Will Todd Barclay return?
It remains unclear whether embattled Clutha-Southland MP Todd Barclay will return to Parliament before retiring at the election in September.
Barclay has been absent from the House and select committees since he announced he would stand down in June over further revelations about his alleged illegal taping of a staff-member.
Parliament is currently in recess but will sit for a further six weeks prior to the election. Barclay is the deputy chair of both the Education and Science and Primary Production select committees.
Senior whip Jami-Lee Ross and Invercargill MP Sarah Dowie travelled to Queenstown yesterday to meet with Barclay.
‘‘We’re friends of Todd [Barclay] and decided in recess we would come to visit him, as mates and as caucus colleagues,’’ Ross said. ‘‘We’re talking about local issues, talking about how he’s doing. We know he’s been going into his electorate office and doing work on a regular basis.’’
Ross said he would likely be talking to Barclay about whether he was coming back to Parliament.
‘‘I don’t know if he’s made a decision yet. I’m sure that will come up in the conversation – we’ll discuss if and when he does come back to Parliament.’’
Up to a quarter of a party’s MPs can be absent from Parliament and have their votes counted. Party whips such as Ross are responsible for allocating parliamentary leave to MPs.
Ross said it was up to Barclay to make a decision on whether or not he would cooperate with police, who have reopened their investigation into the allegations of illegal recording.
Barclay refused to talk to police during the initial investigation.
The young MP, who usually has a busy schedule, hasn’t been spotted at a single public event – even when other National MPs have visited the electorate.
It is understood he was even absent from a National Party fundraiser in Queenstown on Friday, which deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett attended.
Early in July Barclay was spotted taking a phone call outside the Pig and Whistle, in Queenstown. A Fairfax reporter approached him for comment and was told several times that he was ‘‘not going to be speaking to anybody’’ and he was ‘‘taking a bit of a break’’ before Barclay disappeared back inside the pub.
As an MP and deputy chair of a select committee, Barclay makes $165,000 a year plus travel and accommodation expenses.
MPs who retire at elections receive a further three months of the base-level MP salary – $160,000 a year, or $40,000 for the three months. If they resign during their term, on the other hand, their salary stops on their last day of work.