By EUGENE BINGHAM and VANESSA BIDOIS
Hauraki MP John Tamihere made a veiled threat to fight dirt with dirt yesterday, as the political campaign against him intensified.
The Labour MP endured his second day of attacks in Parliament from Act and New Zealand First, with more allegations of financial mismanagement during his term as head of Te Whanau O Waipareira Trust.
Mr Tamihere told MPs he was frustrated at the way allegations were being levelled against him under cover of parliamentary privilege - and suggested he was in a position to retaliate with dossiers of claims about his opponents.
"I have a range of documentation - and I'm going to talk in a hypothetical situation right now - that alleges a number of things about other members in this House."
Mr Tamihere, who resigned as chief executive of the Henderson-based trust to run for Parliament, has rejected allegations of financial problems at the trust.
One claim was that $200,000 of Health Funding Authority money for the trust had been diverted into an account belonging to the Aotearoa Maori Rugby Football League.
Health Minister Annette King confirmed yesterday that health money intended for the trust had ended up in the league club's coffers, but said it was the result of a clerical error within the trust.
On two occasions in mid-1998, deposits of $144,594 and $17,100 ended up in the wrong account.
"The [errors] were corrected and interest accrued was transferred into the correct account. I am satisfied the problems have been dealt with and have received an assurance no health dollars were misused."
NZ First leader Winston Peters and Act's Rodney Hide both made fresh allegations yesterday, with Mr Peters tabling documents showing Mr Tamihere had been given a cheap loan by the trust.
One of two documents tabled by Mr Hide was a letter from the Bank of New Zealand to the trust's financial controller, Mike Tolich.
The letter, dated November 9, 1999, lists 16 matters of concern including defaults on a number of terms agreed on with the bank such as the equity level, and the failure to provide draft accounts on time.
It also asks for an explanation for a drop in turnover of up to $900,000.
During a fierce debate, Mr Hide came under attack himself, with Labour MP Trevor Mallard accusing him of being a "drug dealer's friend" and a person who had "crooks and gangsters as his friends."
Meanwhile, the Aotearoa Maori Rugby Football League chairman, Robert Tukiri, said he had met Serious Fraud Office staff in Auckland yesterday and invited them to investigate the claims against the league and the trust.
"If there's been any misdemeanours or misappropriation of moneys, it wouldn't be John Tamihere for my money," he said.
The trust's new chief executive, Ian Mackintosh, said an internal investigation into the allegations regarding the transfer of funds would be completed by tomorrow, but there had been no contact by police or the Serious Fraud Office to date.
"Although the issues are serious, there's nothing to indicate at this stage that there's been anything untoward," he said.
An internal trust memo tabled by Act leader Richard Prebble on Tuesday showed that last month Mr Mackintosh complained of serious deficiencies in financial planning and budgeting at Waipareira.
Tamihere says he may fight dirt with dirt
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