Lee told to pay $80k back to NZ on Air

National MP Melissa Lee refuses to field questions from journalists as she walks into the debating chamber for question time yesterday. Photo / Mark Mitchell

National MP Melissa Lee has been asked to pay about $80,000 back to NZ on Air after her production company used about $100,000 of public funding as profit instead of returning it.

Ms Lee yesterday said her production company Asia Vision, which produces Asia Down Under, would pay back the money.

NZ on Air has put a hold on processing the 2010 funding application for Asia Down Under until the issue is resolved and may include Asia Vision in the companies it conducts an external audit on next year.

Ms Lee would not comment on the amount owing until she had spoken to her business partner, "but yes - there seems to be some money that I need to pay back".

"The bottom line is that NZ on Air does not believe it was deliberate - the company acted in good faith - so we are moving to remedy that problem."

The agency had discovered that over the past five years her company had used about $100,000 of its contingency fund - unused funding - as company mark-up, instead of returning it to NZ on Air.

Chief executive of NZ on Air Jane Wrightson said Asia Vision was now expected to repay 80 per cent of that. Production companies getting funding from NZ on Air are required to return 80 per cent of the funding they do not use in making their programmes.

Ms Wrightson said she accepted it was a genuine mistake.

The discrepancy was picked up in May when NZ on Air was investigating claims Melissa Lee had used NZ on Air-funded resources to make a campaign video during the election campaign.

It cleared Ms Lee of the claim, saying it was satisfied public money had not been used but noted it would look further into unrelated "minor administrative improvements".

In Parliament yesterday, Labour turned the torch on Broadcasting Minister Jonathan Coleman and Prime Minister John Key, accusing them of a coverup over the issue, despite making it widely known when NZ on Air had earlier cleared Ms Lee of using taxpayer funds for the campaign video.

Dr Coleman told reporters NZ on Air had told him in August that a technical matter had been discovered, but he had not known it involved money.