Smith Lockwood: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Smith Lockwood: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:633;Page:4970] 
6.  
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) 
 to the  
Minister of Immigration 
: Does he stand by the statement made on his behalf to the House yesterday that “I rely on the Ingram report because it is an authoritative report written by a Queen’s Counsel.”? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Minister of Immigration) 
: 
 Yes because it is a comprehensive report. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: How sound is his reliance on the Ingram report when Taito Phillip Field told Noel Ingram QC that it was not until June 2005 that he became aware Mr Sunan Siriwan was being financially supported by him and his wife when Mrs Field had filled out a Samoan immigration employment sponsorship form promising to be Mr Siriwan’s employer in Mr Field’s presence on 26 or 27 February 2005 and when Mr Siriwan was issued with a Samoan work visa prior to 17 March 2005 on the basis of being employed by the Fields? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: As New Zealand’s Minister of Immigration neither the conduct of the Ingram inquiry nor the issuing of work permits by the Samoan Government falls within my responsibilities. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: How sound is the Minister’s reliance on the Ingram report when Taito Phillip Field told Noel Ingram QC that it was not until late May or early June 2005 that he became aware Mr Sunan Siriwan was working on his house in Samoa and when Mr Field’s colleague Ross Robertson told the  
New Zealand Herald 
 that he socialised with Mr Field and Mr Siriwan at the Fields’ home in Samoa in March 2005 and even then had the impression Mr Siriwan was there working on Mr Field’s house? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: It is by now not news that the member concerned committed a number of errors of judgment. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: How sound is the Minister’s reliance on the Ingram report which concludes that “The evidence does not support a finding that Mr Field knew that Mr Siriwan was working on Mr Field’s house in Samoa at the time that he wrote that letter.”—Mr Field’s final submission to the Associate Minister on 18 May 2005—when Noel Ingram QC failed to examine the Samoan work permit for Mr Siriwan obtained prior to 17 March which clearly identified the Fields as Mr Siriwan’s employers? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: I repeat that the conduct of the Ingram inquiry does not fall within my ministerial responsibilities. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: How sound is the Minister’s reliance on the Ingram report when based on Taito Phillip Field’s evidence Mr Ingram QC could not establish that Mr Field was aware of the fact that Mr Siriwan was working on his house any earlier than 26-30 May 2005 and when had Mr Ingram examined Mr Siriwan’s Samoan work permit he would have found that the work permit established the Fields as Mr Siriwan’s employer from March? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: That would be a matter between Mr Ingram Mr Field and if necessary the Samoan Government. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: Is the Minister still satisfied to rely on the Ingram report when the evidence now clearly shows that Taito Phillip Field lied to either Noel Ingram QC or the immigration authorities of the Samoan Government; if so why? 
Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE 
: Having commissioned a reputable Queen’s Counsel to undertake this inquiry I am not in a position to second-guess the veracity of statements made by Mr Field nor am I responsible for doing so. As my colleague Mr Cosgrove said to the member yesterday if the member is in possession of new additional information he should provide it to the police or to me.