‘We took photographs’ – or maybe not
NZ First leader Winston Peters says he was involved in having photographs taken of Radio NZ journalist Guyon Espiner, Stuff reporter Matt Shand and former NZ First president Lester Gray.
The photographs, and a video, were posted on The BFD, a Whaleoil-linked website which has been running stories defending NZ First and trying to belittle reporting about the NZ First Foundation donations.
The photos ran with an article criticising the reporting, which Espiner and Shand have both been involved in.
The deputy prime minister has said two reporters were photographed going to a meeting with Gray ‘‘to prove that was the sort of behaviour going on’’.
When the photographs were raised with him by Magic Talk Radio, Peters said ‘‘we took the photographs’’.
When RNZ contacted Peters yesterday evening to ask who ‘‘we’’ referred to, Peters said he did not know who took the photograph.
‘‘To say I said we physically went and took a photograph, that is bulldust,’’ he said.
Peters has been under pressure to answer questions about the secretive NZ First Foundation. RNZ has revealed the foundation received donations from entities connected with some of the country’s wealthiest business people in amounts just under the threshold at which the donors’ names would normally be made public.
The Electoral Commission said it believed the foundation had received donations which should have been treated as party donations and had referred the matter to police to investigate.
The police then referred the matter to the Serious Fraud Office.
Peters said in light of the commission’s findings, NZ First would review its arrangements for party donations.