Justice Minister Judith Collins is defending her friendship with right-wing blogger Cameron Slater, saying she supports her friends no matter what.
Ms Collins also claimed the Privacy Commissioner had cleared her of any wrong-doing over the passing on of details about a public servant to Mr Slater.
Justice Minister talks to the media, including Radio New Zealand political reporter Craig McCulloch. Photo: RNZ/Luke Appleby
Ms Collins plays a major role in Nicky Hager's Dirty Politics book and is accused of leaking information to Mr Slater to smear opponents.
She has since admitted emailing details about public servant Simon Pleasants, including his phone number, to Mr Slater in 2009.
Ms Collins told Radio New Zealand she did not condone the death “unfortunate” threats.
“It's the sort of thing that happens, and it’s really unfortunate. It's certainly the sort of thing that happens to me, and it happens to anyone who is in the public sphere.
“I have been cleared by the Privacy Commissioner... and I do not want to go into any detail on matters which are currently the subject of multiple complaints,” she said.
Ms Collins said Privacy Commissioner John Edwards had ruled the information she passed on to Mr Slater was not private.
However, a letter from Mr Edwards last week said no such thing and instead stated he would not investigate a complaint about the matter without the support of Mr Pleasants.
