Don Brash has today filed a defamation claim with the High Court in Auckland against Matthew Hooton after several attempts to resolve the matter privately.

Specialist defamation lawyers, Peter McKnight and Ali Romanos, have been retained as counsel for Dr Brash. Dr Brash received a delaying response from Mr Hooton’s lawyers just ninety minutes before the requested deadline and has been left with no choice but to file proceedings.

Mr Hooton has refused to apologise to Dr Brash in a form he sought, nor offered to pay his legal expenses. Mr Hooton has declined to respond to Dr Brash’s lawyers beyond a note from his lawyer stating: “Mr Hooton is currently outside of New Zealand,” and that Mr Hooton’s lawyers would respond as soon as they had “further instructions”.

Dr Brash’s comment in response was “what has happened to phones and emails”.

Mr Hooton seriously defamed Don Brash including suggesting he is profoundly dishonest, lacks integrity, and is corrupt. This goes far beyond disagreeing with what Dr Brash has said on any given matter and impugns his character in a very serious way.

In any case, debates relating to the Treaty cannot be allowed to deteriorate into personal attacks. It should not be beyond public figures to argue the facts and their beliefs without resorting to smearing reputations.

“Don Brash is a respected former Reserve Bank Governor and former Leader of the Opposition. His principled stances on the Treaty and New Zealand’s multicultural population have been consistent across the decades. It is right that he defends his reputation as a dedicated public servant against spurious accusations,” says Hobson’s Pledge spokesperson Elliot Ikilei.

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