KEY POINTS:
The Prime Minister has attributed Mike Williams' contradictory comments on using Government pamphlets for electioneering to "confusion".
Helen Clark has reprimanded the Labour Party president for the second time in a week after he denied he had endorsed the use of Government department pamphlets for campaigning as "a damn good idea".
Mr Williams made the comment at the party's conference last weekend in response to a suggestion from a delegate to use IRD's KiwiSaver and Working for Families booklets for campaigning.
Despite Helen Clark publicly acknowledging the incident had happened, Mr Williams denied it on TVNZ's Agenda yesterday, saying he did not believe it happened and describing it as "an incredible media beat-up, it arguably never happened".
But One News last night played a recording from the conference which showed Mr Williams had made the comment - contradicting his explanation to Agenda.
Helen Clark today told Breakfast on TV One that Mr Williams had told her the truth about making the remark a week ago.
"He told me the truth and that's why when the tape was run on TV last night I knew that was what I had been told 6-1/2 days before, so really what possessed him on Agenda I do not know, I can only put it down to confusion," she said.
The initial comment was a "misjudgment" which was "only compounded by what was said yesterday".
She said Mr Williams had had a clear reprimand and she suggested he keep his head down: "I think it's time for a deep period of silence and concentrating on his core business and just leave the politics to the politicians."
National Party deputy leader Bill English said Mr Williams should resign or be sacked.
"Mike Williams has been caught red-handed saying one thing behind closed doors and another thing to the public," he said in a statement.
"He must go because the public cannot now trust him to keep Labour's fingers out of the till in election year."
"The Labour president has misled the public again in a bid to hide Labour's plans to break the law. Mr Williams can't be relied on to tell the public the truth, yet Helen Clark is defending him. This is an indictment on her judgment."
Mr English said Labour suffered from a "culture of deceit".
However, Helen Clark said she did not expect Mr Williams to lose his job and said he was elected by the party which had repeatedly expressed confidence in him.
"I've known Mike Williams for a long time he's an absolutely dedicated party official and he's done a power of good for us but I think he responded in an off the cuff way to an off the cuff suggestion. I dealt to that very, very firmly last week and I really don't want to hear any more about it."
Speaking on Newstalk ZB, Helen Clark said the recording from the closed policy session may not have been a Labour leak but could have been a media recording.
"Firstly, this was a closed session and normally journalists respect that. Clearly someone didn't, there was a tape running. Secondly knowing that there was that tape was Mr Williams set up on the interview?"
Helen Clark said the tape was "pretty good quality" which cast doubt on it being someone in the audience.
She said it did not excuse Mr Williams but she questioned TVNZ's ethics.
Last night a spokeswoman for Helen Clark said she had reprimanded Mr Williams.
"The advice from the Prime Minister is that he should get on and do what he does best, which is run the organising wing of the party, and leave the politics to the parliamentary wing."
However, the incident does further damage to Mr Williams' credibility.
As well as his earlier censure for the same incident, two months ago he offered to resign after he failed to disclose a $100,000 interest-free loan from billionaire and Labour benefactor Owen Glenn.
Mr Williams could not be contacted last night - his cellphone answer phone message said he was out of coverage.
On Agenda Mr Williams had said he could not hear delegates clearly from the stage because the acoustics were bad.
He said Helen Clark had accused him of poor judgment on the issue on Monday afternoon because "she hadn't spoken to me". He had since explained himself to her and she had accepted it.
After the recording was played, Helen Clark's spokesman said Mr Williams' comments were "an off-the-cuff suggestion from the floor and it was an off-the-cuff response".
Meanwhile, two television polls released last night paint hugely varying pictures of the fortunes of the two main parties.
TV3's poll shows a resurgent Labour Party gaining three to hit 38 per cent support, while National went down 3 to 48 per cent.
But the One News Colmar Brunton poll, which was taken slightly later and included the publicity flowing from Labour Party's conference, has a 19-point gap between the two after National increased its lead by four points to 54 per cent - 19 points ahead of Labour on 35 per cent.
TV3's also had better news for Helen Clark, who reclaimed ascendancy in the preferred Prime Minister rankings after a year of being behind John Key.
Helen Clark gained four points to hit 32 per cent, while John Key slipped down six points to 29 per cent.
One News had John Key as preferred Prime Minister for 35 per cent, ahead of Helen Clark on 29 per cent.
WHAT HE SAID
Mike Williams on Agenda, Sunday April 20:
"Now what I heard the delegate say, and I wasn't hearing him clearly, was that if somebody asks you for a KiwiSaver brochure the IRD's got good ones. Now according to the people there, I did not respond 'that is a good idea,' I simply moved on to the next question which was the last one. So the whole thing is an incredible media beat-up, it arguably never happened."
One News recording of the actual discussion at the conference:
Party delegate: ... "hand those out when you're going around and you can say this is what the Labour Government brought in and by the way the National Party voted against it. In fact, they're better than Labour Party material because they're informing people about things they may not already be getting."
Mike Williams: "Well, that's a damn good idea ... we will have some generic stuff out for you to hand out pretty soon, once we work out the Electoral Finance Act."
LITTLE LIKELY SUCCESSOR
Union boss Andrew Little has confirmed he is keen to take over as Labour Party president after current president Mike Williams leaves - but he does not expect it to be before the election.
Mr Little - the national secretary of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union - said he had been approached by senior Labour Party figures including Prime Minister Helen Clark and party secretary Mike Smith about the job.
"I have had conversations with people to the effect that when Mike is ready to move on, it's a position I would consider."
He did not expect it to be before the election - saying it was "most unlikely" a party would change its hierarchy at this stage.
He confirmed he was keen after Mr Williams effectively anointed Mr Little as his successor on TVNZ's Agenda yesterday.
Asked about speculation that Mr Little was angling to be his successor, Mr Williams said he "would welcome that in the fullness of time". He said he would not be surprised if it happened. "I think he'd have good support."
Mr Little said he would be able to keep his role with the EPMU if he gained the Labour Party presidency.
- With NZPA
