Sabin had been tipped to hold ministerial role: Key
EX-NATIONAL MP Mike Sabin was in line to be a minister after the election, Prime Minister John Key has admitted.
Key yesterday announced that a by-election in the Northland electorate will take place on March 28. The former police officer quit as an MP on Friday following allegations he is at the centre of a police investigation for assault.
Key maintains he became aware that Sabin was facing personal problems only in ‘‘very, very early December’’. It was ‘‘well and truly after’’ he appointed him chairman of Parliament’s law and order select committee, he said.
He was told by chief of staff Wayne Eagleson, and says no-one in the National Party knew before that. Key had not spoken to Sabin about the allegations – or since he resigned.
‘‘We didn’t know before the election . . . I hate to say it because Mr Sabin won’t like this, he was on the list of [those] likely to be a minister. There was a real toss-up between him and a couple of other people that got in. That’s how confident we were, or how lacking in knowledge of other issues that we were.’’
Asked which portfolios he considered, Key said: ‘‘I won’t bother going into that.’’
Key said he did not think about standing Sabin down and had no reservations about how he handled the scandal. ‘‘I thought, on balance, given the information I had at that time, the course of action I took was to let things ride and see how they progressed.
‘‘If it was a minister I probably would have taken steps to step someone down but as a select committee chair, I don’t think so. I think I have handled it as you would expect me too, within the law . . . with the information I had, I was very happy with the decision I took.’’
News of the police investigation became public in the days before Christmas. Key took legal advice on the matter when he returned from Europe last month.
The party expected MPs to come clean about troubles. ‘‘Some are a little better than others in telling us upfront straight away,’’ he said.
Labour leader Andrew Little said he did not buy Key’s version of events.
Sabin has made no further comment other than to say he is facing personal issues best dealt with outside Parliament.
Key announced the by-election date at a post-Cabinet press conference yesterday.
National has opened nominations, and already Whangareiborn list MP Paul Foster-Bell has ruled himself out.
It is a safe National seat – Sabin won with a majority of more than 9000 at September’s general election. Labour has said it will contest the by-election.
National is yet to replace Sabin as committee chairman.