The Prime Minister blames Twitter for much of the stress Justice Minister Judith Collins has faced over her involvement with the export company Oravida, Radio New Zealand reports.
Ms Collins is taking four or five days leave after Wednesday - and has also given up tweeting for the time being at least.
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John Key and Ms Collins are likely to face a torrid time in Parliament on Tuesday afternoon as they face questions about whether the minister had a conflict of interest related to meetings with Oravida executives while she was in China on an official visit last October.
Mr Key says Ms Collins has been under a lot of stress and much of that was driven by comments on Twitter.
Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
3News reports him saying there are a lot of “trolls and bottom feeders” on Twitter. “…in the end they get in people's head. It's an anonymous sort of situation, it's a form of cyber bullying”
John Key’s description of Twitter reads like a pretty accurate summary of parliament really.
— Sports Freak (@Sportsfreakconz) May 5, 2014
Ms Collins said she has nothing to fear from the questions in Parliament and she's looking forward to a break with her family.
Ms Collins is under fire for a dinner she had with company executives and an unnamed border control officer during a ministerial trip to China last October. Her husband is a director on Oravida's board.
