Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:625;Page:20576] 
4.  
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Has her Minister of Immigration with regard to last night’s TV  
One News 
 coverage of bogus job offers and a reported lack of staff and funding within the New Zealand Immigration Service to deal with the problem advised her of the case of a Mr Feng Li from Innovatory Technologies (NZ) Co. Ltd who allegedly uses phoney work permits for Chinese students who go on to gain permanent residence; if so why does she still have confidence in her Minister of Immigration? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Deputy Prime Minister) 
 on behalf of the 
 Prime Minister 
: The Minister has not advised her about that specific case. She continues to have confidence in him as a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How on earth can she possibly have confidence in a Minister who has no idea of what is going on in his portfolio and if he did have any idea how has Mr Feng Li from Innovatory Technologies (NZ) Co. Ltd now in receivership been able to defraud the immigration authorities with ease and accomplishment by running a bogus company propped up by counterfeit job offers tax avoidance and fake employees who go on to become non - bona fide permanent residents then disappear into thin air; can any Minister who allows that to go on over and over again be hard-working and competent? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: A number of the matters the member referred to are not within the portfolio responsibility of the Minister of Immigration— 
Ron Mark 
: Nothing is! 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Well certainly revenue matters are not; I can assure the member of that. Of course the Minister of Revenue is not able to know the actual incidents of individual taxpayers’ affairs. I am sure even Mr Mark realises that there is a good reason for that. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Which part is not within the purview of the Minister of Immigration: tax information in respect of people who are applying for permanent residence fake documentation fake employment records and bogus company records all of which led to a stack of people coming into this country; which part would not be the ultimate scrutiny responsibility of the Minister of Immigration and his department? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As I said before taxation matters would not. The other matters of course were why in fact the department had been investigating this outfit since late August 2004 and conclusions arrived at that the number of job offers was not in fact genuine. No permanent residence applications have been granted arising out of the work applications since those investigations began. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can the Prime Minister possibly have confidence in a Minister who said that he was going to review the Immigration Act—and he ordered that over a year ago purely to alleviate his embarrassment at his incompetence and purely to disguise the proliferation of immigration failures—and why after all this time has the review not even had its terms of reference referred to Cabinet? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Work is going on. That is one of the most complex areas in terms of legislation. Not all of life is capable of being summarised in a simple bumper-sticker slogan unfortunately for the member. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: In respect of the Prime Minister’s judgment that she has confidence in the Minister and thinks he is a hard-working Minister which part of the following statement is not true or accurate: “The New Zealand Immigration Service relied too much on the honesty and truthfulness of foreigners to whom integrity is a strange concept. They do not respond to complaints from New Zealanders. Unless you write to the Minister there is no response and then it is patronising and uninterested. The staff are uneducated about the cultures of the foreigners with whom they are dealing and NZIS offices are staffed by foreign-born persons who can’t understand English enough to administer the Act.”? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think it is clear that the recently appointed head of the Immigration Service is taking action to address some of the internal problems. I am sure the member is aware that there is no jurisdiction in the Western World that does not have some difficulties at times with immigration matters. 
Hon Tony Ryall 
: Would this Prime Minister still have confidence in a Minister of Immigration who oversees a system where a refugee applicant who is facing serious criminal charges can be granted refugee status then have all details of his background suppressed? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: If those details are suppressed I assume that that would be by way of some form of judicial legal decision. Although I know that members opposite find it hard to understand this Government does believe in the rule of law. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Where is the Tongan rugby team? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think the current Tongan rugby team is in Tonga. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I did not ask about the Tongan national team. I asked about the team that the Immigration Service lost 2 years ago and still cannot find. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That is a point of information more than a point of order. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Where is the Tongan rugby team that went missing 2 years ago? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I do not know. Its members may well be canvassing for the New Zealand First party by now. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I refer to the last part of that answer. To attack someone when one is embarrassed on a totally fallacious basis is not part of the Standing Orders. [ 
Interruption 
] I know that he would not know that because he is a junior boy in this place. But that Minister should know. I would ask you Madam Speaker to ask the Minister to stick to the answer embarrassing as it might be rather than try to attack another political party that is only doing God’s work in the House. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Would the Minister like to have another go at answering that question without any interpolation. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I have no advice in front of me in relation to the current whereabouts of any past member of the Tongan rugby team. I might say that we are very grateful to a number of Tongans who have been part of the New Zealand rugby team on occasion in recent years. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. Which part of that last answer was within the Standing Orders and what part was outside of them? The reality is that the Minister is not an expert on rugby in any way shape or form and he is wasting the House’s time. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I thank the member for that last observation and would merely say he is not the only one.