Rogue National MP Jami-Lee Ross has made a u-turn decision on his pending resignation from Parliament and will remain to “expose serious flaws” in the National Party.
It's been a tumultuous week for the National Party since the release of the PWC report unfolding into a heated public brawl between party leader Simon Bridges and Ross.
Ross was expected to resign from Parliament today but he told Newstalk ZB the “rules of the game had changed” since things with Bridges had got personal ruining his reputation for a by-election in his Botany electorate.
“I think it’s important that I continue to speak up about what’s been happening here, what the leadership of the National Party is like, the flawed decision making and what I believe has been a corrupt practice.”
In the interview Ross admitted to his affairs with two women including a married female MP in the National party.
But he says his behaviour is not unusual. “There’s a lot of bed hopping that goes on down in that Parliament. There’s a lot of behaviour that a lot of people would want kept secret and has been kept secret until now.”
He apologised to his wife and the four women that accused Ross of harassment including Katrina Bungard, member of the Howick Local Board who came out publicly this week.
“I apologise for the hurt I’ve caused and I apologise for hurting them in the way that they’ve described” says Ross.
Ross has released new secret tape recordings of Bridges confronting him about the harassment complaints.
In the tape, Ross asks Bridges: “You’re expecting me to just accept that you’ve heard things and you’ve got some evidence but I’m not able to see that?”
Bridges replies: “I think that happened. In all honesty Jami-Lee, if I gave you natural justice on these issues, it wouldn’t be four or five, it’d be fifteen.”
Police investigations into corruption allegations against Bridges are still pending.