Phil Goff slams speculation around his leadership

Hughes affair should not distract attention from our real problems. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Talk of a challenge to the leadership of the Labour Party is merely speculation, leader Phil Goff says.

The party is hoping a front bench meeting tomorrow will divert attention away from the Darren Hughes saga which threatens to cast further doubt on Labour's slim chances at this year's General Election.

Speculation around Goff's leadership has been further fuelled following his perceived mishandling of the Hughes sex allegations, but Phil Goff this morning dismissed talk his job is under threat.

"The media has speculated on a number of occasions about my leadership, I've been twice elected in accordance with the constitution of the Labour Party, each time unanimously," he told Radio New Zealand.

"Things have been said that are patently untrue and been rejected and denied by the people that those accusations have been made against."

Hughes' political career ended on Friday when he resigned after a police complaint by an 18-year-old man about an incident on the night of March 2.

Despite Goff knowing about the complaint for several weeks, he only spoke publically last week when confronted by the media.

Although Mr Goff acknowledged things could have been done better, he defended the way he had dealt with the scandal.

"It is very clear to me that if a complaint is made against a colleague and it is before the police for investigation, in the first instance that is where is should be dealt with.

"Once they've made their decision then I would make my decision, and I would make that fairly and decisively, equally in regard to any of my colleagues, whether they are close friends of not close friends."

Mr Goff said it had been a difficult ordeal for Hughes.

"It's been a very tough time for Darren on a human front, I think everybody will understand that.

"The remarkable thing that I've found [is] MPs on all sides of the house have come up to me and expressed regret both about what has happened and about their concern Darren faces a trial through the media when that should be left to the police."

Prime Minister John Key told Newstalk ZB it is the nature of the job that politicians' personal lives are in the open.

"I think we all have to accept that in public life there is a high level of scrutiny.

"There is no possibility of name suppression."

Annette King told Radio New Zealand tomorrow's front bench MP meeting will be an opportunity for the party to switch the focus back to policy.

"We are going back to the issues that we have been constantly raising and we believe those are the issues New Zealanders want to hear about. They want to hear that there is an opposition that have a plan because they are increasing questioning whether this Government has any direction other than the short term approaches that are not giving us the growth, the jobs, the skills, the innovation that we need to take New Zealand forward.

"We are on the issues that matter to New Zealanders."