9 April 2002

It seems the whole of New Zealand knows that the Alliance Party has split but the Parliamentary Service doesn't seem to realise the party is in two pieces, National MP Gerry Brownlee said today in response to the Speaker's ruling against an audit of the Alliance's taxpayer funding.

National has called for an audit of the use of $848,000 taxpayer funding the Alliance gets to support its MPs in Parliament, to ensure the money is not going to promotion, staff or set up of Jim Anderton's breakaway party.

"We don't know if Jim's unnamed party is keeping to the rules with its funds but we and all New Zealanders have the right to know. "It is a charade that we now cannot get to the bottom of the use of Alliance funding and it shows that Helen Clark is prepared to allow a flagrant flouting of her party's anti party hopping law to preserve her position of Prime Minister.

"The Acting PM without a party has lost any credibility he ever had by party hopping off on his own yet again. As a Government coalition partner he is accountable to all New Zealanders and this includes every taxpayer dollar he spends on his new party.

"National will continue to ask questions about how Alliance taxpayer funding is being spent until we get answers," Mr Brownlee said.

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