Mr Peters released a document from Chinese border control agency AQSIQ to support his claim yesterday as Prime Minister John Key said he was pulling his embattled Justice Minister Judith Collins out of the firing line over the long running Oravida conflict-of-interest affair.
While Ms Collins will be in Parliament today and tomorrow, Mr Key said she would then take a few days off after showing signs that pressure from the Opposition over the Oravida saga and the resignation of ministerial colleague Maurice Williamson were affecting her judgment.
Ms Collins has faced weeks of questions over her visit to China late last year when she had a "private"dinner in Beijing with Oravida's bosses and an unnamed Chinese border control official.
The Opposition claims the dinner was about Ms Collins going to bat for the company that employs her husband, after it had asked for ministerial assistance to overcome obstacles to its milk exports to China following the Fonterra botulism scare.
Last night, Mr Peters released what he said was "an important Chinese import clearance document"from AQSIQ for Oravida's milk posted on the internet by the company about eight weeks after Ms Collins' Beijing dinner and just a few days before the company donated $30,000 to National on December 23.
"This suggests Oravida is boasting about having received clearance to export again from China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine [AQSIQ]," Mr Peters said.
"This is serious evidence that Oravida did benefit from Minister Collins' visit ... Their gratitude was shown three days later when the National Party received a $30,000 donation from them."
Mr Peters claimed to have further evidence that would implicate Ms Collins.
At National's northern regional conference over the weekend, Ms Collins lashed out at TVNZ parliamentary reporter Katie Bradford, for which she has now apologised.
Yesterday, Mr Key said he had discussed those "inappropriate"comments with Ms Collins on Sunday.
They were "a reflection of the fact she was letting things get under her skin and I think she would regret that," he said.
"We'll be encouraging her ... just to take a few days off."
But Ms Collins must front up in Parliament today and tomorrow, when the Opposition will grill her on Mr Peters' claims and a fresh Labour attack based on an Mfat document showing her visit to Oravida's Shanghai offices days after her Beijing dinner was officially described as being "to increase the profile of a successful importer and distributor of New Zealand products into China".
Mr Key said he had had a "cursory look"through the documents referred to by Labour, and "there will be the normal political questions that will get asked and people will be able to work out why the Opposition asks those".
Labour MP Grant Robertson said if the time off was an attempt to make the Oravida issue go away, "it's not going to work".
The Oravida saga
August 2013: Oravida's managing director Julia Xu asks Trade Minister Tim Groser and Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy for help to tackle a new testing regime which was blocking its milk imports to China.
Early October: Oravida invites Justice Minister Judith Collins to visit its Shanghai offices and to also go to dinner in Beijing.
October 20: Ms Collins arrives in Beijing where she attends lunch and the dinner with Oravida's Stone Shi and a senior Chinese border control official.
October 23: Ms Collins visits Oravida's Shanghai offices.
December 20: On its website Oravida posts an import certificate from Chinese authorities approving its milk imports.
December 23: Oravida donates $30,000 to the National Party.
March 12: Ms Collins put on notice by Mr Key after admitting she met Mr Shi on two further occasions than she had previously said.
April 17: Ms Collins admits she briefed the NZ ambassador to Beijing on the Beijing dinner.
May 2: Foreign Affairs documents reveal Ms Collins' office also asked for an official briefing.
- Adam Bennett of the NZ Herald
