Smith Lockwood: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
Smith Lockwood: Debate on Prime Minister’s Statement 
[Volume:637;Page:7365] 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH (National—Rodney) 
: 
 I say to the Hon Paul Swain that he was the accountable Minister the Minister of Immigration right the way through the Phillip Field saga. He was the Minister who knew that his department’s most senior officials were deeply concerned about the number of overstayers and asylum seekers that Damien O’Connor was approving in response to representations from Taito Phillip Field. He was the Minister of Immigration who met Sunan Siriwan working on the floor of Taito Phillip Field’s house in Samoa. He was the Minister of Immigration who knew during the Ingram inquiry that he had crucial information about whether Sunan Siriwan was working for Taito Phillip Field and he refused to tell Noel Ingram. 
Hon Paul Swain 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. If the member reads the Ingram report he will see that I made a full comment to the Ingram inquiry and that is absolutely documented. The member should read the document. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: That is not a point of order. It is a point of debate. 
Dr the Hon LOCKWOOD SMITH 
: Yesterday Helen Clark said that Taito Phillip Field had gone too far and now she has given him the chop. What did Taito Phillip Field do yesterday? He dared to observe that he wanted to stand at the next election but could not be sure that it would be for Labour. For Helen Clark it was no problem that Taito Phillip Field ripped off vulnerable new migrants for his personal gain. It was no problem that he was alleged in a sworn affidavit to have directed the alteration of an official document. It was no problem that he was alleged in a sworn affidavit to have asked for money before giving assistance to a person whose wife had immigration problems. It was no problem that he was alleged to have been involved in a system of significant cash payments for immigration assistance. It was no problem that he was alleged in an affidavit to have paid hush money. It was no problem that he withheld crucial information from the Ingram inquiry. And it was no problem that he had refused to cooperate with the police. 
But yesterday Taito Phillip Field rained on Helen Clark’s parade. Yesterday he spoke about the possibility of standing at the next election and that was more important to Helen Clark than the ripping off of vulnerable people which it is beyond doubt Taito Phillip Field was involved in. Helen Clark could not give a damn about the fact that Taito Phillip Field ripped off vulnerable people. She was happy to use his unethical vote to prop up her Government. But once he suggested that maybe he might want to stand again at the next election that was it. Where is the principle in that? 
Phillip Field’s exploitation of vulnerable new immigrants was breathtaking. Many New Zealanders have heard about the poor Thai tiler Sunan Siriwan working for no pay on Phillip Field’s house in Samoa in return for immigration assistance the fact that he tiled 460 square metres up there and the fact that his wife or partner was employed for no pay as Mrs Field’s servant. But not so many people know that Mr Sunan Siriwan also laid and painted a new floor at Maria’s Health Care Pharmacy which was a business owned by Mrs Field’s daughter-in-law. Not many people know that he also tiled Maxine’s Cake Shop owned by Taito Phillip Field’s stepson. As if that is not enough four other Asians went to Samoa to work on Mr Field’s house for no pay in return for immigration assistance. Mr Prachanan and his partner Miss Ngaosri an overstayer went to Samoa to paint Mr Field’s house for no charge. Mr Field got Miss Ngaosri a work permit in New Zealand. There were gib-stoppers and plasterers. Mr Nakhen and Mr Kaewbabpha both went to Samoa to work on the infamous house of Mr Field’s up there and lo and behold he got them both relevant work permits here in New Zealand. There were tilers gib-stoppers plasterers and painters from all of whom Taito Phillip Field gained personally. Here in New Zealand four houses owned by Taito Phillip Field—one in Church Street one in Blake Road one in Prangley Avenue and one here in Wellington in Kinghorne Street—were painted or worked on by immigrants from whom Taito Phillip Field gained personal benefit. 
But what did Helen Clark do when she first learnt about this? Helen Clark was told the full details of the deal Taito Phillip Field had done with Sunan Siriwan to go and tile his house in Samoa in return for a 2-year work permit here in New Zealand and Helen Clark’s office did nothing about it. She simply sent on the letter advising her of this to Paul Swain’s office. What did Paul Swain do? He was the Minister of Immigration. He did nothing about it. He sent the letter on to Damien O’Connor’s office. That was on 14 September 2005. What did Damien O’Connor do? Damien O’Connor had known about it at that point for 11 weeks at least. For 11 weeks at least he had known what was going on in Samoa—the conflict of interest in Taito Phillip Field exploiting those Asian migrants—and had tried to cover it up. He had done nothing. The question though that Noel Ingram could never sort out was whether Damien O’Connor knew before he made his decision in favour of Sunan Siriwan and his partner Ms Phanngarm. 
Three senior officials in the New Zealand Immigration Service spoke to Damien O’Connor’s office. KerupiTavita the head of service international one of the most senior officials in Immigration New Zealand rang Damien O’Connor’s office to tell his office what was going on in Samoa. James Dalmer the branch manager of the New Zealand Immigration Service in Samoa contacted Immigration New Zealand several times here in Wellington and finally rang Damien O’Connor’s office. Murray Gardiner a senior compliance officer who had actually deported Sunan Siriwan’s partner Ms Phanngarm from New Zealand emailed and rang Damien O’Connor’s office. All three phoned the Minister’s office. It is interesting that 5 days after Damien O’Connor wrote his fateful letter of 23 June 2005 telling of his decision to grant work permits for Mr Siriwan and his partner Ms Phanngarm James Dalmer spoke to Damien O’Connor’s office and in his file note following that phone call he said this: “Knowledge of Thai cases. Knows that Taito has these people working for him. Damien knew that before he made the decision.” 
This Labour Government just shirks its accountability. It claims that Damien O’Connor did not know. So much evidence points to the fact that Damien O’Connor did know what was going on. One thing for sure is that if it could be proved he did not know then he did know within 5 days and that is absolutely accepted. He knew within 5 days yet he did nothing about it for 11 weeks until it blew up in the public domain. Nothing was done. Damien O’Connor sat on it. He hid it and covered it up for 11 weeks until it became public. 
Two hundred and sixty-two approvals were made by Damien O’Connor for Taito Phillip Field. Taito Phillip Field boasted to a friend: “The Minister”—Damien O’Connor—“and I have got an arrangement between us. I do things. He does things. I’ve got an arrangement with him.” That is a direct quote of a friend of Taito Phillip Field. This Parliament has a right to know what that special arrangement was between Damien O’Connor and Taito Phillip Field. Taito Phillip Field was the one who made the requests for the special treatment of all these overstayers and asylum seekers. It was Damien O’Connor who approved them. Taito Phillip Field has boasted that he had a special arrangement with Damien O’Connor. It is time this Labour Government came clean and we got to the bottom of what is being covered up here. We know that Phil Goff met Sunan Siriwan in Samoa. We know that Paul Swain met Sunan Siriwan in Samoa. We know that Ross Robertson socialised with Sunan Siriwan—he did not just meet him once but socialised with him in Samoa. This whole thing has all the smell of a serious cover-up.