Misuse of credit card for spa, movies 'minor mistakes' - Carter

Helicopters, flowers, coffee mugs all went on the plastic for Labour's big spender. Photo / Herald on Sunday

Former minister Chris Carter has given explanations for his ministerial credit card spending "slip ups" and defended the cards' continued use.

Mr Carter, who held various ministerial positions in the last Labour Government, has been under the spotlight for expenses charged to his office's credit cards.

Documents released yesterday show massages, clothing and limousines charged to taxpayer-funded credit cards, which were repaid while Mr Carter was Minister.

But he said today his only "slip ups" - where he had failed to reimburse personal spending with his own money - were for five minor mistakes, and that given five minutes he could explain the other alleged misuses.

"The public probably have the impression people are running around using their cards all day, but I never used it," Mr Carter said.

"My staff do, because you're too busy. That's for anyone, not just me."

Ninety-nine per cent of his personal expenses were put on his personal credit card, and most of his ministerial expenses were paid on his staff's credit cards, Mr Carter said.

"They have a staff credit card that's supposed to be used all the time. Occasionally they would forget to bring their office card."

Taking away all ministerial credit cards would pose difficulties around practicalities, particularly in emergencies, Mr Carter said.

Mr Carter's admitted "slip ups", where he had not paid back personal expenses. Mr Carter said these should not have been missed at the time: "small mistakes were perhaps inevitable, but never excusable.":

* $138 for two bunches of flowers, one for a resigning colleague and the other for Mr Carter's partner.

* $50 for hotel movies on two occasions, including one by a staff member - "which was not porno".

* $64.52 for spa a staff member bought but had not repaid:

Alleged misuses and Mr Carter's explanations. These bills were paid back before 2008:

* A $2336 hotel bill for five nights during a ministerial trip in Cambodia, including for "spa treatment":

"When you're travelling in a hotel, particularly in a developing country, everything is put on one hotel bill at the end of your stay. [Later] you say, 'yes, that's personal and that's not' ... There was never any intention to put it on the taxpayer."

* $607 for some campaign posters and 14 British Labour Party coffee mugs:

"We had visitors [to the office] every hour and we served tea and coffee. While in a bookshop [in London] we bought 14 cups - they're bright red and say 'Labour' on them. We could have bought cups in Briscoes but these had 'Labour' designs.

"Now there are only nine because they were broken over five years."

* $175 for a magazine rack:

"The magazine rack is [now] sitting in Nick Smith's office. It was bought to put the magazines I got as Minister of Conservation for people to read while they sat in the foyer."

* $100 for "designer clothing" bought overseas:

"The press secretary had lost his luggage and we had to go to a meeting [in Britain] and he had no clothes to wear, and he had to use a credit card. So it was quite kosher."

* A $5507 bill for car travel in Adelaide:

"We were told by Ministerial Services in Wellington that when a Minister goes to Australia you must use cars provided by the Australian Government because of security reasons.

"They're horrendously expensive but that's how it was. [We were] a prisoner of the Australian rules and had no choice. I would have been just as happy in the cheapest taxi."