Strange tactics from Peters

The Herald reports that Winston Peters has told the PM directly that he denies any donation from Owen Glenn to NZ First, and continues to suggest the e-mail the Herald printed is fabricated.

I am puzzled that he is directing all his anger at the NZ Herald, and not any towards Owen Glenn. The obvious solution for Peters is for Owen Glenn to confirm what Peters has said. Why has Winston not picked up the phone to Owen Glenn and asked him if the e-mail is true, and if so why did he say he gave a donation when he didn’t?

The attacks on the Herald Political Editor personally are in my opinion a huge blunder. The gallery have memories of Muldoon when he tried to bully individual journalists and they tend to band together when an MP tries to destory the career of one of their own.

The reality is that any media organisation would have run a story based on that e-mail. And it is a fact that four days on from its publication, neither Owen Glenn nor Steve Fisher have in any way suggested it is fake or forged. To the contrary they have both made statements that are consistent with the e-mail – not inconsistent.

In 1999 Jenny Shipley faced questions over a the issue of having dinner with Kevin Roberts. Jim Anderton falsely accused her of agreeing to give Saatchis the Tourism Board contract at that dinner in exchange for free work on National’s campaign.This was a malicious lie as the dinner happened after the decision on the Tourism Board contract – in fact she had never met Roberts or talked to him prior to the granting of the contract.

Now she fronted up on that issue to the media and the public and revealed the nature and timing of her meetings with Roberts, and even what was discussed at the dinner!

With this far far more serious issue, surely Peters should do the same and answer the following questions:

1. How often has he met with Owen Glenn?
2. Has he ever discussed a donation with Owen Glenn?
3. Why has the Government changed its position on not needing a Consul in Monaco?
4. What indications were given to Owen Glenn regarding Monaco?

Peters seems to think that simply claiming the e-mail is fabricated, deals with the issue. But if the e-mail is fabricated, why has Owen Glenn not said so?

Helen Clark can contact Owen Glenn either directly or through Mike Williams. He is her largest donor. Why doesn’t she call on Owen Glenn to talk to the media and confirm whether or not the e-mail is real or not, and if so why he stated he donated to NZ First?

Glenn will not refuse a request from the Prime Minister to front up and tell the truth.

The other question for Clark and Williams is whether or not they are still happy to accept large donations from Glenn. Williams a few months ago said he was. You see if Clark is saying she beleives Winston, then that casts huge Glenn in a very bad light. It implies he is a liar or a fantasist. Why would you accept money from him if you beleive that about him?

If Clark thinks the e-mail is fabricated by the NZ Herald, then she must be appalled that Owen Glenn has not stepped forward to clear her Foreign Minister. Again why would you accept money from someone who is willing to let her Foreign Minister be smeared on the basis of a fake e-mail?

If Clark and Peters want this issue to go away, then they have to ask Owen Glenn to speak up. All he has to do is answer the following questions:

1. Is the e-mail fabricated or real?
2. Did he make a donation to NZ First or anyone associated with NZ First directly or indirectly?

If the answer to (1) is it is fabricated – then the Police must be called in to investigate this henious crime. The people responsible have massively defamed Peters and Glenn and must be identified.

If the answer to (1) is it is real, then Glenn has to detail whether or not he was telling the truth in a private e-mail to his PR advisor. Was he joking? Was he mistaken? Did he invent the whole episode?

And if the answer to (2) is he was not lying to his PR advisor in a private e-mail, but telling the truth as he saw it – he needs to state what size donation he made, who it was made out to and who was it delivered to. Maybe it was someone else in NZ First who didn’t tell WInston. Maybe he donated through some intermediaries and NZ First did not realise he was the ultimate source?

Now all these details won’t even be necessary, if Owen Glenn will simply deal with the first point. All he needs to do is confirm the claim by WInston Peters that the e-mail is fabricated or fake. Helen Clark and Winston Peters should call on him publicly to confirm or deny the authencity of the e-mail.