Alleged NZ diplomatic leak probed

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is probing the leaking of a confidential diplomatic cable to an Australian newspaper.

The cable, from the New Zealand High Commission in Canberra to the Government in Wellington, was obtained by The Australian newspaper.

It followed a briefing high commission diplomats received on the machinations involved in Julia Gillard deposing Kevin Rudd as Australian prime minister. At one stage it was understood that Mr Rudd would get a cabinet position, but he ended up without one.

The cable was about a briefing based on "those close to the conversation which occurred between the Prime Minister and Kevin Rudd MP on Sunday (June 27)".

It said Ms Gillard's staff had not wanted her to offer Mr Rudd a new role when she took over the top job "least of all the role of minister of foreign affairs".

Mr Rudd had wanted the position, despite having agreed to stand down immediately and not force Ms Gillard to face a ballot for the party leadership, the cable said.

"(Mr Rudd) has apparently conveniently forgotten that a 'deal' struck in advance of the leadership spill was that he would stand down immediately," it said.

The Australian political editor Dennis Shanahan said as a result of his inquiries over the cable and what he had flushed out had led to Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd both facing claims they reneged on deals with each other.

After receiving the cable, Shanahan said he tried to ensure that it was genuine.

"I made a number of calls and pretty soon after making some of those calls the alert had gone out in Wellington," he told Radio New Zealand.

He had professional discussions with New Zealand officials, who had not quizzed him on the source of the leak.

"I have been in the Canberra press gallery for 22 years. People know that asking me to reveal a source is pretty fruitless and unprofessional, so it didn't even get to that."

A spokeswoman for Prime Minister John Key today told NZPA the Government was aware of the alleged leak.

"We understand it's possible a cable had found its way into the public domain and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is looking into the situation."

The high commission in Canberra declined to comment when contacted by NZPA.

- NZPA