Hawkins was told of leaks says National

By FRANCESCA MOLD

The National Party has laid a complaint with Parliament's privileges committee that Internal Affairs Minister George Hawkins misled MPs about his knowledge of the leaky building crisis.

Mr Hawkins has maintained he was not "formally informed" of the weathertightness crisis by the Building Industry Authority (BIA) until April last year.

But the Opposition has questioned that statement in light of evidence that Mr Hawkins received letters warning of a crisis in 2001 and the dozens of newspaper articles about rotting homes.

Yesterday, National's housing spokesman, Wayne Mapp, said new documents, obtained under the Official Information Act, showed Mr Hawkins had been told about a formal investigation into weathertightness when the BIA sent him a copy of its draft business plan in July 2001.

The plan recorded the BIA's investigation into the leaky homes phenomenon.

Mr Hawkins acknowledged receipt of the plan in a letter to the authority in September 2001.

The document was tabled in Parliament two months later.

"There can be no more formal advice than a Statement of Intent [business plan] of a Crown entity to a minister," Dr Mapp said yesterday.

He claimed there was a clear case of a prima facie breach of privilege against Mr Hawkins.

A spokeswoman for Mr Hawkins said he would not comment because he was writing to the Speaker, Jonathan Hunt, about the complaint.

Mr Hawkins no longer has responsibility for the leaky buildings issue. It has been taken over by Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel.

She announced on Monday that the BIA would be disestablished and its functions taken over by a Government department.