Tuku Morgan

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Tukoroirangi (Tuku) Morgan (1958 - ) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1996 to 1999, first as a member of the New Zealand First party, then as an independent, and finally as a member of Mauri Pacific. During his term in Parliament, he was involved in a number of notable controversies.

Morgan was first elected to Parliament in the 1996 elections as the New Zealand First MP for Te Tai Hauauru. In 1997, however, a number of serious accusations were made against him relating to his conduct prior to entering Parliament, while he was an executive producer at the publicly-funded Aotearoa Television Network (ATN). Gradually, it emerged that Morgan had used large amounts of ATN money for his own benefit, including spending thousands of dollars on air travel and expensive clothing, including the now-infamous "$89 boxer shorts". The fees Morgan collected for his work were also deemed excessive, particularly as ATN was struggling financially. Morgan was accused of corruption by his political opponents, and was widely condemned by the media.

A report by the Serious Fraud Office later concluded that there was no evidence of fraud, but that ATN's arrangements for financial control were extremely poor. Morgan and his New Zealand First colleagues claimed that the report vindicated Morgan. The opposition, however, said that the SFO had found no evidence simply because ATN's accounting was so chaotic that there was no actual record of the crime. The opposition also claimed that even if Morgan's actions did not actually break the law, his proven behaviour at ATN was nevertheless immoral and unethical. Morgan was also criticised for his handling of the scandal, being accused of lying about the issue.

Despite the damage done to Morgan's public image, he remained in Parliament. In 1998, however, the New Zealand First party's coalition with the National Party broke down, and rifts began to appear inside New Zealand First itself. Eventually, a large number of New Zealand First MPs left the party and gave their support to National. Morgan was among them. After a period as an independent, Morgan joined with four other MPs to establish the Mauri Pacific party, which billed itself as a multiculturalist group. Many people dismissed the five Mauri Pacific MPs as opportunists, and said that the presence of people such as Morgan in the party did not speak highly of its moral integrity. In the 1999 elections, Morgan was ranked second on Mauri Pacific's party list, and contested the Te Tai Hauauru seat again, but was not returned to Parliament. Since then he has returned to TV and film production.