Govt paid super leak legal fees
The Government will cover the legal fees of the former ministers sued by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters over the leak of his superannuation details.
Documents released to Stuff under the Official Information Act show Cabinet agreed in February to cover the initial legal costs incurred by the former National Party ministers sued by Peters.
This was estimated to be about $20,000 – but National says its MPs have paid back $10,000 of this after winning it back off Peters.
Taxpayers could also be on the hook for any damages incurred and further legal costs, although this decision has yet to be made.
Peters took the legal action after his superannuation details were leaked during the election campaign last year, revealing he had been overpaid for a period. Peters immediately paid back the $18,000 he had been overpaid.
It emerged then-ministers Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett were given the information under the ‘‘no surprises’’ policy, whereby public servants warn politicians of sensitive issues that might end up public.
Peters took legal action against Tolley and Bennett along with former prime minister Bill English, former finance minister Steven Joyce, and a handful of staffers and journalists.
On November 13, National Party chief of staff Craig Howie wrote to Speaker Trevor Mallard looking to fund the legal costs for the proceedings out the National Party leadership fund, an allocation given to parties from Parliamentary Services.
Mallard declined the request, saying the case had been brought against the MPs due to alleged actions as ministers, not MPs.
‘‘If the four had not been ministers, they would not have been aware or made aware of the information,’’ Mallard wrote.
Howie then wrote to AttorneyGeneral David Parker asking for Cabinet’s approval for the taxpayer to fund the legal costs.
Parker’s office spoke with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson about the issue, who confirmed they were happy with Cabinet being asked to cover the costs.
Peters was not present for the consideration of the item when it came before Cabinet in February.
The $20,000 – plus GST – would be met by the budget allocations for Internal Affairs, Finance Social Development, the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in equal shares.
Cabinet also agreed to put off any decision about paying for damages until they had actually been awarded.
Peters has sought $1.8 million in total from public servants and former ministers.
National leader Simon Bridges said it was absolutely legitimate for the ministers to ask the Crown to fund the legal costs and National MPs had already paid back $10,000 of the fees.
Bridges said it was essential legal costs for ministers were covered so politics wasn’t a realm only for the wealthy who could avoid all the legal costs that may come along with Government.
Parker said he had acted on Crown Law advice, and pushed back on any assumption that further legal fees would definitely have those costs covered.
‘‘We haven’t made a decision on the substantive issue, and when we take that decision it will be based on Crown advice based on long-settled principle,’’ Parker said.
Parker noted in the Cabinet paper that the former ministers did not have an ‘‘absolute’’ right to have their costs covered but it had not yet been proved that they were acting outside of their appropriate roles.
‘‘While there is no absolute legal right to indemnity by the Crown in these circumstance, I have formed the view that indemnification of the former ministers’ reasonable expenses of legal representation in these preliminary proceedings is appropriate, on the basis the proceedings arose from the ministers’ duties, and allegations they were acting beyond the scope of their authority are unproven,’’ Parker wrote in the Cabinet minute.
Peters declined to comment on the issue as it was under legal consideration.