The end of the Pacific Party

The New Zealand Pacific Party has been formally deregistered by the Electoral Commission. So much for the last legacy of Taito Phillip Field. But the electoral landscape is now looking a little thin, with only eight registered parties outside Parliament. Normally there's an upsurge as an election approaches, and it will be interesting to see what pops up.

Field jailed

Former MP Taito Phillip Field has been jailed for six years on bribery and corruption charges. It's a severe sentence, near the maximum in fact, but it reflects his betrayal of the public trust. By demanding free work from constituents in exchange for doing his job, Field betrayed every single one of us, and bought not just himself, but our entire democracy into disrepute. We expect better from our elected representatives than that.

Guilty

Taito Philip Field has been found guilty on eleven of twelve counts of bribery and corruption as an MP, and 15 of 23 counts of perverting the course of justice.

Good riddance.

Ending speculation

Last night I speculated about the Three News story buried by the police, suggesting that it was about the Taito Phillip Field case. It seems I was right. The injunction has been lifted, and the Herald reports that Thai tiler Sunan Siriwan is complaining of financial hardship while he is waiting to give evidence:

A key witness in the corruption and bribery trial of former Government Minister Taito Phillip Field has complained about the financial hardship his family is suffering while he waits to give evidence.

Sunan Siriwan, a Thai tiler who allegedly did work for Field in exchange for help with immigration matters, isn't likely to give evidence until later this month. It's understood Siriwan and his family are experiencing financial difficulty.

[...]

Mr Siriwan and his wife Aurnporn Phanngarm are upset authorities have failed to provide for them when it is the police who want him to stay in the country to give evidence.

So, they drag him back to help make their case, and then he is left to starve. That is simply shameful, and if it is how witnesses are treated, then they are likely to be much more reluctant to testify in these sorts of cases in the future.

Also shameful are the actions of the police and Field's lawyers in seeking to censor this news. As the judge pointed out when dismissing the injunction, there was nothing in the report which touched directly on the trial or threatened its integrity. Instead, the police seem to be trying to abuse the court process to prevent publication of embarassing news, aided and abetted by a defence trying to keep the whole thing out of the news entirely. As lawyers and officers of the court, they should both have more respect for the right to freedom of expression affirmed in the BORA.

Speculation

Three News opened its bulletin tonight with a story they couldn't bring you, relating to a "high profile" case in the Auckland High Court. The story was suppressed by an interim injunction obtained by the police, and I know nothing at all about it. But here's what they did say:

• The story related to a "high profile" case in the Auckland High Court;
• It was about the personal circumstances, welfare and treatment of a witness in that case by the police and immigration service;
• Oddly, it was presented by Scott Campbell, one of their political reporters;
• Very oddly, it was presented from Parliament.

The police can injunct Three News from telling us what its about. But they can't injunct the rest of us from figuring it out. So, what "high profile" case currently being heard in Auckland relates to Parliament, and has a lot of immigrants as witnesses? Gee, I wonder. So, are they treating their witnesses shamefully, or giving them residency in exchange for testimony? Unfortunately, until Three News gets the inunction lifted, we can only guess...

Taito on trial

Former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field has gone on trial in the High Court today on 12 charges of corruption and bribery as an MP and 23 charges of perverting the course of justice. It's the first such trial in New Zealand's history, and so cause for shame and pride in equal measure. Shame, because its a sign that our political system isn't as squeeky clean as we thought, and pride because unlike certain other countries, at least we're prosecuting him. As we should - there is no place for corruption in our political system.

Field to stand trial

Stuff reports that the District Court has ruled that there is a prima facie case against MP Taito Phillip Field, and that he will stand trial on 40 charges of corruption and perversion of the course of justice.

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Finally

Taito Phillip Field has been charged with 15 counts of bribery and 25 of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The latter are interesting, and clearly give the police a backup if Field wins his appeal against the High Court granting leave to lay the corruption charges. And if he is convicted on any one of them, he will be forced to resign from Parliament. Of course, if he had even a shred of decency, he would have done that already.

Do not pass Go, do not collect $200

Police are seeking leave from the High Court to charge Taito Phillip Field with 14 counts of bribery as a Member of Parliament. If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison, and would have to resign his seat.

So, will he show a shred of decency and resign now, or will he cling to his Parliamentary benefits right up until they day they lock him up?

Just what we need

Former Labour MP Taito Phillip Field is apparently planning a new political party, based on "family values". Because that's just what we need - another right-wing Christian party. Still, if he thinks he can retain his seat (and possibly bring a friend with him) by pandering to the same narrow slice of the political spectrum already claimed by United Future and Destiny NZ, then good luck to him. And if we're lucky, he'll split the vote and take them all down with him...

Petty racism from Bill English

Yesterday's Question Time saw an interesting exchange in the House, with Taito Phillip Field insisting on proper use of his chiefly title:

Hon Bill English: Has Phil Goff ever discussed with the Prime Minister the fact that he visited Phillip Field’s house in Samoa, met people who fitted—

Taito Phillip Field: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Only a few minutes ago it was pointed out to Mr Bill English that my name is Taito Phillip Field.

Madam SPEAKER: That is true.

Taito Phillip Field: He continues to ignore what is required of him in this House.

Like DPF, I think that Field's insistence on the use of his title is more than a little arrogant; I have no time for titles and I am no fan of the outdated deference they signify. However, it should also be pointed out that English supports knighthoods, and there is no question that he would use the traditional form of address for e.g. a visiting British Lord. So why won't he here? Do titles only "count" if they are borne or awarded by white people?

Good riddance

Taito Philip Field has quit the Labour Party and will remain in Parliament as an independent. Good riddance, I say. In accordance with his constituent's wishes, he will be offering his proxy to Labour, but they would be wise to refuse it. Field is political poison, and accepting it would further taint the party. Better to make a clean break.

Meanwhile, the latest chapter in the saga is once again revealing the ugly side of the Maori Party, with both Tariana Turia and Pita Sharples extending the hand of friendship (and possibly even an invite to join) to Field. I'd expect it of Tariana, with her racist blurt on immigration and her cuddling up to Donna Awatere-Huata after her conviction, but I'd generally seen Sharples as the sane, restrained one. It looks like I was wrong.

Doing the numbers

With Labour's decision last night to finally move to expel Taito Philip Field (having carefully lured him into giving them an excuse which would allow them to reverse their previous position of natural justice), the media and National are trying to present it as a threat to the government's stability. But is it really? Look at the numbers. Without Field, Labour has 49 votes, plus one from the ever-reliable Jim Anderton. New Zealand First and United Future add a further 10 votes on confidence and supply, giving them 60 - one less than an absolute majority. So surely the government is in trouble?

I don't think so. In case anyone has forgotten, the government also has a co-operation agreement with the Greens, in which they agree not to oppose the government on confidence and supply in exchange for certain policy gains. With the Greens abstaining, the government has 60 votes out of 115 - a comfortable majority by MMP terms. The government is only in danger of falling if one of their confidence and supply partners fails to keep their word - in which case I expect the Greens to step in with a positive vote of confidence in order to salvage the just-announced sustainability platform.

(Meanwhile, the prospects of National cobbling together its own coalition are just as bleak as they were immediately after the election. With only 48 votes of their own, they would need to rely on ACT, United Future, NZ First and the Maori Party (or Field) to gain a bare majority. Good luck with that, guys).

The prospects seem slightly bleaker on the legislative front, where the government cannot rely on either its confidence partner's votes, or the Greens' abstention in order to pass legislation. However, they have in the past shown remarkable skill at building strong majorities behind their legislative agenda, with most bills passing by 70 votes rather than a bare 61. Field's departure won't affect that, however it will likely affect Labour's ability to work around its coalition partners and form an alternative bare-minimum majority with the Maori Party and the Greens (which has proved useful in the past). So we'll be seeing a lot more cooperation across party lines in future, at least until Field is replaced in a by-election. And I don't think that's a Bad Thing at all.

Field to be charged?

According to the Sunday Star-Times police are likely to charge Taito Philip Field in the next two weeks with violating the Immigration Act and with Corruption. The latter could carry a penalty of up to fourteen years in prison if in his role as a minister, or seven years if done as an MP.

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy. And hopefully, this will give the Labour caucus the chance they need to evict Field from their party for good. They never needed his vote - the Greens' abstention guaranteed that - but merely being associated with him is pure political poison.

Siriwan sues

Remember Sunan Siriwan? He was the Thai tiler who initially sparked allegations of corruption against Taito Phillip Field, after he supposedly did construction work on Field's house in Samoa in exchange for immigration assistance. Last year's Ingram Report [PDF] into Field's dealings found that the allegation could not be upheld, and that Siriwan had not been employed by Field, but by members of Field's family without his knowledge.

But that's not what Siriwan thinks. And after spending 16 months in Samoa tiling houses without being paid, he's suing Field for unpaid wages.

I know nothing about Samoan labour law, the level of any minimum wage there, what level of contractual formality is required for a relationship to be considered employment, and whether it is legal to pay people in food and board plus an irregular living allowance. But it is telling that he has chosen to sue Field rather than those named in the Ingram report as his "employers". He will have to present evidence in court that it was Field who ultimately directed his work for this to be upheld - which is exactly what Field doesn't want people in New Zealand to see.

If the suit is successful, it will be clear that Field is the exploitative, manipulative, self-interested person we thought him to be. Not to mention a liar, who misled Noel Ingram's inquiry to divert blame from himself. Even though his reputation is already mud, Field can't really afford this, so expect the suit to be settled quickly. Which may in fact be what Siriwan is hoping for...

Taito Phillip Field and the right to silence

So, suspended Labour MP Taito Phillip Field is now refusing to be interviewed by the police. National is of course outraged, and trying to blame Helen Clark for it (of course. As opposition, they'd blame the government for the weather if they thought it would stick). Meanwhile, since it has so obviously slipped John Key's mind, I thought I'd remind people again: we have a right to silence in this country, and no-one, no matter who they are or what they are accused of, has to talk to the police. As the subject of a criminal investigation, Field is merely exercising that right - a right which exists to protect people from abuses of power and society from a police force which forces "confessions" - and he has every right to do so.

Meanwhile, I'm sure that Key's statement that "If Mr Field has nothing to hide, he would have no problem speaking to the police" will be very useful to Field's lawyer if he is every prosecuted, in arguing that he cannot possibly receive a fair trial due to widespread pronouncements from authority figures and assumptions about his guilt.

From what we've already seen about Field, we can conclude that he's not fit to be in Parliament. But it would be better for politicians to stand back and let the police conduct their investigation, rather than wading in and potentially undermining both it, and our human rights.

Raided

By now everyone will have heard that the police have executed search warrants on Taito Phillip Field's home, electorate office, and Parliamentary offices. The latter is particularly interesting due to the interaction with Parliamentary Privilege. The freedom necessary for Parliament to do its job (and the bad history of the monarch trying to arrest "treasonous" MPs) has led to Parliament asserting its power over police operations within the Parliamentary precinct. There's a report on the draft agreement between the Speaker and Police Commissioner from the Privileges Committee here [PDF], but it doesn't seem to cover actual searches. The Speaker has therefore been forced to draw up an additional agreement, which seems to require that they be accompanied by Parliamentary Services staff. I'll try and get a copy and see whether it has anything interesting in it.

In the meantime, Field must be coming under intense pressure to resign, if only to avoid dragging his Labour colleagues even further into the muck. But given his past behaviour, I'm not holding my breath.

It's now a criminal investigation

The police have started a criminal investigation into Taito Phillip Field, based on both the Ingram Report and more recent allegations. The Labour Party has responded by placing him on leave.

Field isn't obliged to talk to the police, any more than he was obliged to talk to Dr Ingram; he has a right to silence, and judging by the Ingram Report, he will exercise it vigorously. But I think the police are still better placed to get to the bottom of this matter, and to ensure that any wrongdoing is properly punished.

Meanwhile, I hope the smaller parties are lining up their candidates for a by-election, just in case...

Nobody likes Field

For those who haven't been keeping up with the Field saga, here's a quick guide to where various people stand:

Those who think Taito Phillip Field should resign his seat:	Those who think Taito Phillip Field did absolutely nothing wrong and should stay:
Helen Clark Labour's Pacific wing The EPMU The New Zealand public	Taito Phillip Field

I guess we just have to hope he gets the message.

Update: Apparently not. Field has once again denied that he has done anything wrong and announced that he intends to "continue as the Labour MP for Mangere". I think the onus is now on he Labour caucus to evict him.

Here's hoping

I missed "Sunday" last night and its extra pile of wriggling maggots from Taito Phillip Field's rotting political corpse, but it seems to have been more than enough for the Prime Minister. She's now suggesting that Field should reconsider his future as an MP. I wonder if he'll take the hint? OTOH, given the complete lack of shame he's shown so far at his behaviour, it seems unlikely...