Here are more details about how the situation unfolded.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/06/1...ice-the-payout
So Bill never endorsed Todd Barclay in the first place. Problems started soon after Barclay arrived as the MP, and he's been dodging the work ever since.
We've all met someone like this, they get a plum job because they're great with the BS, they otherwise aren't even good at the job, don't even want to extend themselves. This guy Todd Barclay doesn't deserve to be an MP, but from what I know, he's not the only National MP who gives lip service to the public, but in private thinks he's on another level where he shouldn't have to deal with this.
So he's lied, been very economical with the truth in other areas, avoided talking to the police, and the police didn't go and get him for questioning. What he did was illegal. Plus he's obviously a useless MP.
And worse, here's the National Party hoping to keep him as an MP until the election. They think the public won't worry about it within a week or so. It'll all blow over.