Prime Minister John Key says he no longer owns shares in Highwater Vineyard so he can't possibly have a conflict of interest while the Government works on liquor law reform.Mr Key's shareholding in the Central Otago vineyard raised questions last week abo
Prime Minister John Key says he no longer owns shares in Highwater Vineyard so he can't possibly have a conflict of interest while the Government works on liquor law reform.
Mr Key's shareholding in the Central Otago vineyard raised questions last week about conflict of interest because some of the other shareholders own supermarkets which could be affected by changes to liquor laws.
The prime minister explained last week that his assets were put into a blind trust after National won the election, and were sold to the trustee company, Whitechapel Ltd, which is owned by the law firm that set up the blind trust.
"What happened to those assets from there on was of no concern to me," he said yesterday at his post-cabinet press conference.
Asked about the vineyard shares, he said: "I don't own them...I can't control the assets...I can't possibly have a conflict of interest in an asset I no longer own."
Labour MP Peter Hodgson has laid a breach of privilege complaint with Speaker Lockwood Smith claiming Mr Key misled Parliament when he said he had no access to the assets.
Mr Hodgson argues that the assets are in Whitechapel Ltd, which is open to scrutiny through the companies register, so Mr Key does have access to them.
That is disputed by the lawyers who set up the blind trust and Mr Key last week released a letter from them which explained the situation.
He said yesterday the lawyers' letter had been given to Dr Smith as part of his case against the breach of privilege complaint.
