Personal Explanations — Member for Tamaki Makaurau—Response to Allegations

I respectfully seek the leave of the House to make a personal statement under Standing Order 343 with regard to a range of allegations that have been made against me in this House over the course of the last 2 weeks.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There is not. This will be heard in silence.

💬 Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I just need to get some clarification from you with regard to the status of comments made in this statement by Mr Tamihere. What limitations will those comments put upon, firstly, questions that have been legitimately placed on the sheet today, and, secondly, any consequential debate that is likely to result later in the day?

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Comments can be only of a personal nature; they have no effect on anything else.

💬 Gerry Brownlee: My point was that the National Party would strongly object to this personal statement being made if it were to mean that matters relating to Mr Tamihere that are still of significant public interest were disbarred from discussion in this House. I need your clarification on that.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: No, this is a personal statement about personal matters. It does not debar any further comments, questions, or any other issue.

Over recent weeks a number of false but serious allegations have been made about me. This morning I met with Mr Douglas White QC. On the basis of information I have made available to him, I am confident his inquiry will find that I have done nothing wrong. I wish to take this opportunity to deal with the range of false allegations, in order to set the record straight for the House.

The first allegation is that I did not pay tax on a payment I received from the Waipareira Trust. This allegation is groundless. The payment was made net of tax. This has been accepted by the trust. I am advised that I have met all my obligations to the Inland Revenue Department.

The second allegation related to election expenses. I confirm that I provided a written declaration as to my election expenses in 1999, and that in all respects they were correct. The allegations to the contrary have no substance.

There was another allegation, about the register of Ministers’ interests. I confirm that my ministerial declarations are absolutely correct. With regard to an interest in Māori land, the fact is I have not succeeded to any interest, and will not succeed to my father’s interest, because it will be vested in a whānau trust. Allegations were made that I should have declared an interest in two titles in the west Auckland area. I have no beneficial interest in those properties; I am only a trustee for my nieces and nephews. My declaration is correct, and the Cabinet Office has confirmed that.

Allegations have been made against me about a second-hand Toyota vehicle that was provided to me as a director of Westland Ltd. I always believed that I dealt with that issue according to my arrangements with the company and with the trust. I had no knowledge of the payment of insurance. I had no knowledge of the insurance company. This is a matter that will be clarified by the White inquiry, and, again, I am confident that he will find I have done nothing wrong.

I come now to the Paragon Risk report. The media and Opposition members have made much ado about that report. I confirm to the House that on 29 October 2004—last Friday—I contacted the Serious Fraud Office and handed a full copy of the Paragon Risk report across to it, asking it to investigate the matter urgently and expeditiously. It was me who referred the report to the Serious Fraud Office, as I wanted the matter addressed properly and correctly.

It is correct that as the chief executive officer of Te Whānau o Waipareira Trust, I signed cheque requisition forms for hundreds of thousands of dollars at various times. That was part of my job. I state to this House that I have never signed forms authorising cash payments, which is what led to the payments identified in the Paragon Risk report. I state to the House that I was not aware of any invalid invoices, and I was not a recipient of any of the payments referred to in the Paragon Risk report. I have absolutely nothing to hide, which is why I instigated and welcome the Serious Fraud Office inquiry and the White inquiry, and I will continue to cooperate fully with those inquiries.

I come now to the final matter—the so-called golden handshake. The Rt Hon Winston Peters raised this matter in the House on 27 July 1999 by way of questions in the House. A large part of the so-called $195,000 package consisted of salary and performance bonuses for previous years. Some of that had already been paid. The balance was an ex gratia payment for my overall contributions to the trust over 8 years as chief executive. I decided not to accept the ex gratia payment, and said so publicly at the time. I was again contacted by senior members of the trust, including our kuia, Auntie June Māriu—the chairperson—and the trust secretary, Mr Reg Rātahi. I did change my mind, and I decided to accept the ex gratia component of the payment, following the election in 1999. It is correct that I did not advise the Prime Minister that I had accepted this component of the package, and that I deeply regret.

Of course I was aware that we had campaigned with regard to golden handshakes. It was clear in my mind that what we were talking about was not that kind of payment. During my years as the chief executive officer of the Waipareira Trust its staff grew from 12 to 240, and its assets grew from $1 million to $12 million. Contrary to some claims, most of that increase in assets came from wise investment and management. The trust made its ex gratia payment to me because it was grateful to me. I have broken no law, and I am confident that Mr White’s inquiry will find no improper behaviour on my part.

I have resigned from Cabinet today because I did change my mind and accept a golden handshake, and I did not tell my Prime Minister. Some see that as hypocrisy, and I will do my time. I came to Wellington not just to serve as a Minister but to work for my constituents. I could not in all good conscience continue to take a Cabinet salary while awaiting the outcome 3 weeks from now of an inquiry. There are some significant ranges of work, and I have come down here to represent my constituents in Tamaki Makaurau.

I seek the leave of the House to ask Mr John Tamihere two questions.

💬 Mr SPEAKER: Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There is.