Peters Winston: General Debates 
Peters Winston: General Debates 
[Volume:608;Page:5191] 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 Today I want to again draw Parliament’s attention to the prostitution of education and training in New Zealand—sanctioned encouraged and condoned by this Government. Earlier this month I raised the issue of the Fernridge Institute of Training in the Wairarapa. The Minister of Immigration proudly told Parliament back then that her officials were investigating immigration issues related to that institute. In other words this incompetent seat-warmer has shovelled the issue into the big black hole of scams with the word “immigration” written on the door. The minister was told about these problems 5 months ago and there is still no sign of any action. 
Today I am asking the Auditor-General to investigate the use of taxpayers’ money by or for overseas students attending Fernridge. Fernridge is one of a number of companies that we have included in our request. The others are Pineneedle Forestry Ltd Pineneedle Property Ltd Woodridge Investments Greenridge Management Fernridge Investments Fernridge Forestry and the Fernridge Institute of Training. They are all in these documents. Why would any legitimate organisation need all those companies to operate? It is strongly suggested that the Fernridge Institute of Training is a front for importing cheap overseas forestry workers into this country infringing our industrial relations and payment laws. 
Dail Jones 
: What is the member for Wairarapa doing about it? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Nothing. Doughnuts! 
Dail Jones 
: Does she know about it? 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Well apparently no complaints had been made to the office when we made a complaint 5 months ago. We have been informed that at least 72 people have been brought to New Zealand from Nepal—from Nepal of all places—and Samoa as “students” to attend a 3-year training course at this institute. The students have complained that they have been used as cheap labour on forestry contracts and that they have received little or no training at all. Fernridge charges $13500 for this training course. About $6000 of that is advanced to the students by way of a loan which they have to work off at slave labour rates. It is hard to find out where the rest of the money comes from but we have documents that show that payments have been made from Work and Income’s StudyLink for both living and course-related costs. In a country with Maoris in the thousands out of work we can nevertheless afford all this money for foreigners. That appears most unusual because overseas students are not eligible for those entitlements. There has been a high turnover of students since that organisation started in 2001. Many have just disappeared vanished—they say because of exploitation—and replacements are then brought in. A lot of public money has been expended in this case. We question whether it has been used for its intended purposes and for the benefit of New Zealand taxpayers and this economy. 
The circumstances and the operation of Fernridge appear highly irregular and that is reflected in increasing public concern—both locally in the Wairarapa and at Porirua where some former students have sought assistance and of all things refuge! This Government and its Ministers sit on their hands while organisations like Fernridge and the one up there in Auckland and wherever else one goes—they are all over the place now—operate at the expense of the New Zealand taxpayer and at the cost of our fading reputation in education. 
The Minister of Education said today that there had been an audit of Fernridge by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. What sort of Mickey Mouse audit was that? The Immigration Service has let desperate groups of people enter this country to be exploited by unscrupulous operators. The Minister of Immigration received complaints and documents months ago. The people who laid the complaints have never received their documentation back. Those documents have also disappeared down a black hole marked “Immigration scams”. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I’ve got a copy here. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: Well give them their own documentation back and give them an answer Minister! He should not sit there like the buffoon he so clearly is. Another black hole has appeared and is marked “Education scams”. How many more of them are operating the length and breadth of this country? Between 1984 and 1990 that Labour Party earned New Zealand the title of the most corrupt country on earth in which to do business. This Government is again following that very unhappy tradition. We have Ministers who daily in the House— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not of course going to defend inaccurate comments made about a previous Government but what was absolutely inappropriate was the final comment. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If the member was suggesting that this present Government is corrupt he will have to withdraw and apologise for that comment. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: I did not. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Carry on then. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS 
: What we have in this House daily is a Government led by a Prime Minister who believes in spindoctoring and flim-flam but where we have had more incompetent Ministers exposed over more days than at any time in my time in Parliament. Day after day people like Lianne Dalziel Chris Carter and Parekura Horomia—