastelessness of his claim that a conversation between two high-profile New Zealanders about their son or daughter being suicidal could, if reported in a Sunday paper, lead to the child taking his or her own life.

The issue now is about the nitty-gritty of politics and the willingness of politicians, especially during an election campaign, to fill any vacuum with rumour and innuendo. Mr Key's initial refusal to release a transcript cast doubt on his view that his chat with Mr Banks had been bland. Maintaining that attitude, and compounding it yesterday by refusing to answer questions, merely encourages supposition that he has something to hide.

His stand has been made even more untenable by the inevitable emergence of snippets said to have been discussed by Mr Key and Mr Banks. Journalists privy to the tape of the conversation have asked questions that point to comments about New Zealand First's elderly supporters and the parliamentary future of the Act leader, Don Brash. This has proved manna for National's political opponents, especially Winston Peters, the NZ First leader.

He has been happy to hint at the contents of the recording, and to ridicule Mr Key for saying he could not remember if he suggested NZ First had no future because its supporters were "dying out". With polls suggesting that his party is close to breaching the 5 per cent threshold and returning to Parliament, Mr Peters will continue to suggest that Mr Key has maligned pensioners for as long as he is able. Labour has also not been slow to see the possibility of profit. The furore over the conversation was exposing "whether or not the Prime Minister is willing to be upfront with New Zealanders", said Grant Robertson, the party's campaign spokesman.

The only way for Mr Key to stop such potentially damaging comments is to release a transcript of the conversation. There are obvious dangers to this. Confirmation, for example, that Dr Brash's leadership of Act had been discussed would cast a new light on Epsom and what happens after the election. Yet that, in itself, establishes the public's right to know what was said. Remarks offensive to the elderly might also cause some pensioners to shift their vote from National to NZ First. But a transcript would ensure the comments of Mr Key and Mr Banks could be seen in their correct context, not as unrelated remarks able to be used for political gain.

The Prime Minister is fooling himself if he believes politicians enjoy the same privacy rights as individual citizens. Like it or not, they do not. His complaint to the police is a waste of their time. Indeed, his whole approach has made his chat with Mr Banks the focus of public attention when far more important issues should be being debated. The tea cup chat is getting in the way of the election campaign. A transcript must be released.