Wilson wants Brady's report before facing action

Margaret Wilson

Parliament's Speaker Margaret Wilson has delayed proceedings in a private legal challenge against Labour's pledge card until Auditor-General Kevin Brady has delivered his report on the matter to Parliament.

A hearing date for the private challenge, being taken by Libertarianz leader Bernard Darnton, was to have been set yesterday. But Margaret Wilson's lawyer, Jack Hodder, has sought a four-week delay so that she can absorb Mr Brady's conclusions before filing her defence in the private action.

Re-elected members of the Labour caucus are named as first respondent and Margaret Wilson is second respondent - as minister responsible for the Parliamentary Service which paid out $447,000 of taxpayers money for Labour's pledge card.

The action is quite separate from Mr Brady's inquiry into taxpayer funded spending by all parties before the election, but at the heart of both is whether money spent on Labour's pledge card was unlawful.

Mr Darnton is seeking a declaration from the High Court that the spending was unlawful. Mr Brady reached that finding in a provisional report on election spending.

His final report is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament next Tuesday.

Prime Minister Helen Clark yesterday dismissed any suggestion that Margaret Wilson, a former party president who also played a central role in Labour's election campaign, might be conflicted if she has to decide what to do with the report.

"I think it is important to uphold the integrity of the position of the Speaker. The Speaker will be taking her own advice on how to proceed when she receives the final report and as far as I'm concerned, she is a person of integrity who will act with integrity and fully recognising the responsibilities she has as Speaker."

Helen Clark offered no preference as to whether Mr Brady reported as Controller or Auditor-General.

The latter requires no action to be taken, though in reality the Government would almost certainly determine what course of action should follow.

But a report as Controller would require the Speaker - and any other minister receiving such a report - to report to the House on any unlawful appropriation and, more importantly, on what remedy she proposes.

Mr Darnton said yesterday that he would withdraw his action if Labour admitted it had broken the law.