Winston Peters says donations from the wealthy Vela family, which has large horse racing interests, had no bearing on New Zealand First's racing policy, which was written years earlier.
The NZ First leader, who is also Minister of Racing and Foreign Affairs, is facing intense scrutiny after a series of revelations regarding party donors.
The Dominion Post reported yesterday the party received multiple donations from the Vela family's fishing and thoroughbred companies between 1999 and 2003 -- all made out for amounts under $10,000.
Donations of more than $10,000, or multiple donations of smaller amounts from the same company or person in one year, have to be declared and NZ First does not appear to have done that.
Mr Peters is also facing a possible inquiry into whether he should have declared the $100,000 donation from expatriate billionaire Owen Glenn.
But Mr Peters today said the donations from the Velas occurred long before he became Racing Minister in 2005, an outcome that would have been hard to predict.
He had seen the newspaper's report on the donations which included a copy of a 2002 cheque from the Velas.
"How that is meant to affect my being Minister of Racing two elections later is astonishing as an allegation," he said on Radio New Zealand.
"It means someone was clairvoyant really."
However it was irrelevant as the donations did not affect his party's racing policy which was written in 1993.
He said he knew the Velas, who ran New Zealand's largest racing auction. Asked if he was told of the donations at the time by the party's treasurer he said: "I can't remember, I don't think so".
He said he was planning legal action against the Dominion Post.
Mr Peters admitted on Friday that a $100,000 donation from Mr Glenn went into his legal fund for fighting the 2005 Tauranga result, despite previously denying receiving any money from Mr Glenn.
ACT leader Rodney Hide has laid a complaint with Parliament's Speaker Margaret Wilson asking her to refer Mr Peters' failure to disclose the donation, which could be considered a gift, to the privileges committee.
Mr Peters said he was confident NZ First had met the rules in relation to both matters.
"We have laws of disclosure and I'm confident we have complied with those and I've complied with the parliamentary rules.
"If when I get back I have a re-examination of those questions on the parliamentary rules I'll see the Speaker."
Mr Peters is in Singapore at an Association of South East Asian Nations ministerial meeting.
In Parliament yesterday Prime Minister Helen Clark was forced to defend Mr Peters against National Party attacks.
National's leader, John Key, said it appeared some of the reported $150,000 in donations from the Vela family had not made it into NZ First's accounts.
He wanted to know what Miss Clark was going to do to "protect the integrity of her administration against serious allegations of this nature".
But today Mr Key said until there was definitive evidence to the contrary he would have to take Mr Peters at his word.
"We would have to accept his word," he said on Radio New Zealand.
However he hoped various possible inquiries -- by the Speaker and Auditor-General -- would be able to get to the bottom of the matter
Mr Key was not prepared to rule Mr Peters out of ministerial roles in any future National-led government.
