KEY POINTS:
An impassive Trevor Mallard entered a not guilty plea when he appeared in the dock of Wellington District Court today to face a private assault prosecution.
The prosecution relates to the parliamentary bust-up in which the Cabinet Minister threw a punch at National MP Tau Henare in October after comments about his personal life.
Mr Mallard later apologised and Mr Henare said he would not take the matter further.
But Wellington accountant Graham McCready launched a private prosecution after police rejected an initial complaint, deeming he was not an interested party in the fracas.
Mr Mallard's lawyer, Robert Lithgow, today entered a not guilty plea on behalf of his client and asked to proceed with the full hearing immediately.
But Judge Thomas Broadmore said that would not be possible as time had not been set down for a substantive hearing today.
Cameras snapped at the Cabinet Minister, who lost a battle to prevent media filming and photographing him inside the court room.
Mr Lithgow asked for a status hearing - where the prosecution will be expected to provide its evidence - as early as possible.
The hearing was set down for December 18, despite protests from Mr McCready's lawyer William Johnson.
Mr Mallard, who stood calmly in the dock throughout the five-minute proceeding, was granted bail.
Mr Johnson did not oppose the bail request.
Outside the courtroom he offered no comment to the surrounding media throng, as he headed off down the street in the opposite direction from the Beehive, where he was excused from today's regular Cabinet meeting.
Mr McCready kept a low profile today at the back on the courtroom.
While Mr Mallard would not comment on the case, Prime Minister Helen Clark today said private prosecutions were a concern for public figures, who were often targeted.
"I just say that with something like this, I think everyone in public life - whether they are media personalities or a politician or whoever - we're all vulnerable to someone deciding they will try a private prosecution and I think that is an issue of some concern," she said on TVNZ's Breakfast programme.
Miss Clark punished Mr Mallard last month by moving him off the front bench and taking away his economic development, Rugby World Cup and sport portfolios.
However, it is unlikely any conviction would have an impact on Mr Mallard's position as an MP.
Under the Electoral Act, a minister is sacked from Parliament if convicted of a crime punishable by two years or more in prison. The private prosecution against Mr Mallard has been brought under the Summary Proceedings Act, carrying a maximum sentence of six months.
Mr McCready himself is no stranger to court proceedings. He faces about 40 tax-related charges and is due in Wellington District Court next month.
He had also attempted to bring private prosecutions against former Prime Minister Rob Muldoon.
He has said that Prime Minister Helen Clark had described him as a "small minded malicious person".
He hit the headlines this year after revealing an employee of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority had been selling the agency's old surplus computers cheaply on Trade Me.
And in 1999 he tried to bring a $199,000 defamation claim against a former fellow Scout leader from the 1980s who, he claimed, had accused him of stealing Scout funds.
The case was dropped because the alleged defamation was too long ago.
- NZ HERALD STAFF, NEWSTALK ZB
