John Kirk says still interested in politics

Press, 20 January 1987, Page 7

John Kirk says still interested in politics

PA Wellington The former member of Parliament, John Kirk, who fled New Zealand in 1984 and was extradited from the United States a year later to face charges under the Insolvency Act, has not ruled out the possibility that he may one day again stand for Parliament “Who knows what the future holds? I never close any of my doors,” he said from Auckland, where he lives in rented accommodation in Mount Roskill with his second wife, Yvonne, and works as a promotions manager for John Patrick and Association Supersport lotteries.

His job involves negotiating the purchase of most of the prizes for the SlO-a-ticket lotteries, the prizes ranging from sports gear and kitchen items to Porsche and Mercedes Benz cars. He also assists

with the design of the tickets and ensures the lottery is promoted so that sufficient tickets are sold to make money for the company’s fund-raising clients — sports clubs and charities throughout New Zealand. Apart from his work, he says he is catching “as much sun as I can.” “I still play the guitar and still write songs. “I appreciate the kindnesses that have been shown to me. I have really only met two openly nasty people in the whole year I have been back in New Zealand.” Mr Kirk was still a member *of Parliament when he left New Zealand with his wife on July 7, 1984, leaving behind debts totalling $284,023, and failed property speculation attempts. He owed money to more than 30 creditors.

His disappearance went

unnoticed for some days.

In the United States he worked for only a few weeks and made little money, New Zealand courts were told late last year. He lived in a condominium he leased with an option to purchase, but that option was never taken up. He was adjudged bankrupt in the High Court in Wellington on July 30, 1984. Mr Kirk is still a bankrupt, which means he cannot obtain $lOO or more credit for either himself or other people without first informing the person supplying him with credit that he is an undischarged bankrupt It also means he cannot leave the country without the permission of the Official Assignee.

Those restrictions are “easy enough” to live with, he says. • His mandatory threeyear bankruptcy period

is due to expire next year.

The Deputy Official Assignee with the Justice Department, Mr Jeffrey Fagerlund, said he would like to see the creditors paid out in February next year. In mid-1986 it was reported that the 35 creditors stood to get only about 17 cents for every dollar they were owed by Mr Kirk, because although his assets added up Io $18,262, his debts totalled $284,023.

The son of former Prime Minister, the late Norman Kirk, says he is still “very interested in politics.” “The biggest thing that interests me is the somersault the present Government has performed to cater for the rich (rather than those less well-off),” he said.

Mr Kirk was the M.P. for Sydenham, Christchurch, for 10 years.