Collins Judith: General Debate 
Collins Judith: General Debate 
[Volume:633;Page:4988] 
JUDITH COLLINS (National—Clevedon) 
: 
 Helen Clark has a favourite saying: “It is time we moved on.” That is her favourite saying. When we had “paintergate” it was time to move on. When we had her speeding across the South Canterbury plains for which her driver and police officers took the rap it was time to move on. When we had Lianne Dalziel telling one thing to the media and another thing to everyone else it was time to move on. When we had Mr Benson-Pope having very serious problems with his memory it was time to move on. 
Effectively the Prime Minister has told us today that in relation to Taito Phillip Field and the allegations of very serious corruption it is time to move on. Well I have news for her—it is not time to move on. The reason is that she set up the Ingram inquiry with very very narrow terms of reference. She set up that inquiry so there would be a whitewash. She thought it would be a great way of diverting the public’s attention away from the scandal and to something where the inquiry would take in her words 9 days. It took 9 months. The inquiry did not exonerate Mr Field as the Labour Government has claimed it did. It did nothing of the sort. It left more questions unanswered than answered. 
The great villainous act of this situation is that it has besmirched the name of Pacific New Zealanders throughout the country. In my role I come across and have a lot to do with Pacific Island New Zealanders. They are heartily embarrassed at the way in which their culture and their name have been besmirched by these allegations of corruption. They do not understand why Helen Clark would have us believe that it does not really matter because that is the way Pacific New Zealanders behave that is the way they do things in Samoa and that is the way it happens so one cannot expect anything else. 
Well we can and must expect something else because the people who suffer from these allegations of corruption the handing over of cash under the table - type behaviour are the poorest New Zealanders. In fact in many cases they are poor New Zealand citizens and also poor people who are overstayers who are the most vulnerable people in this country. They suffer because of what has happened—or certainly has been alleged to have happened—in Mr Field’s case. 
Helen Clark had the cheek to come here today and effectively say to us that it does not really matter and that it is time to move on. Yesterday Mr Field was toast. Yesterday Mr Field was “outski”. She had someone lined up to take that Mangere seat—that so-called safe Labour seat. She had someone ready to go in there someone with better church connections someone who could move in there for Labour. What has changed? 
The change is that Pacific people know Helen Clark set up a dud inquiry in the first place. She knew that nothing would ever exonerate Mr Field. She knew there would be questions left unanswered. She wanted to taint him if she could and at the same time she did not want to have to deal with a by-election. She got what she wanted. She has destroyed him politically and she has gone on to destroy Pacific New Zealanders politically and socially. 
All Pacific New Zealanders have now been tarred with the brush of corruption—just as MPs in this House have been tarred by that brush. That is what she has done. Helen Clark has taken the votes of Pacific New Zealanders for years. She has treated Pacific New Zealanders as less than first class. She has said that is all right for them because it is all they can expect. I am here to tell her that is not what Pacific New Zealanders should expect. 
In the Pacific we as New Zealanders are always going over to Pacific countries telling them how to get rid of corruption. Well let us start right here in this Parliament where we should be able to be proud of ourselves. We should be able to be proud of the job we do. But has that been good enough for Helen Clark? No. 
So what has changed in the last 24 hours? How about a Pacific party. That is what has changed. The thought of that has been too much for Helen Clark. She knows she cannot afford for it to happen.