Denis O'Rourke The Speaker says he “has to accept” that a New Zealand First MP isn’t breaking any rules by hiring a man who lives on his Christchurch property, as the MP denies being in a relationship with the employee. Queenstown man David Simpson wrote to the Speaker claiming Denis O'Rourke was in a long-term relationship with Stephen James – who is the MP’s out of parliament assistant. Parliamentary rules forbid MPs from employing their partners. Both O’Rourke and James have stated they are not a couple. "We're deliberately not partners and whatever it takes to convince people we're not partners, that's what we'll do,” O’Rourke has previously told the New Zealand Herald. “We don't intend to be partners, we've agreed not to be partners, we don't do the things that partners do, so we're not partners." He had nothing further to add when contacted by GayNZ.com. In a letter published by the Herald, Speaker David Carter has written to Simpson saying "Based on the information made available to me I have to accept that Mr O'Rourke and Mr James are not spouses or partners ... In closing, without further substantial evidence to allegations that have been made, I can take this matter no further.” It’s not clear whether the complainant David Simpson is the Queenstown man by the same name who unsuccessfully complained to the Broadcasting Standards Authority in 2012 that he was mocked and called homophobic by a Newstalk ZB host over his Christian and anti-gay beliefs.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Thursday, 8th May 2014 - 1:15pm