Brash bemoans publicity of private life - New Zealand, world, sport, business & entertainment news on Stuff.co.nz The suggestion is crap. I have always made a point of telling the New Zealand public what my policies are and what I stand for in a policy sense. I've never held myself up as a morals campaigner.'Not only am I trying to get a grip on video blogging and my associated mulit-media archives, I'm excited to tune into more news and research into life in New Zealand.
This dude with a great name, "Brash", has a great answer, "The suggestion is crap" when asked about the news of his afair.
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Brash bemoans publicity of private life
19 September 2006
By MICHAEL CUMMINGS
National Party leader Don Brash says he's never been a morals campaigner and any suggestion his private life has undermined his public role is "crap".
Speaking exclusively to the Manawatu Standard during a visit to Palmerston North yesterday, Dr Brash was talking tough after a withering week, both politically and personally. He says whether or not he keeps his job is "incidental" to the party's future but he is in no mood to step aside.
Rumours of an affair with Business Roundtable deputy chairwoman Diane Foreman have struck a blow to his future as leader, and to his personal integrity.
"I have always made a point of telling the New Zealand public what my policies are, what I stand for in a policy sense. I've never held myself up as a morals campaigner," Dr Brash says.
The scrutiny of his private life the past week is a Labour Party ploy to detract from the important issues facing the country, he says.
"Helen Clark herself talked about emails which were going to come out in due course to cause embarrassment.
"Trevor Mallard and David Benson-Pope in Parliament were slinging comments around which were designed to cause as much embarrassment as possible, so I don't doubt that they were very glad at the diversion."
Asked if the scandal has undermined his personal integrity, Dr Brash says: "Well, I guess at the end of the day that's for the public to decide. I don't think I can sensibly comment on that."
The National caucus message, publicly at least, is that it's "business as usual".
But if Dr Brash's head is on the block, it's unlikely he'll know until the blade is on its way down.
"I can't preclude that possibility, but I've got no indication at this point that any change is requested," he says.
Dr Brash released a statement on Wednesday last week saying he was having marriage difficulties and would be taking two days leave to spend time with his family.
The public admission came after Dr Brash addressed, at a National caucus meeting, rumours of an affair, and the discussion was relayed to the media. The leak clearly angered him.
"Of course it did. That shouldn't have happened, and I won't talk about that further. I don't want to comment on that."
Dr Brash says while some of his caucus colleagues may have been tempted to sling mud back at their Labour counterparts, he's rubbished claims National was behind questions surrounding the sexuality of Helen Clark's husband, Peter Davis.
"I've made it very clear to my parliamentary colleagues that we will not respond in kind to this stuff. Helen Clark's allegation that the National Party's behind rumours about her husband are absolutely, totally without foundation."
# Questions put to Don Brash by the Manawatu Standard
Q. Is your integrity a legitimate issue?
A. "It's always a legitimate issue. I have never, to my knowledge, misled the New Zealand public."
Q. Is how someone conducts themselves privately open to scrutiny if it has a bearing on who they are as a person?
A. "If it bears on who they are as a person, well, maybe. But I think the important issue is, is the person competent to run a country, and I think that's the key question. The public has a legitimate right to know what the National Party's views are on the healthcare system, on tax, on education... and I'm very happy to talk about any of those. But I don't think the public does need to know the details of my private life."
Q. Does there come a point though, where what you do in your private life, if it affects how you do your job, becomes fair game?
A. "If it is in conflict in some way with what you're doing then that's an issue. But there's no suggestion that I'm aware of that anything I've done in my private life is in conflict with what I'm doing in a political sense."
Q. But, to be fair, there is a suggestion that it does.
A. "The suggestion is crap. I have always made a point of telling the New Zealand public what my policies are and what I stand for in a policy sense. I've never held myself up as a morals campaigner."
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