Tisch Lindsay: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Tisch Lindsay: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:625;Page:19741] 
8.  
LINDSAY TISCH (National—Piako) 
 to the  
Associate Minister of Justice 
: Does he intend to carry out an investigation into whether it is appropriate for Mr Steven Ching to continue serving as a justice of the peace; if not why not? 
Hon RICK BARKER (Associate Minister of Justice) 
: 
 I am aware of the public comments made about Mr Ching and I have since received a letter from that member on the issue. All matters will be considered and any decision to investigate will be in the first instance notified to Mr Ching. That is the only appropriate course of action. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: Is the Minister aware of the reported statement of Allan Spence of the Royal Federation of New Zealand Justices Associations that: “Mr Ching’s application should not have got through the vetting process.” and can he explain what is being done to fix that mistake in light of the new information about Mr Ching’s advertising? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I am aware of the comment. I am not at this stage convinced that it is a mistake as claimed by the member because there has been no investigation. 
Deborah Coddington 
: Does the Minister believe that Steven Ching’s behaviour—pleading guilty to obstructing a fisheries officer in an illegal squid-catch operation—is of a standard that the Minister would expect for someone to remain a justice of the peace; if so how much lower would standards have to go before he thought it was not acceptable behaviour? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: As the matter is under consideration I am not prepared to make any comments. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: Why was Steven Ching allowed to become a justice of the peace after admitting a charge of obstructing justice and allowed to remain one after illegally advertising his services and failing to account for a $7000 taxpayer grant and is the reason the Government is stalling on tightening up the Justices of the Peace Act that the Labour Party’s great “Asian hope” candidate would be the first in line to be disciplined? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Many of those assertions made by that member are not proven to be true necessarily. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Please allow the member to complete his answer in silence. 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: Allegations have been made and I think it is entirely appropriate for any citizen of this country to be entitled to due process. I assure the House that as we go through this matter Mr Ching will be treated without fear or favour just as we should treat any other citizen. I am not prepared to see a person subjected to trial by this House. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is it true that Mr Steven Ching is on the Labour Party list—a list that he is obviously eminently qualified to be on but not the JP list—and is it a fact as my Chinese informants tell me that he has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Labour Party and that that is why the Minister is not prepared to answer today? 
Hon RICK BARKER 
: I have no responsibility for the Labour Party list but I have already assured the House that the matter will be investigated thoroughly. Mr Steven Ching like every other citizen in this country deserves to be treated without fear or favour and to be subject to due process. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I asked the Minister a very simple question: was this Mr Steven Ching the same Steven Ching who is on the Labour Party list? Surely he can answer that or does that incriminate him as well? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: There were many points raised in the question but the Minister did address it. That was probably because there were so many aspects to the question. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. That is true and I do not wish to dispute your ruling other than to ask whether or not he is on the list. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I have ruled on that point of order. The Minister did address the question. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: I seek leave of the House to table two advertisements from the  
Mandarin Times 
 promoting and advertising Mr Ching as a JP and the English translations of them. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.