Judith Collins
National Party Clevedon MP

29 April 2005

Samuels Denial Deserves Questioning

"If, as Dover Samuels claims, his disturbing behaviour in an Auckland hotel hallway is the result of prostate problems, why did he initially deny the offence?" asks National Party MP Judith Collins.

She is responding to reports that Dover Samuels urinated in a hallway outside his Heritage Hotel room after a Labour Party fundraiser.

"I have absolute sympathy for anyone suffering from a prostate condition, but if that was the reason for this odd incident, why did Mr Samuels deny it when approached by the media?

"Is this the standard of the Labour administration - to deny everything until you get caught?

"This incident has all the hallmarks of Lianne Dalziel's denial over the so-called guinea pig letter. She did not confess until after she had been caught in a lie.

"I'm also concerned by remarks attributed to Mr Samuels, who apparently said 'some low-life has gone to the media'.

"Mr Samuels, who is an associate minister of housing, tourism and economic and industrial development, should know that his behaviour, as a minister, was always going to be open to public scrutiny. He should have come clean straight away," says Ms Collins.

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