Ex-MP accused of National office snooping

Richard Northey has denied snooping in the electorate office of MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga. Photo / Martin Sykes

Former Labour MP Richard Northey has been accused of riffling through papers at the opening of National MP Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga's electorate office.

Mr Northey yesterday said the allegations were nonsense. All he had done was pick up a couple of invitations with the approval of Mr Lotu-Iiga's electorate secretary.

But the first-term Maungakiekie MP said he was given a different version of events by the secretary, Jenny Collins, and others.

He planned to talk to Mr Northey today about his "inappropriate behaviour".

"The witnesses were saying he was snooping around the desk," he said. "I'm a little bit offended by it if it is true."

Mr Northey was a guest of Mr Lotu-Iiga at Friday's office opening in Onehunga Mall.

Both are Tamaki-Maungakiekie ward councillors on the Auckland City Council and Mr Northey was the Labour MP for the same electorate between 1993 and 1996.

The Herald has spoken to Mr Lotu-Iiga's fellow Citizens & Ratepayers councillor Toni Millar and to another guest and both say they saw Mr Northey going through office papers.

Ms Millar said she saw Mr Northey "determinedly and hurriedly" riffling through a pile of papers and a diary at two office desks. He was greeting people as if it was his office.

"Politics has stooped to a new low when you brazenly go into someone's office and go through every paper. It just was appalling."

The second witness, who did not want to be named, said that "whatever he could get his hands on, he was riffling through".

Mr Northey said he had seen some invitations about a Super City meeting. He had asked Jenny Collins if he could take a couple and she had replied yes.

"I certainly didn't do any riffling through anything at all."