A terse press statement from Winston Peters last night suggests that there are still some raw wounds in the party over the dumping of Tracey Martin as Deputy Leader.
Curwen Rolinson, who since 2011 has described himself as the President or Leader of the party’s youth section, has launched a full-on attack on Ms Martin on the left-wing “Daily Blog” and in the process hung for public view out some of the party’s dirty washing.
Mr Rolinson, alleges that Ms Martin and her mother used their role on the party’s list committee to keep potential rivals to her as deputy leader well down the list.
He says this resulted in “her then-right hand man Richard Prosser being given a huge promotion to number three, her rival Andrew Williams falling from three to thirteen, chief-challenger Ron Mark placed at number nine and her former interior adversary Asenati Lole-Taylor being demoted right out of sight to number seventeen.”
He goes on: “You’d think that the comprehensive marginalization and public humiliation of a rival would be sufficient – but it didn’t end there. Not long after his axing from the list, news reports circulated that a trove of Andrew Williams’ office furniture and effects had made their way mysteriously into Tracey’s Bowen House quarters.”
Mr. Rolinson also alleges that Ms. Martin tried to stop Ria Bond coming in off the list after Mr. Peters won the Northland by-election so that a relative of hers who was next on the list after Ms. Bond would be the MP.
“Tracey felt herself under threat – both due to the sudden emergence of Shane Jones and a rapidly rising Ron Mark – and decided to do what she’d always done when threatened — shore up her power-base by elevating one of her relatives to a position of power and influence.”
But that required Ms. Bond to agree which she did not.
Last night though Mr. Peters issued a brief statement: “Mr Curwen Rolinson was told countless times never to call himself the president or leader of a youth wing.
“New Zealand First does not have a youth wing in its Constitution, and therefore does not have a former or present president of such an organisation.”
And the New Zealand First Leader told POLITIK that much of what Mr Rolinson wrote was “utter crap”.
He said it was based on skerrets of information.
“You look at it and say ‘that part is true, we did have a meeting’ but the rest is a creative novel.”
Meantime TV3 News is reporting that Mr Rolinson has been charged with possession for the purposes of supply of Cannabis and is due to appear in court again on July 15.
He however seems unrepentant.
He wrote on his Facebook page: “I’m the political equivalent of motherf…ing Ecstasy”
