Kiwiblog

Taito Phillip Field explains why he voted to censure Peters in the Herald.

Mr Peters has claimed the privileges committee was biased and hit out at the Maori Party for betraying him and at Mr Field, saying theMangere MP “did not understand loyalty”.

This is loyalty, as practised in Siciliy I suspect?

Mr Field acknowledged Mr Peters had supported him. “I have a lot of time for Winston and I am supportive of him. I’ve always considered Winston a friend, but I had to make an honest decision which had respect for the privileges committee process.”

Winston thinks it is all about him, but for many MPs it was about recognising the fact the Privileges Committee heard all the evidence, and reached fair conclusions.

In the same report:

Meanwhile a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority about a Tui billboard saying: “When Winston says no, he means no. Yeah right.” has failed.

The complainant, N. Keesing, said it was “defamatory and racially discriminating towards Winston Peters”.

The authority ruled that it would be seen in a humorous light and did not meet the “threshold to effect a breach of the code of ethics”.

How is the Tui billboard racially discriminating??

It may however be an election advertisement. I have asked the Electoral Commission to rule on whether or not it is.

The House has just voted to censure Winston Peters 62 – 56 as recommended by the Privileges Committee. It has also instructed him to file amended returns for the periods ending 31 January 2006, 31 January 2007 and 31 January 2008.

Anderton abstained and everyone except Labour First voted in favour.

Even Taito Philip Field voted to censure Peters. Now that has to hurt!

This is not an ending. It will be very interesting to see what new gifts he reveals in the amended returns.

TV3 reported that former Labour Minister and MP Taito Phillip Field’s trial for corruption in April 2009.

Field is facing 12 bribery and corruption charges and 25 charges of attempting to obstruct or pervert the course of justice.

The Government will be incredibly pleased. There will be no trial of former Labour Cabinet Minister Taito Phillip Field until 2009.

This means that Labour won’t have to face the possibility of Ministers testifying about what they knew, and when they knew it before the election.

However we can still remind people of how both Helen and Michael defended Field as being guilty of nothing more than trying to help his constituents.

The ODT notes that while David Benson-Pope has claimed there is no substance to the reports he is considering standing as an Independent candidate, he has refused to publicly rule it out. There will be a reason for that. Plus of course Benson-Pope lost his Cabinet post for his deceptive half truths, so even more reason to think he is planning something.

It would be very easy for David Benson-Pope to stop the speculation by simply saying “I can confirm that I will not be a candidate for the Dunedin South electorate in the 2008 election”.

Now Taito Philip Field was expelled from Labour for refusing to rule out the possibility he might stand for another party or as an Independent. Yes, that;s right – he wasn’t expelled for any of the reasons he is facing trial for corruption (in fact he was defended for his behaviour there) – it was the far more serious crime of potential disloyalty.

So will Benson-Pope get the same treatment for refusing to rule out an independent candidacy? Why on earth would he not rule it out, unless he wanted to keep the option open to him?

As widely expected, former Labour Minister and MP Taito Phillip Field will stand trial on 40 counts of bribery and corruption.

Lawyers who know about these things tell me that as his call-over is on July 30, a trial in November is most likely. What unfortunate timing if that should be the case. How many Ministers will be appearing as witnesses to explain they knew nothing, they saw nothing, they knew nothing – they just kept approving applications for their mate.

The depositions hearing for former Labour Minister Taito Philip Field, or “Big Dad” continues. The Herald reports:

A Thai overstayer who tiled MP Taito Phillip Field’s house in Samoa says Field gave him 1000 tala ($553) after asking him to lie to police about the work he had done for him.

Sunan Siriwan, who referred to Field twice as “Big Dad”, told the Manukau District Court through an interpreter yesterday that “almost everything” he said to a lawyer appointed to investigate the case was untrue.

He said Field told him, while driving in a car in Samoa in or around December 2005, that he had “a problem” in New Zealand and that he should tell the police that he did not work for the MP.

“He told me at that time that you are not working at my place, and he also said to me, ‘Don’t tell the police that you and I met’,” Mr Siriwan said.

He said Field asked him the next morning if he had money, and Mr Siriwan replied that he did.

“Then he gave me 1000 tala, which he has never given me that much before,” Mr Siriwan told the court. “I did not understand why he gave me so much money.”

Hmmn, is this a multi-choice test?

He said he worked mostly seven days a week for eight to 10 hours a day. In return, he was paid “expenses”.

“Some weeks I got 100 tala ($55), other weeks 150 to 200 tala ($83-$110),” he said.

Labour’s commitment to strong wages – except for their slave labour working for under $2 an hour.

He said that about three months after he arrived in Samoa, he received a letter from Field about a work permit in New Zealand. Shortly afterwards, two other Thai men, Kaew and Yao, arrived from New Zealand “to do gib-stopping for Big Dad”.

Such a charming nickname, yet so apt.

The Herald reports on another case of a fugitive from authorities being hidden by Taito Philip Field when he was a Minister and a Labour MP.

Ms Phothisarn arrived in New Zealand on a visitor’s permit in May 1996, and had been living in Auckland illegally since August of that year.

She narrowly avoided capture during an Immigration Service raid on her Skipton Rd, Mangere, home in September 2002, but was caught when officers raided again in November.

By December, she had been issued a removal order and was shifting from house to house with her infant son to avoid the authorities.

It was at a meeting with Field in late December that the then-Labour MP offered her and her son, and new husband Sompong Srikaew, accommodation in a house in Prangley Ave, Mangere.

Now while MPs should be helping people with immigration problems, this absolutely does not extend to hiding and housing people who have been served a deportation order.

Did none of Field’s colleagues know he was doing this? Can Helen Clark confirm that none of her other MPs and Ministers were or are doing this? And did the Ministers of Immigration who fell over themselves to grant so many dispensations to people Field advocated for, know that Field was hiding people from their own Department?

Regardless of whether or not Field committed any crimes, the issue of Field’s political activities is something Clark can be questioned on. When Helen Clark defended Field as just helping his constituents, did she know of the fact he was hiding illegal immigrants? Is she happy for her Ministers of the Crown not to uphold the law, but to undermine it?

More evidence yesterday from the depositions hearing against former Labour MP Taito Philip Field. While his colleagues were defending him in Parliament, what was Field allegedely up to?

Thai plasterer Phisimai Phothisarn yesterday told a Manukau District Court depositions hearing that Field had pre-approved what she would say about work carried out on one of his Wellington properties, before her meeting with independent investigator Noel Ingram, QC.

This is the inquiry which Labour trumpeted cleared Field? The inquiry set up by Clark with no power to force witnesses to testify under oath?

Ms Phothisarn – giving evidence for a second day – told prosecutor David Johnstone she and 11 other Thai immigrants had met Field twice before her interview with Mr Ingram.

It was at these meetings, it is alleged, Field agreed with them not to name the illegal workers, and to say they had gone to Wellington on three occasions.

Putting aside the alleged criminal behaviour, is it not a concern that a Labour Party Minister was hiding from the law so many illegal immigrants? Well hiding them until he could get his mate the Minister to make them legal, and then they could help repay the favour.

The court was also told Field had contacted her after her meeting with Mr Ingram and allegedly offered her money for work completed. …

She said she had a second meeting with Field – in a Burger King carpark in Auckland’s Mission Bay – where he again offered her money.

They eventually agreed he would pay her $2000. He arrived at her home later that evening with a cheque for $700.

He also asked her for a receipt.

Now some people out there might conclude that was a bribe for lying to the PM’s pet inquiry. Shame on you. It is perfectly normal to do business in the car park of Burger King. Hell I meet many clients in fast food car parks. There is nothing at all wrong with a MP meeting someone in a Burger King car park and insisting they accept money after they have just lied to a QC investigating that former Minister.

Very interesting depositions to date in the Taito Philip Field case, relating to his activities when a Labour MP.

Field asked Ministers to intervene more often than any other MP, and had a massively high sucess rate at getting Ministers to overturn decisions of the Immigration Service. So how did he advise immigrants?

The Herald reports:

A Thai immigrant says Mangere MP Taito Phillip Field told her to get married, then put her up in a rent-free home in the weeks after immigration authorities ordered her removal from New Zealand.

So we have the allegation a (then) Labour MP and Minister of the Crown advised illegal overstayers to get married, as a way to stop their deportation. Then he would house them for free (presumably so the Immigration Service would not find them), have them work for free on his house, and hey proesto his mate the Minister then gave them a work visa.

This is not yet proven in court, but my oh my it will be a fascinating case to follow. Hopefully they will also reports on how many of these people helped went on to join the Thai branch of the Labour Party.

And in a further NZPA story today, we heave of the alleged cover-up:

However, after Mr Siriwan went to Samoa on Field’s advice, the witness said he called her and told her not to talk to police about his finances or his accommodation in New Zealand in case there were problems.

So the former Minister was allegedly telling witnesses not to co-operate with the Police inquiry. Also fascinating.

The first day of depositions into Taito Philip Field (already previously declared by Clark and Cullen to only be guilty of trying to help his constituents) saw the Police summarise their alleged evidence:

• Arranging for false invoices and receipts for work on the houses
• Making false statements himself to the Ingram inquiry
• Arranging for people to make false statements to the inquiry
• Trying to arrange for people to make false statements to a police investigation launched following the Ingram inquiry
• Examples of these included attempts to create receipts for payments for work when no such payments were made

Like Field, I hope it goes to trial before the election.