Fran O'Sullivan: Inquiry vital after Key's fumbling of Worth affair

The Prime Minister has ducked his responsibilities in the Richard Worth affair by failing to convene an independent inquiry to probe very serious allegations against a former Government minister.

Yesterday's resignation by Worth from his position as a National MP does not change this central issue.

He has been accused of heinous acts - including allegations of criminal conduct (which he denies) - and been the subject of rumour and innuendo about his romantic life.

But after a fortnight of salaciously tinged gossip, the central question remains: Did Worth try to extract favours from Labour activist Neelam Choudary in return for government-appointed positions - as alleged by Labour leader Phil Goff under parliamentary privilege - or was he the victim of an opportunistic smear campaign orchestrated by his political opponents?

It is understandable that post-resignation, Worth now wants to "get on with my own life".

Just a day earlier, newspaper headlines had proclaimed John Key's statement that the "ball's in Worth's court" as the Prime Minister used the media to make it clear he did not expect the list MP to resume his seat in Parliament next Tuesday.

But resignation or not, the ball is still firmly in the PM's own court.

Key should not be allowed to get away with ducking his own basic democratic responsibility to ensure a "favours for jobs" allegation that casts doubt on the integrity of his Government is tested.

Police are investigating other allegations of sexual impropriety made against Worth by a Korean business woman. But Key has been making it clear to journalists (sotto voce) that he does not expect charges to result.

No one emerges from this affair unscathed. In Goff's case, his campaign looks decidedly shabby. First, another senior Labour Party official identified Choudary by leaking telling details about her. Then, secondly, right-wing bloggers chipped in with revelations about the immigration scams her husband, Kumar, orchestrated.

Toss in the additional factor that one of Kumar Choudary's victims alleges he has since been offered a $15,000 hush payment by associates to shut up about the pair and this whole episode is starting to take on very serious connotations.

The reality is that Goff tabled no real evidence to support his allegation that Worth tried to entice the "strikingly beautiful" Choudary (Goff's description, not Worth's) with the offer of a job on the Lottery Grants Board. Even the allegedly saucy texts that have been published by the Labour leader give the appearance of little more than an obsession.

They are not sexually explicit. They do not corroborate the most serious allegation against Worth - that he was prepared to use political patronage for favours.

But instead of mandating an independent QC or former judge to investigate these serious allegations (and furnish them with powers to seek previous text messages from the mobile phone providers to both Choudary and Worth), Key shamelessly used bully-boy tactics to drive the National MP out of his party's caucus.

Key clearly has a low opinion of Worth. The former minister proved an embarrassment by failing to disentangle himself from business interests that cut across his official duties.

The Prime Minister had clearly run out of patience with the hapless Worth months ago. So, when potential criminal allegations surfaced involving the MP and the Korean businesswoman, he was quick to force him out of his ministerial post. With a police investigation pending, that is where it should have rested.

But instead of handling the issue in a professional fashion, the Prime Minister fuelled speculation by allowing innuendo - rather than the facts - to predominate.

After Key's own ham-fisted announcement of Worth's ministerial "resignation", the MP was subjected to a ceaseless barrage of innuendo from both Goff and Key as they shamelessly plumbed Worth's peccadilloes for their respective political advantage.

Both political leaders need to grow up. New Zealand is surely not Malaysia, where a political opponent (or even a former colleague) can be drummed out of Parliament or jailed without a fair go. Or is it?

If they care for their own skins, National MPs should also be insisting that Key institute an independent inquiry. There is plenty of precedent within National, dating back to the Marginal Loans Affair in 1980, that underscores the need for a formal inquiry whenever questions of ministerial impropriety are raised.

Key probably fears he could end up with egg on his own face if an inquiry either found no evidence to back Goff's allegations against his former minister and MP, or that they stacked up.

If so, that is his own fault, as he has fuelled the Worth affair with his injudicious comments.

fran.o'sullivan@nzherald.co.nz