Key knew about Liu's signed statement
Prime Minister John Key says he's been aware of a statement signed by Auckland businessman Donghua Liu about donations he made to the Labour Party for a few weeks.
In the statement, obtained by the Herald on Sunday, Mr Liu says he paid almost $100,000 for a bottle of wine at a 2007 Labour Party fundraiser.
This was in addition to an earlier allegation that he'd spent $15,000 at the same fundraiser on a book signed by then-prime minister Helen Clark.
The Labour Party has not been able to find any record of either donation.
On Monday, Mr Key told reporters he became aware of Mr Liu's statement and its contents "a few weeks ago", though he refused to say who he'd heard about it from.
Last week, Labour leader David Cunliffe came under fire for his links to Mr Liu, after it emerged he'd written to immigration officials in 2003 asking about his residency application.
Mr Cunliffe had said a day earlier that he didn't know Mr Liu and had never advocated on his behalf.
Mr Key had also previously told reporters that he was aware of rumours that Mr Liu had made other donations to the Labour Party.
"There was plenty of discussion out there about the fact and it didn't come as any surprise to me that Donghua Liu had been both a donor to National and to Labour," he said.
Mr Key thinks Mr Liu should front up about the donations, but ultimately it's a matter for the Labour Party to resolve.
"What we did see in my view was a fair degree of hypocrisy from David Cunliffe," he said.
"Essentially he was saying was that when National engages with a Chinese donor it was cash for access, but actually when they do it it wasn't. In the end it's for them to resolve who is right and wrong."
Labour has previously criticised National for its links to Mr Liu and Maurice Williamson was forced to resign as a minister after it was revealed he'd contacted police about a domestic violence case involving Mr Liu.
