Winston PetersNew Zealand First leader Winston Peters has gone further, saying Mr Matthews should be stood down to allow the scale of the fraud to be investigated. It has been reported that Mr Matthews was repeatedly told of Harrison's unusual behaviour but did not intervene. Mr Peters was angry that parties were not given more information about Mr Matthews' handling of the case during the appointment process. Mr Peters said he found it hard to believe Mr Matthews did not know what was going on at the ministry. But he said calls for Mr Matthews to stand down were "a pretty drastic way of dealing with the issue".

Source: Otago Daily Times May 17, 2017 01:52 UTC