Top Nats in cash wrangle

By FRAN O'SULLIVAN

Former National Party president Geoff Thompson was forced to transfer anonymous campaign donations he received for the 1996 election from his law firm's trust account into the party's election fund.

The National Party treasurer at the time, Michael Cox, revealed yesterday that Mr Thompson had to be put under strong pressure from himself and members of the party finance committee before he transferred the funds just before the party's annual conference in June 1996.

Mr Cox, who was National's treasurer from 1990 to 1996, said he did not become aware that campaign contributions were sitting in the trust account of Mr Thompson's legal firm Macalister Mazengarb until he investigated a payment to an Australian pollster which had not been authorised in accordance with normal procedures.

Mr Cox said he advised the former president that any campaign money should immediately be paid into the party's account.

He said he told Mr Thompson: "Pay over, or otherwise I blow the whistle."

Letters that Mr Cox sent were copied to some members of National's finance committee.

Mr Thompson said yesterday that he did not recall any pressure being applied to him to pay the funds across - the money had gone into his trust account because, it was "a very common way of payments being made".

"The money came in. It was used for the purposes for which it was supplied, and it was paid to the party two months later."

He said his prime role as party president was to get out and raise funds.

National Party president Michelle Boag yesterday confirmed that two anonymous cheques were cashed through the Macalister Mazengarb law firm trust in March 1996.

A small amount - 5 to 7 per cent of the total - had been disbursed for campaign-related expenditure.

Asked why the money did not go over to the party earlier, Mr Thompson replied: "I have no idea. We are talking six years ago, and my memory of precise details has faded."

Ms Boag had given "a pretty good summary of things".

"So that is the end of the matter - money came in, money went out. The party received it. No story.

"I do not want to talk publicly about the party's internal activities. That's not proper."

The Herald: So there was no pressure put on you?

Mr Thompson: We are talking six years ago, I really have no recall. I am just going off the written records.

Mr Cox confirmed that Mr Thompson had provided a copy of his firm's trust account so that he could account for the costs that had already been met out of it.

Asked yesterday whether the donations were from Fay Richwhite directly, Mr Thompson said, "I can't remember - but from that group.

"We have never confirmed what the sums were, but the total did not exceed $250,000. It's all shown there in the printout."

Mr Cox said: "Finally, whenI squeezed him hard enough,it all came back - so there was nothing illegal, it was just inappropriate."

Mr Cox later spelled out his concerns in a private letter to the Prime Minister at the time, Jim Bolger, after he resigned as Treasurer in December 1996 when National went into coalition with Winston Peters' New ZealandFirst.

"I had an obligation to him," said Mr Cox. " I had been his fund-raiser for two campaigns - he really had to know."

Former Canterbury regional chairman Bernard Duncan, who served on National's finance committee at the 1996 election, confirmed Mr Cox's account.

Mr Duncan said he had been "absolutely appalled" by theaffair.

"We felt we were all absolutely compromised because - the finance committee so to speak. We were determined the matter be corrected as quickly as possible."

Mr Duncan retired in May last year after 10 years in office.

Former National Party fundraiser Rita Albano, who worked with Mr Cox as a corporate fundraiser on four election campaigns, said she had later written to party president John Slater on December 25, 1998, alerting him that there was a discrepancy between the amount of pledges she had organised and the amount received by the party.

She had noticed this because the amount the party had paid her as her incentive was significantly less than she expected.

"That would have represented a number of companies, not just Fay Richwhite."

Ms Albano noted that companies can pledge a certain amount and that amount is actually not what comes through.

"It could be because they promised too much, they're pissed off at the party. There's lots of reasons why they may not give as much."

The Albano letter sparked Mr Slater to get an auditor to investigate.

Ms Albano said some of the expected donations were confirmed and she was paid for those.

In relation to the Fay Richwhite contribution, Ms Albano said that when the audit was completed the confirmed figure was much less than she expected.

"I do know that sum they found from Fay Richwhite - whatever that sum was from the auditor - I did get paid on and everythingwas above board."

Mr Slater, who was ousted as president by Ms Boag last year, would not discuss the Cox-Albano revelations yesterday as the Serious Fraud Office was investigating.

But he said that Ms Boag had confronted him at the Koru Lounge at Auckland Airport on Tuesday and threatened to expel him from the National Party at this weekend's Auckland divisional conference.

"She said, 'Are you going to the conference? I am going to have you expelled on Saturday.'

"Now that is bovver boy stuff."