Peters Winston: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: General Debate[Sitting date: 23 July 2014. Volume:700;Page:19377. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First):For a time during that speech from Mr Joyce I thought that his underpants were on too tight. New Zealand First wishes to raise an important matter going directly to competent accountable Government. We are aware of serious complaints against a Mr Bryan Staples and his companies operating in Christchurch on a range of matters. Reliable information has come to us of a long list of fraudulent practices carried out by Bryan Staples and his various companies. Mr Bryan Staples has used his companies to defraud mislead and cheat people—[Interruption]—and it is not a laughing matter I say for Jami-Lee Whyte’s benefit. We want to set out the nature of the serious concerns that we are raising today which have been raised with authorities which have clearly failed to act to apprehend and stop this man’s so-called business activities.The main activity of complaint was his companies’ purporting to carry out technical inspections of properties for earthquake compensation purposes which neither he nor his companies and the people they employed were qualified to do.Hon Gerry Brownlee: That’s right.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: It is not a laughing matter Mr Brownlee. They were paid but did not actually provide genuine technical reports. The reports supplied were useless. His companies and Mr Staples also employed a number of subcontractors who carried out work on damaged properties. Mr Staples and his companies got paid but the subcontractors did not I say to Mr Jami-Lee Whyte—Hon Members: Ha ha!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —Ross rather. We understand that he and his companies had no intention of paying numerous subcontractors.Mr Staples carried out work and registered for GST as a business and he accepted payment for work which he then issued GST invoices for but he did not file returns nor pay the GST. It would also appear that Mr Staples directly instructed his company and his employees not to pay GST. It appears he employed the old tactic that whenever people demanded payment he began to pretend that there was a dispute. Then Mr Staples would use every delaying tactic possible never intending to actually defend any claim nor pay any part of it.He also brought in Filipino workers under contract. There are two issues. How did he get these people by Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment and how did he influence those two departments to allow these people in? It is clear from the evidence that he had no intention of treating these immigrant workers lawfully which raises the issue of why before they obtained immigration status these two departments did not do due diligence to avoid such breaches of our employment law. The second issue is that he simply did not pay these Filipino workers. He left them in dire straits. He and his companies failed to make Inland Revenue Department returns or make payments of PAYE tax for the Filipino workers. He instructed his company employees not to file PAYE returns and not to pay their PAYE taxes. The list goes on but in the time available those are the main matters that we have got to say today.My concern is that if New Zealand First is aware of them what on earth is going on with the Minister and the relevant Government departments? The Inland Revenue Department the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment the Serious Fraud Office—what have they been doing? There has been no firm action from these agencies.Hon Gerry Brownlee: You were backing Mr Staples 12 months ago.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I ask Mr Brownlee to stop bleating and explain what you have not done. Why do you not get off your broad half-back and do something for these people down there who are not being paid and being robbed blind as immigrants? The so-called pro-immigrant party could not give a tinker’s damn about them.Mr Staples is the man of course who has been painting himself on TV as the modern Robin Hood. Well he is halfway there. He is taking from ordinary people but he is not giving to the poor. He is Robin Hood in reverse. Mr Brownlee and Mr Dunne and Mr Joyce—what have you not done and why have you not done it?I want to close with this statement about an MP who is now escaping scrutiny by Parliament and by the media because she has gone to ground. You see she misused her credit card.Hon Judith Collins: Oh $150.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh no no. Mr Key made the call on Sunday night because there were blatant financial irregularities that neither she nor the National Party could reconcile. That is a fact. The second thing is that Mr Key said that her breaches were unintentional and that he was “not aware of further misspending”. Then he claimed that he did not have any advice on that. That is false. He does. I want to know why someone can just say “I’m not standing at the next election.” and there is no punishment no chastisement. She just says “I’m not going to stand.” and goes to September being paid full pay as an MP and then for 3 months after that.Andrew Williams: Five more months.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: For 5 more months—someone who has badly breached the parliamentary rules far beyond $200 the lousy amount that those Ministers over there are shouting about. You have got the Minister of Police and all sorts of Ministers all the way to the Prime Minister giving assurances. Let me tell you about Mr Key’s statement. He said: “I pledge greater transparency”—