June 17, 2010 10:59am by David Farrar

Darren do good

Take a bow, Labour’s Darren Hughes – at least one former minister has proven capable of separating personal from work spending.

Credit card receipts from Mr Hughes’ ministerial days show that on a trip to a conference in Australia in August 2008 with a staffer, any alcohol they drank at restaurants was paid for in cash separately. Only meals went on the ministerial card.

Mr Hughes was also quick to question his bill – a $7 hotel minibar charge for pistachios in Auckland was reimbursed by the hotel when he said he had not eaten them.

Mr Hughes said it was his custom to separate the cost of alcohol and pay for it personally.

Darren is a very smart lad. You can’t get into trouble doing that. He wasn’t obliged to, but he did. It is called a risk averse approach.