Peters' star waning in popularity stakes

DIEGO OPATOWSKI/The Dominion Post

NO COMMENT: NZ First leader Winston Peters still won't say what a friend and NZ First staff member has done in return for a $50,000 salary paid by the taxpayer.

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There is bad news for Winston Peters as he prepares to face the high-powered privileges committee over questions surrounding NZ First donations - almost half of voters want him sacked.

A Fairfax Media-Nielsen poll also reveals that voters do not want NZ First in the next government - regardless of whether National or Labour wins.

The poll findings come as Mr Peters and his lawyer Brian Henry prepare to front up to a privileges hearing tonight into allegations surrounding a $100,000 donation from billionaire Owen Glenn to Mr Peters' legal fund.

Mr Peters also faces questions over the secretive Spencer Trust, the existence of which only came to light after The Dominion Post revealed a $25,000 cheque from millionaire Sir Robert Jones was deposited in the trust and never declared.

Today's poll for The Dominion Post suggests that the affair has dented Mr Peters' credibility, with 48 per cent of voters believing Prime Minister Helen Clark should stand him down from his ministerial positions over questions surrounding donations to NZ First.

Thirty-seven per cent of voters disagreed, and 15 per cent had no opinion. The findings are more damning when it comes to voters' views on whether NZ First should be involved in discussions after the election about the formation of the next government - just 39 per cent of voters think Labour should do another deal with NZ First, compared with 52 per cent who say no. The result was similar when it came to NZ First doing a deal with National - just 36 per cent said yes, and 54 per cent said no.

Miss Clark has expressed confidence in Mr Peters as her foreign affairs and racing minister and says she has taken him at his word that there was nothing illegal in NZ First's funding arrangements.

A spokeswoman said yesterday that Miss Clark had nothing to add to the "extensive responses" she had made in recent weeks.

"The issue of who will be involved in post-election negotiations will be determined after the election."

National leader John Key was also careful to avoid ruling out a deal, saying that was up to voters to determine. He did not rule Mr Peters out of a future National cabinet, but acknowledged there were still "unanswered questions" which he hoped would be answered by the privileges hearing.