PM accused of meddling in Parker inquiry

Prime Minister Helen Clark has been accused by National of interfering in the Companies Office inquiry into legal declarations of former Cabinet minister David Parker and of improper contact involving her office.

National MP Bill English also claimed in Parliament that Helen Clark has received a preliminary written opinion about the case. He said that was why she said last week Mr Parker would be reinstated to the Cabinet if he was cleared by the inquiry.

Helen Clark has denied the allegation of improper contact but not the claim that she had received a written opinion.


The Ministry of Economic Development said today that "neither the Companies Office nor the wider Ministry has provided any opinion regarding the investigation being conducted into certain matters relating to MP David Parker to any Government Minister or department".


It said the Registrar of Companies was conducting the investigation following the usual process.


Mr Parker resigned as Attorney-General on March 20 after he admitted falsely stating to the Companies Office that all shareholders of one of his companies had agreed on the accounts not being audited.

He resigned from his three other portfolios the next day and Helen Clark made it clear she would have sacked him had he not jumped.

But last week she said she would reinstate him if he were cleared, and National claimed that put pressure on the Companies Office to clear Mr Parker. Helen Clark acknowledged in Parliament that contact had been made between the Companies Office and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet but she said it had been about "the pace" of the inquiry.

Her spokesman later clarified her answer, saying Mr Dangerfield had contacted the head of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Maarten Wevers, to talk about the timeline of the inquiry.

The approach to the Prime Minister's office had not been solicited, the spokesman said, and she had "not allowed any questionable contact to take place between her officials and the Companies Office".

The spokesman said no opinion had been sought or received from the Companies Office on Mr Parker's case.

But when asked if an opinion had been sought or received from the Economic Development Ministry, the Prime Minister's spokesman declined to comment further.

Mr Dangerfield was also asked if an opinion had been offered to the Prime Minister's office but he did not address the question in a statement he issued.

Headed "No political interference in Parker investigation", the statement confirmed Mr Dangerfield had contacted Mr Wevers on the day Mr Parker resigned all his portfolios.

"I initiated contact with the chief executive ... to inform him that the Registrar [of Companies] would be conducting an investigation. I also outlined the timeline and the usual process that such investigations take."

He said the registrar had statutory functions under the Companies Act which he exercised independently.

"He is conducting the investigation following the usual process. I am responsible for the appointment of the registrar as chief executive of the ministry, but take no part in the investigation."

Mr English said Helen Clark was interfering in the decision-making of an independent statutory body.

He said that as a minister he would never have considered taking advice from a body that was responsible for conducting an inquiry.

"It is a measure of the extent to which Helen Clark has eroded the standards of propriety in government that it is not even regarded as that significant that she has been briefed via her officials about the length of time that that investigation will take."

Mr English said Helen Clark changed her view on the seriousness of Mr Parker's actions after receiving the opinion "from the fact that they were mistakes warranting his resignation to allegations for which he might be cleared and back in Cabinet".

Adam Feeley, who was Acting Registrar of Companies when Mr Parker resigned, told the Herald the investigation would take days or weeks to complete but not months.

In a nutshell

* Labour MP David Parker resigned from the Cabinet last month after admitting he made false declarations to the Companies Office.
* National MP Bill English claims the PM's office has interfered with the Companies Office inquiry.
* He also claims Helen Clark has received a preliminary written opinion on the case - which would explain why she later said Mr Parker might get his job back.
* Helen Clark denied the first claim yesterday. Her spokesman refused to comment on the second.