Has Worth jumped the camel?

In TV sitcom parlance, to "Jump the Shark'' is to bomb. It was coined some 30 years ago when Happy Days finally went to the dogs after Fonzie was shown jumping over a shark on a pair of waterskis - while wearing his trademark leather jacket, of course.

Perhaps, here, we could coin a new term for MPs or ministers who get into trouble through a real or perceived conflict of interest: How about "Jump the Camel''?

National minister Richard Worth is in a spot of bother this morning over revelations he went on a business trip to India while speaking on behalf of the Government at the same time.

Worth, he of camel fame (Worth once elected to go on a camel ride rather than attend a commemoration for the Maori Battalion in Egypt in 2002) was always odds-on to get into trouble at some stage in his ministership, though it does appear this time that he at least got permission from his boss for the venture.

So what's the issue here? Worth paid for his own trip, apparently, with two other National MPs, during the February recess. So far no problem. During the visit, he spoke at a formal ceremony as Internal Affairs Minister about the benefits of New Zealand for aviation training. OK, a little odd - why didn't he go on a taxpayer-funded trip if he was representing the country? But still OK.

He is a director of NZ Aviation, which is in a joint venture with the Southern Institute of Technology to attract Indian student pilots to Invercargil. And while in India he oversaw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between SIT and an Indian aviation club.

Now that, surely, is a potential problem. Worth says there was no conflict of interest in his visit, he doesn't stand to make any money, and he's not involved in the joint venture company. And yet clearly he has a private interest here, whether or not it is a pecuniary one.

The Cabinet Manual says ministers have to be very careful about how they wield their power and influence. "Ministers must conduct themselves at all times in the knowledge that their role is a public one; appearances and propriety can be as important as an actual conflict of interest,'' it says.

I don't think there's any doubt the Indians Worth met would have been impressed by his status as a minister, or that it would have assisted in getting a deal signed. Even if Worth was simply doing a favour for SIT, his own business involvement should have rung alarm bells.

That it didn't with Worth is one thing - that it also didn't with Prime Minister John Key is quite another. Key says he was aware of the trip and its purpose and had "no concerns'' according to a spokeswoman. That surprises me. I wonder if he checked with anyone in the Cabinet Office.

It's not a hanging offence. But National might wear a bit of embarrassment in the House about it this week. Key gave former senior Labour minister Damien O'Connor heaps over his alleged conflict of interest when he allowed the husband of one of his secretaries - who was suspended from his job as a prison guard - to travel on a taxpayer-assisted trip to the Parliamentary Rugby World Cup.

Indeed, Key said at the time that O'Connor was guilty of "unbelievable stupidity'' and should be sacked.

National was also all over the Phillip Field affair. The former Labour MP's case involving alleged bribery and corruption is still before the courts.

Worth's case isn't in the same league, obviously, but it is a salutary reminder. Coming so soon after Paula Bennett got into trouble for writing a letter in support of her daughter's gang-affiliated boyfriend, and Key's own stumble over his ownership of TranzRail shares while an Opposition MP, it's a wonder such a reminder was needed though.