\u201cWe get no leverage from this,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n
Judge Aitken is the first New Zealand judge to be called before such a panel, which is investigating her actions on the night of November 22, 2024, when she is accused of gate-crashing a NZ First function in Auckland and making an \u201cintemperate, rude\u201d outburst in response to a speech by the party\u2019s leader, Winston Peters.<\/p>\n
The panel will prepare a report for acting Attorney-General Paul Goldsmith on whether he should consider removing Judge Aitken from office.<\/p>\n
This morning, Howard was the first witness to give evidence about events that night at the party fundraiser.<\/p>\n
She said she was in a \u201cheightened state\u201d because protesters had disrupted previous NZ First functions.<\/p>\n
Howard recalled seeing a woman in a yellow dress passing outside the function room door, then returning from the bathroom about three minutes later.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred at Auckland’s Northern Club in November 2024. Photo \/ Meg Liptrot<\/p>\n
\u201cShe looked beautiful. She had a beautiful dress. She was stunning coming down the corridor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peters was speaking into a microphone, with his voice \u201cclearly audible\u201d, Howard said. There were also two NZ First banners visible in the room.<\/p>\n
She said she \u201cheard the woman before I saw her\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard her react to the Deputy Prime Minister and exclaim loudly, \u2018He\u2019s lying\u2019. She was yelling,\u201d Howard claimed.<\/p>\n
The judge \u2013 who says she did not realise it was a political event or that the speaker was Peters \u2013 appeared to be focusing her comments at NZ First Cabinet minister Casey Costello, adding, \u201cHow can you let him say that?\u201d<\/p>\n
Howard said she immediately moved towards the judge and used \u201cde-escalation training\u201d to block Judge Aitken from entering the room and usher her away.<\/p>\n
She said the \u201croom full of judges\u201d comment felt like an attempt to intimidate \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m trying to shut you down\u201d.<\/p>\n
Asked if the judge was really yelling or just speaking forcefully, Howard replied: \u201cIt\u2019s a tone and presentation of anger. She was yelling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Howard said another man then appeared in the foyer, who was \u201cloitering\u201d outside the room for about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
She claimed the man accosted Peters as the veteran politician was leaving the venue, accusing him of \u201cdoing a shit job\u201d. <\/p>\n
That man was the judge\u2019s husband, celebrity doctor David Galler.<\/p>\n
Jones, in questioning Howard, accused her of inaccuracies and inconsistencies between a written account she gave of the incident to the Northern Club days after the event, and her formal brief of evidence.<\/p>\n
Jones claimed some of Howard\u2019s evidence was \u201crubbish\u201d and \u201ca fiction\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs Howard, you are just creating a different version, aren\u2019t you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
Howard admitted there were \u201cerrors\u201d in her earlier account but maintained she was telling the truth.<\/p>\n
Jones then asked whether Howard wanted to \u201cincrease focus\u201d on the judge so NZ First could \u201cleverage\u201d off the incident.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get no leverage from this,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n
The hearing continues.<\/p>\n
Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years\u2019 experience in the industry.<\/p>\n