Michael Moore concerned by US cable about NZ

A cable about a New Zealand government minister attending the screening of Fahrenheit 9/11 raises questions about the reach and influence of the United States, its director Michael Moore says.

His 2004 documentary film looked critically at George W Bush's presidency and the war on terror.

He commented about the New Zealand cable on a television show which was reported by the Guardian newspaper today.

The 2004 cable reveals US deputy chief of mission to New Zealand David Burnett called Environment Minister Marian Hobbs, concerned she was hosting an event where Moore's film would be screened and he also rang Prime Minister Helen Clark about it.

Moore said that level of micro-managing raised questions about what the US Government was doing.

"If they were micro-managing me that much, if they were that concerned about the truth in Fahrenheit 9/11 that they have to go after a screening in a place I don't even really know where it is...I know it's way too long to sit in coach (economy class) for me...I want to know. Because I think it speaks to a larger issue: if they have the time for that, what else are these guys up to?"

Ms Hobbs, who retired from politics in 2008 and now works in Northampton, told the Guardian she did not recall the event.

"To be honest I can't remember anything about it at all," she said. "Possibly my staff didn't tell me because they knew I wouldn't take any notice."

The cable outlined how Mr Burnett was told by the PM's office they didn't know about the screening and Ms Hobbs' receptionist rebuffed his calls.

Ms Hobbs' staff later told the US embassy that she was merely attending the screening, part of a series of Labour party fund-raisers in her constituency.

Mr Burnett believed his intervention had tempered the response and resulted in Ms Hobbs just attending rather than hosting the event.

"There's a reason this particular minister is nicknamed "Boo Boo" Hobbs. That said, it is probable that this potential fiasco may only have been averted because of our phone calls -- it is apparent to us that neither the minister nor anyone else in the Labour government seems to have thought there was anything wrong with a senior minister hosting such an event."

He concluded: "Ambassador (Charles Swindells) will use a scheduled meeting with the prime minister to tell Clark … that we would really rather not get dragged into internal political issues, such as ministerial fund-raising events for Clark's Labour party."