Another desperate attack by Labour

National Party Leader John Key tonight pointed out it has been public for months that his family trust had been shareholders in Tranzrail until the shares were sold in June 2003.

“The point here is that I confirmed my family trust was a shareholder in Tranzrail when the matter was first raised.

“The number of shares held by the trust varied at different times.

“The shareholdings were managed on my behalf by my broker who had the authority to act on individual share parcels without referring back to the trust.

“Early in June 2003 it became clear to me Tranzrail could be a major political issue and I instructed my broker to sell the shares, which were sold on 9 and 12 June 2003.

“The net result of the shareholdings is that the trust lost a substantial amount of money.

“This attack by Michael Cullen and the Labour Party research unit is further evidence they will run a desperate smear campaign against me. Labour continues to be distracted from the real issues facing New Zealand.”

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