We can't help but wonder...

Cameron Slater has blogged on a subject that we've been pondering over the last week or so; check this out:

via the tipline
How come Winston Peters is sitting on the Privileges Committee investigation regarding Andrea Vance and the idiot Peter Dunne when he has claimed all along, in parliament, that he has known the content of the emails since the get go?
Why isn’t he giving evidence instead of sitting in judgment?
Surely this is closer to Zimbabwe than his fanciful claims?

Whaleoil's tipline correspondent makes a very good point. All along, Winston Peters has dropped all sorts of "hints" that he had all the good oil on Peter Dunne. Here's just one example, courtesy of the NBR:

United Future leader Peter Dunne exchanged personally embarrassing emails with Fairfax journalist Andrea Vance, NZ First leader Winston Peters claims. Mr Peters told TV3's The Nation he had seen the email exchange that Mr Dunne refused to hand over in the inquiry into the GCSB report leak.

So we can't help but wonder; given that Mr Peters has shown a significant amount of personal antipathy towards Mr Dunne, and given that he has told the media that he had either seen or had in his possession information germane to the Privileges Committee, does he not have a pretty significant conflict of interest here. After all, how can Winston Peters objectively judge an issue over the release of personal information when he has claimed to have that very information, and has used it to make political attacks on Peter Dunne.

Winston Peters is, of course, no stranger to the inner workings of the Privileges Committee. But on this matter, he should and must recuse himself from the hearing. Perhaps he could ask his deputy leader to deputise for him; oh, wait...