Peters, the helicopter and NZ First 'loonies'

Documents obtained this week by The Dominion Post reveal donations to NZ First that were brokered by Ross Meurant, who later went to work for the party and its leader, Winston Peters.

The documents include reports and notes from meetings that appear to have been prepared largely by Mr Meurant. They provide an insider's view into dealings within NZ First – including criticism of some party members and its MPs – and Mr Meurant's description of the work he did for Mr Peters.

* July 15, 1998: Ross Meurant enters contract with Philip Vela and Peter Talley to lobby against MAF rules costing the fishing industry and recommend "a better and more effective" way to deal with politicians and government officials.

* July 22: Mr Meurant's report warns Mr Vela that Mr Peters' support may be "merely a play for campaign funding".

* July 1, 1999: In the first of numerous reports to Mr Vela, Mr Meurant says: "Another" $9999 would help for a meeting with Winston Peters' "backroom advisers".

* August 11 report: Cannot find Mr Peters but got his adviser, Sarah Neems, to get NZ First's MP on a select committee to oppose a United Nations policy on sustaining fish stocks.

* September 30 report: Mr Meurant tells Mr Vela: "Winston will ring you this morning and ask whether you can meet him at noon, you actually have Winston on the ropes. The fact he has now agreed in principle for my going on the [NZ First party] list suggests no funding unless I am high enough on the list to get in. The higher I am on the list the more funding."

* October 4 report: Mr Meurant and Mr Vela discussed the funding of NZ First and its party list.

* October 5 report: Mr Meurant records that Mr Vela met Mr Peters and indicated a promise of a board appointment on a state-owned enterprise.

* October 11 report: Mr Meurant and Mr Vela met to discuss Mr Peters and the possibility of providing him with a Vela helicopter.

* October 15 report: Mr Meurant met Mr Peters to discuss a NZ First party list placing for Mr Meurant and the helicopter.

* October 18 report: Over a midnight "dinner of fish" in Mr Peters' hotel room, Mr Peters said he knew Mr Vela wanted anonymity, but Mr Peters wanted to use his helicopter. Mr Meurant said he told Mr Peters that Mr Vela had friends who might not like seeing him support Mr Peters.

Mr Peters: "Tell him to hire an unmarked helicopter" so Mr Peters could paint it with NZ First colours and drop into small rural towns and schools.

* November 2 report: Mr Peters called on Oct 28 and Oct 29 asking for a Vela helicopter with discussion: "Meurant, tell those bastards I need a helicopter. Don't give me this crap about the machine needing repair. He can get me a helicopter. I can't get one anywhere else."

Mr Meurant: "Come on, Winston, he has offered you his pilot. That is a grand a week. He cannot come up with another machine. He has personal reasons for not giving you his machine. He socialises with people who hate you."

Mr Peters: "You gotta do better than that, Meurant. Don't these people know how dangerous I can be [laughs]." Mr Peters then says something to the effect of Vela interests having been saved millions in tax liability by Mr Peters.

Mr Meurant: "Come on, he is the only guy to give you funding."

Mr Peters: "I have other funding, don't worry about that."

Mr Meurant: "OK, you know how much, but Vela has given 20 grand and, as I have just told you, has confirmed the other 30 grand. What he [Mr Vela] has said is spend some of the 30 grand on a helicopter and use his pilot for free.

* December 1 report: Mr Meurant says Mr Peters is devastated by the party's loss in the November elections. He tells Mr Vela that, if Mr Peters or Doug Woolerton ask for the promised $30,000, he should tell them they had agreed to put Mr Meurant on a government corporation board but could not deliver on that now.

Nor could NZ First get its policies that Mr Vela liked introduced. Remind them it had been agreed that Mr Meurant would head NZ First's research unit on a taxpayer salary.

Tell them: "I have delivered. Two lots of 10 grand and the provision of a helicopter. I think it is time for you to produce something engage him [Mr Meurant] as your research manager." Mr Meurant says: "If Winston does engage me, I still want to work for you and will give your projects priority."

* December 10: Mr Meurant writes to Mr Peters applying for NZ First policy adviser job (and sends a job application copy to Mr Vela). He says Mr Peters suggested a salary of $60,000 with a "top-up" from the private sector, which he has found. He says he will obtain donations for NZ First and suggests he be responsible for policy development in fishing and thoroughbred industries and "taxation".

He says he will rebuild NZ First as a "sector interest (ie fishing, thoroughbred) party" and obtain corporate funding by producing "industry sector-friendly policies". "Providing NZ First reflects the concerns of the sector groups it targets, financial contributions from the corporate groups will be forthcoming.

"Deliver on what you promise and the corporates I have exposure to will stay with you." He tells Mr Peters to start with the commercial fishing and racing industries.

* December 21 report: Mr Meurant tells Mr Vela that Mr Peters will want Mr Vela to fund more of his adviser salary for NZ First. Mr Meurant asks for help from Mr Vela for travel as required to liaise with "WP" and, when required, to provide NZ First with material for debates in Parliament.

Mr Meurant says he wants help from Mr Vela "when required to show my face in Parliament to thrash out policy positions with Winston's bunch, which I will have already developed with your people on taxation, fishing, thoroughbred".

He tells Mr Vela: "Don't trust the tricky Maori boy. Without someone from your side in his tent driving the policy and cajoling his bunch of demonstably lazy bastards, a guaranteed outcome is an impossibility."

* March 31, 2000: Mr Meurant reports to Mr Vela that he has settled well at Parliament, advising Mr Peters and providing major input into Mr Peters' speeches.

He says Mr Peters and Mr Woolerton were "really pleased" he brought the chief executive of the Racing Industry Board to meet them "about what to do next".

He asks Mr Vela to provide him with "questions and data on the taxation reform issues of concern. Winston is keen to fight the issues. Any pointers to where we should direct our thrust would be timely." He says he could try to set up a "very private meeting" with Mr Peters and "the tax specialist".

* April 2000: Mr Meurant reports to Mr Vela saying he has Mr Woolerton's ear and they have agreed to rewrite NZ First export policy and also "prune NZ First of the significant percentage of loonies it has".

* August 23, 2000: Mr Meurant reports on a business idea for Mr Vela that could make a "better investment than $50,000 on NZ First".

* August 28: Report on a memo Mr Meurant sent to Mr Peters and approved by Mr Woolerton. The memo expresses disappointment with various NZ First staffers and MPs, including Ron Mark, who is a "loose cannon" who "needs to be kept in a cage or he will do you harm".

* October 10: Mr Meurant tells Mr Peters that NZ First MPs Brian Donnelly, Peter Brown and Ron Mark have not worked out, and that NZ First party subscriptions and cake stall money total less than money donated by its MPs.

"In case they don't understand: no corporate in the bloody world will give us a cent if our policies do not appeal to them."