Crown: Field tried to derail QC's inquiry

Former Government minister Taito Phillip Field corruptly received benefits from constituents in exchange for immigration help, then tried to derail an inquiry into allegations against him, a High Court jury was told yesterday.

Field - a former MP for Mangere and Associate Minister of Pacific Island Affairs - is accused of 12 charges of bribery and corruption as an MP and 23 of wilfully perverting the course of justice.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and his trial in the High Court at Auckland is expected to take three months.

In his opening address, Crown Solicitor Simon Moore SC said

Field corruptly received benefits from his constituents in exchange for him helping them with immigration matters.

Strict rules for Government ministers and MPs showed that was against the law.

"They are paid a salary to serve the community ... They are elected to do a job and they're not allowed to accept payments and benefits," he said.

The benefits Field allegedly received were not in the form of money but in work done in homes he owned in New Zealand and in Samoa, "mostly in the form of painting and plastering".

The work was done by mostly Thai men and women "because they wanted help with immigration problems", and was done for free or for a very low cost.

"But the Crown case doesn't end there," Mr Moore said. "You may remember allegations broke in the national media in September 2005 across the television, radio and newspapers."

The allegations created a "storm of debate", and then-Prime Minister Helen Clark set up an inquiry led by Noel Ingram, QC.

Mr Moore said Field publicly rejected the allegations and said he would co-operate fully with the inquiry.

"The Crown case is that in reality he far from co-operated with the inquiry. He took deliberate steps to do the opposite."

Field is alleged to have placed incorrect evidence before the inquiry and got others to do so.

Mr Moore said the attempts were intended to "derail any future police investigation or court case".