Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members Question No. 7 to Minister  
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members Question No. 7 to Minister  
[Volume:620;Page:15380] 
11.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Minister of Immigration; if so why? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: If he is so hard-working and conscientious could she explain why it is known by the SIS and the New Zealand Immigration Service that WahibZaza who is now deemed a high security risk and is under surveillance—as she as Minister in charge of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service would know—and who has now been stopped from acting as an immigration adviser acted as Ahmed Zaoui’s interpreter in prison having advised Mr Zaoui before he came to New Zealand from Malaysia on a false passport which lawyer in New Zealand he should choose if he wanted WahibZaza this person who is known to the SIS to become his interpreter? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The question was gabbled at such a rate that I did not even catch the name. Was it Ali Baba? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Could the member please repeat the question slowly? 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I am happy to repeat it very slowly. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: All right please do. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can the Prime Minister possibly have confidence in a Minister of Immigration when it is known by the SIS for which she is the Minister and the New Zealand Immigration Service that one WahibZaza—who is now deemed a high security risk is under surveillance and has been stopped from acting as an immigration adviser—acted as Ahmed Zaoui’s interpreter in prison having advised Mr Zaoui before Mr Zaoui came to New Zealand from Malaysia on a false passport which lawyer in New Zealand Mr Zaoui should choose if he wanted to get WahibZaza as the interpreter in any matter to do with the—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think we should carefully consider what responsibility the Minister of Immigration has for the advice given by a person to another person overseas about which lawyer he or she might use in New Zealand. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: This was a question to the Prime Minister and I ask her to comment. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I need to finish my question because she does not want the quick version; she wants the slow one. I want to finish my last line which was interrupted by the Deputy Prime Minister. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member may finish off the last line. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: WahibZaza advised Mr Zaoui on which lawyer in New Zealand he should choose when he got here if he wanted WahibZaza to become his interpreter when he was here. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: At the outset I say that I will not confirm who is under surveillance by the SIS or indeed who the SIS takes any interest in at all. If the member has evidence that there are false asylum claimants linking up with known lawyers to make a mockery of the laws of this land then I want to hear about it because from time to time one does hear that people with false claims get off planes and look for particular lawyers and that is of great concern to me. If the member has evidence I want to hear about it. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can the Prime Minister have confidence in a Minister of Immigration or for that matter in his predecessors—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Hon Members 
: Oh come on! 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: A bigger bunch of losers the world has never seen. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Please carry on with the question. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can the Prime Minister have confidence in the Minister of Immigration when the New Zealand Immigration Service knows full well that this man is up to nefarious activities to the extent that he has been stopped from being an immigration adviser; but more important why would she have confidence in a Minister when by all accounts even though she is head of the SIS she knows nothing about this man? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I do not comment on who the SIS or its Minister knows anything about. That is completely off limits in this House and elsewhere. I repeat: if the member has information that this man is part of an immigration scam and racket involving asylum seekers then I want to hear about it because I want some action. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Putting aside that it is her current Minister Mr Swain who is picking up the ministerial payment the LTD and the ministerial home—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will leave the Chamber until the end of question time. 
Hon Paul Swain withdrew from the Chamber. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can she as Prime Minister have confidence in the Minister of Immigration who fails to act when it is now known that an Algerian with the alias of Roberto—real name Rabir—facilitated a forged passport for Zaoui to leave Malaysia for New Zealand; and when will she fire this latest failed Minister of Immigration with Zaoui having now cost us over a million dollars? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Any evidence of fraud in this area that the member can lay in front of the Government will be acted on. We do not stand for fraud by anyone in respect of immigration or anything else.