Minister says he was not drunk

Press, 1 October 1983, Page 8

Minister says he was not drunk

PA Tauranga The Minister of Customs, Mr Allen, yesterday denied being drunk in Parliament on Wednesday evening.

“I haven’t had a drink this week,” he said in an interview.

“I don’t normally have much to drink because it just aggravates my diabetic condition.”

Mr Allen, member of Parliament for Tauranga, said a doctor had established that his diabetes and treatment for an eye condition which was giving him headaches were the reasons behind his problems in Parliament.

“Claims by Mr Prebble (the member for Auckland Central) that I was drunk are completely unsubstantiated,” he said. Mr Allen was chairing the committee stages of the Customs Orders Confirmation Bill when he was asked to leave the debating chamber by the Chief Government Whip, Mr D. C. McKinnon.

Mr Allen said he had consulted his lawyer about the Opposition’s claims. “But they are protected

because the comments were made in Parliament,” he said. “We would sue straight away if they made these allegations outside the House.”

Mr Allen admitted getting “very wild” with Mr Prebble on Wednesday, evening.

Asked if his health problems would prevent him from seeking the party’s nomination for Tauranga before the next General Election, Mr Allen said his illnesses were not that serious.

“They would not put me out of the running,” he said. “But I really haven’t given the next Election a lot of thought.” Mr Allen said he had contracted his eye condition in Singapore two weeks ago. “It still hasn’t cleared up,” he said. “I have been getting headaches as a result of it and I have not been feeling the best.”

Mr Alien described Wednesday evening’s incident in Parliament as “just another spat.” "It is one of those things which usually blows over fairly quickly,” he said.