Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
[Volume:624;Page:19467] 
CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour—Waimakariri) 
: 
 I want to talk about the allegations made against John Tamihere in respect of the Waipareira Trust. I said in the House that the people of New Zealand and members of this House had witnessed a hatchet job of awesome proportions. It was a hatchet job based on the collusion of the “gang of three”—the chief executive officer of the Waipareira Trust Reg Ratahi the treasurer Ricky Houghton and the chief financial officer Bruce Silver Bryant. Then of course the “gang of three” became the “gang of four” as Rodney Philip Hide salivated at the chance to destroy Mr Tamihere’s good name. Why did he and why did the gang want to do that? Put simply Mr Tamihere was the one who was asking questions about $6 million of losses in the trust after he departed. It was Mr Tamihere who demanded an audit of the trust and the “gang of three” based on that wanted to destroy him aided and abetted by a member of this House. There is evidence of that. 
I quote from the statement of evidence of the White inquiry of 29 November 2004 by one Mere Tunks a former trust member who in answer to the question: “Have Reg Ratahi and Bruce Bryant recently made statements at those [trust board] meetings which have indicated to you that they are conducting a campaign against Mr Tamihere?” stated: “Yes they have expressed statements at the meetings: Reg … I’m going to bury John Tamihere; Bruce … ‘He won’t get away with this. I have my reputation in the Accounting world and I will respond and have him out.” Reg Ratahi swore black and blue that the payments from the trust to Mr Tamihere were unauthorised. Ratahi said hand on heart that he was sure he would remember if they had been authorised. Ratahi denied there was any documentation. The White inquiry showed him to be a liar. It seems to me that Mr Ratahi destroyed the key document. Luckily the trust’s former auditor had kept a copy. Not only was it found but the document was in Ratahi’s own handwriting and the direct-credit payment was physically signed off by Ratahi himself. The man is obviously a liar and had the intent of fabricating a story to bury Mr Tamihere so as to protect himself.” The reference is the White inquiry pages 24 to 27. 
The dodginess perpetrated by the leaders within the trust continues today. These are the people of course that Rodney Philip Hide relied upon in his relentless campaign against Mr Tamihere. Let us look at the dodginess. The trust chief executive officer Ratahi formed and is a director of a company called Rescare Services 2001 Ltd. This company is contracted to the Waitemata District Health Board—to the tune of $120000 a year to provide a respite residential care facility on an as-required basis. The contract is personal and is in direct competition with the trust that Ratahi is the chief executive officer of. Furthermore accounts for this company have run through the trust accounting operations at no cost. A $10000 amount from the trust was used to finance GST and PAYE for this personal company. 
Did the trust’s treasurer Ricky Houghton and the trust’s chief financial officer Bruce Silver Bryant know of this? Of course they did. In their executive positions within the trust they knew the lot. In fact Mr Bryant is paid $15000 a month for 1 day’s work a week to be the guardian of the trust’s guardian money. I have significant documentation on Mr Bryant. For instance in relation to Te Wananga o Aotearoa he was on the ruling wananga council when $7 million was being approved to purchase a company owned by his son and daughter-in-law. He incorporated Oma Investments Ltd which has received $12 million from the wananga. Why did Rodney Hide not identify the chief financial architect of the wananga when the ACT party was attacking the Wetere family? 
Mr Bryant is not only the financial controller at Waipareira Trust he is also the sole executive director of a call centre that has lost in excess of $3.5 million and overseen the sale of property to cover up his mistakes of $3 million. There is a company called Stand and Deliver Contracting Ltd. A company search revealed that it was a company incorporated again through the Waipareira Trust but owned by Reg Ratahi and managed by his daughter Rachael Morris. The trust’s offices are being used again without the trust’s authority this time for immigration consultancy advice. I am further advised that the Henderson Criminal Investigation Bureau is investigating allegations of immigration rorts. 
 I will make available letters dated 2 and 4 August 2004 that advise the Waipareira Trust Board that Rodney Philip Hide had been called into the trust and that a number of allegations would be made against Mr Tamihere. We also know that $410000 was spent by the trust—wasted by the trust—on lawyers accountants and private investigators to “fit up” John Tamihere. What is the result? We still do not know why the $6 million that Mr Tamihere sought to bring to the trust’s attention was lost. We do now know though that two high-level inquiries cleared Mr Tamihere and we now know that the “gang of four” will be seen by the people of New Zealand for what they are. What are they so desperate to cover up? Why did the nasty self-confessed scam-buster Rodney Hide not uncover what I uncovered? Maybe it was because it did not suit his purpose. Those people should be made accountable for their actions and I look forward to them reaping the whirlwind from the New Zealand people. 
I lay this final statement before the House: Mr Hide has never apologised for assassinating the character of Dover Samuels and his family; he has never apologised to the people of New Zealand for the Investors International scandal even though he had been advised it was dodgy; and he has never apologised to Mr Tamihere and his family since Mr Tamihere was cleared. There is a nasty nasty pattern of behaviour and the people of New Zealand will hold the member Rodney Hide accountable for it. 
Madam Speaker I ask for your indulgence as I have a number of documents I would like to table. I seek leave to table a statement of evidence to the White inquiry evidencing that there was a process of bonus payments and that Ratahi and Bryant indicated they would bury Mr Tamihere. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I seek leave to table my second document which is a Bell Gully letter indicating to the Serious Fraud Office that Mr Ratahi’s evidence to them must be treated with suspicion given the way he endeavoured to frame John Tamihere for taking unauthorised bonuses. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I seek leave to table two letters dated 2 and 4 August 2004 advising the Waipareira Trust that Mr Hide had been called into the trust and that a number of allegations would be made against Mr Tamihere. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I seek leave to table a statement of evidence taken from Mr Dave Peppiatt a real estate agent indicating that Mr Ratahi was not into social conscience and that he wanted 25 percent of any deal the gentleman put to the Waipareira Trust. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I seek leave to table Companies Office documents in relation to Rescare Services 2001 Ltd whose director is one Reg Ratahi a shareholder. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I seek leave to table an email from the chairperson of the Waitemata District Health Board indicating that Rescare Services was contracted for $120000 per year. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I seek leave to table a Companies Office series of documents with regard to the Stand and Deliver Contracting Ltd demonstrating that the company was incorporated through the Waipareira Trust but owned by Mr Ratahi. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I seek leave to table a Companies Office document noting that Mr Bryant incorporated Oma Investments which received $12 million from Te Wananga. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Finally I seek leave to table notes from the trust board in respect of accounting problems of the trust provided by chartered accountants and summarising that trustees were hopelessly misinformed on the true position of the trust. 
Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.