Goff defends secrecy

Phil Goff (seen with MPs Jacinda Ardern, Annette King and Darren Hughes), says Mr Hughes has integrity. Photo / Richard Robinson.

Labour leader Phil Goff yesterday stood down Darren Hughes as whip and education spokesman while police complete an investigation into a complaint by an 18-year-old male.

The issue moved to a test of leadership as well as Mr Hughes' innocence yesterday as Mr Goff defended his decision to keep the complaint a secret for a fortnight.

Mr Hughes remains an MP but has taken leave for two weeks.

Mr Goff was forced to concede a double standard in his approach to Mr Hughes compared with his demands for Prime Minister John Mr Key to sack Richard Worth in 2009, soon after a police complaint was made against Dr Worth.

Mr Goff said he had now learned that such issues were complex.

"I believe I got it wrong, in hindsight, yes."

He faced increased questioning yesterday about whether he believed Mr Hughes' judgment and behaviour were politically acceptable, regardless of any police decision.

But he was confident his leadership was safe and he did not believe that his handling of Mr Hughes was now being seen as a test of that leadership.

Labour MP David Parker was quick to publicly deny a swiftly spreading rumour he was organising some form of leadership challenge, saying it was "nonsense".

Labour sources spoken to yesterday said there was support for Mr Goff, but many were watching closely to ensure damage to the wider party was restricted.

There was concern Mr Goff would protect Mr Hughes to the detriment of the party because of his close friendship with him.

Asked if he still had confidence in Mr Hughes to continue in the Labour caucus, Mr Goff said he believed Mr Hughes had "integrity", but it was for the police to decide on the complaint.

"Once I know the answer to that, I will make a decision regarding the judgment Mr Hughes has exercised in this case."

Meanwhile, former Labour Party president Mike Williams said Mr Goff should immediately "cut off" Mr Hughes if police find any substance to complaints against him.

Mr Williams said if police did prosecute, Mr Hughes should resign immediately or be sacked. Allowing Mr Hughes to remain in caucus while trying to defend any charges would be a "total distraction" throughout the election.

The complaint against Mr Hughes followed a night out on March 1 and is understood to relate to an incident at Mr Hughes' Wellington home - the house of Labour's deputy leader, Annette King.

Mr Williams said deciding Mr Hughes' future would be harder if the police did not find enough evidence to prosecute but the investigation revealed that Mr Hughes' behaviour showed bad judgment.

"Then I would say Phil Goff and Darren Hughes have a very hard decision to make," he said.

"The easy decision is if the police do decide to prosecute, because it's clear Darren has to go at that point."

Mr Hughes - currently a list MP - could also be punished when the committee deciding on the party's list rankings for the election meets on April 9 to finalise its list.

Asked if the affair would affect Mr Hughes' chances of a high placing, Labour Party president Andrew Little said it was up to the moderating committee how it dealt with the situation.

He was not on that committee, which had about 40 members. He would not comment on whether he was concerned that he was not told of the complaint until reporters contacted him.