Editorial: Hide does the honourable thing

OPINION: Queen Elizabeth II referred to 1992 as her "annus horribilis".

She had good reason for this.

In that year Prince Andrew separated from his wife, Princess Anne divorced her husband and Prince Charles and Diana announced their separation. Add to that a few racy photos, a tell-all book and a fire at Windsor Castle and you can understand where she was coming from.

ACT MP Rodney Hide would most likely be forgiven for referring to last week as his "weekus horribilis".

Mr Hide has been embroiled in a fair bit of controversy over the past week or so.

At a breakfast in Christchurch he was having a yarn with some of the people at his table when he mentioned that, despite being a top chap, prime minster John Key had not done a whole lot for the country – apart from initiating a national cycleway.

What Mr Hide did not know was that one of the people at the table was a journalist and before you could say "political gaffe" he was on the phone apologising to Mr Key.

Mr Hide says he was not aware there was a journalist present and what he said was off the record. When someone says something in public, even if you think you are speaking privately, there is always the risk you may be overheard. Mr Hide will no doubt have learned a lesson from this and will hopefully think twice before making derogatory statements about the prime minister (or anyone else for that matter) to groups of people sitting around a breakfast table.

The second Hide horror relates to overseas travel at the expense of the taxpayer.

Sorry is a hard word to say. Unless you have no alternative.

ACT MP Rodney Hide was full of remorse yesterday when apologising for using taxpayer money to take his girlfriend on not one, but two overseas jaunts.

One was an official trip to Britain, Canada and the United States and the other a holiday in Hawaii.

When a hullabaloo arose about the official trip Mr Hide was at first unrepentant, saying he was entitled to the money. His tune has changed and he is now repaying $22,000.

Mr Hide says he has always been conscious that every dollar a government spends is a dollar out of the pocket of a hard working Kiwi, but that in the challenge, the hard work, and the excitement of his ministerial job he lost sight of that.

He has now promised to never again use taxpayers' money for any overseas holidays and says he will continue to work hard to do the very best job he can as a minister and a member of parliament.

To his credit Mr Hide did not look to blame anyone for his "stuff ups". He took it on the chin and is hoping to move on. Time will tell whether that is possible or not.

- The Marlborough Express

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