Rt Hon Jenny Shipley

Leader of the Opposition

Tuesday 15 August 2000

This was dirt-digging, all-right

The Prime Minister is being cute with the truth if she tries to deny the Labour Party was engaged in a dirt-digging exercise on Dover Samuels, Opposition Leader Jenny Shipley said today.

"On Saturday I said we had evidence from an ex-police officer that Bob Harvey asked him to get material on Dover Samuels.

"Our information was that Helen Clark was behind those inquiries.

"The story that has emerged shows a Prime Minister who is prepared to deal with other Ministers with a total lack of good faith.

"Instead of confronting him and asking for his permission to look at his police file, which would have been the decent way to do it, Labour went behind his back to find the dirt.

"Since I made the assertions a mountain of information including our evidence has tumbled into the public arena confirming the extent of the exercise.

"The tape of Chris Carter initiating a call to an informant on Samuels' past shows that the Labour Party was doing far more than reacting to allegations. Labour was 'doing a little bit of detective work,' which is dirt-digging in my book.

"A senior National Party MP has made a personal statement to Parliament today giving our evidence from an ex-police officer that Bob Harvey asked him, on behalf of the Prime Minister, to get material on Dover Samuels"

"The Prime Minister herself has confirmed most of my assertions for us.

"In Parliament today she admitted she was at the centre of the loop, talking with Harvey about direct phone conversations with the former policeman.

"Yesterday she admitted on Checkpoint that the information Bob Harvey and Chris Carter obtained had contributed to her decision to sack Dover Samuels," Mrs Shipley said.

Ends

© Scoop Media