Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 26 March 2013. Volume:688;Page:8893. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
10. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Trade 
: Does he believe that a multi-million dollar fraud case involving one of Zespri’s import agents in China has hurt New Zealand’s international trading reputation? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Acting Minister of Trade) 
: 
 No. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is he concerned that the Zespri case will damage New Zealand’s trade and diplomatic relations with China given that the Chinese authorities are trying to crack down on fraud and corruption and Zespri’s Asian manager Yu-Jan Chen has a detention order placed on him by the Chinese authorities? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: In answer to the first part of the question no. But this case does serve I think as an important reminder to all New Zealand companies operating in international markets that they must ensure that they and their management understand and comply with local laws no matter which market they operate in. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is he aware of any costs incurred by New Zealand parties as a result of the fraud case against Zespri Chinese import agents; if so what is the estimated total figure? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: If the member is referring to cost to Zespri I am sure there have been some costs and no I am not aware of the number. If he is referring to an impact on trade my understanding at this point is that the case has had no impact on the company’s sales in China. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Has he received any reports about how much foreknowledge Zespri management in New Zealand had of smuggling practices in China; if so why did he not release that information to the public? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: To the extent that I am able to answer the question on the Minister’s behalf the answer is no. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: If there are reports from the New Zealand Customs Service concerning incorrect documentation of Zespri kiwifruit exports to China what has he done about it instead of swanning around the world trying to get a job at the World Trade Organization? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I will ignore the last part of that member’s question. The point is—[ 
Interruption 
] Well I thought that in this country we had a bipartisan approach to encouraging senior New Zealand figures to participate in world multilateral organisations but obviously that is off as well. But the point is that the case serves as an important reminder to all companies operating in international markets that they must ensure that they meet the local laws no matter which market they operate in. I am sure that all New Zealand exporters will take cognisance of what has happened in this case. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not asking about the market or what everybody else should do; I am asking him what he has done about Customs Service reports of incorrect documentation. The question is pretty precise. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The problem is the addition of a further part to the supplementary question. But let us just have that part and see whether the Minister would just— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: All right let me ask him this. If there are reports from the New Zealand Customs Service concerning incorrect documentation of Zespri kiwifruit exports to China what has he done about it? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: The question is hypothetical because as I think I answered in the previous question the Minister to the best of my knowledge was not aware of any such situation. But perhaps as a wider point it is important that the companies take responsibility for their activities and that is truly the responsibility of the companies not the responsibility of the Minister.