Peters hits dead end in leak liability case 02 Aug 2021 14:27 PM
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The Court of Appeal has turned down a request by New Zealand First leader Winston Peters to put further evidence in his case that his privacy was invaded by the leaking of his New Zealand Superannuation overpayment.
The court has ruled there was no fault on the part of Mr Peters that he was paid the rate for a single person rather than the partnered rate, and he repaid the overpayment as soon as it was discovered.
The leak to media happened after Ministry of Social Development chief executive Brendan Boyle and State Services Commissioner Peter Hughes briefed their ministers, Anne Tolley and Paula Bennett respectively.
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Winston Peters.
Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The judgment related to a High Court battle between the former Deputy Prime Minister, a number of top public servants, and former National MPs.
It all goes back to a leak to the media in 2017 which saw Peters overpaid $18,000 in superannuation.
The overpayment was accidental, and Peters repaid it immediately. It occurred because he did not tick a box about having a partner.
Following on from the leak, Peters took top public servants and two National MPs - who had been ministers at the time - to the High Court, claiming his privacy had been breached.