Immigrant denies link to sex ring

Auckland bookshop owner and immigrant Jim Peron - accused by Winston Peters in Parliament yesterday of having links to the North America Man Boy Love Association - said last night that he allowed the group to meet in a bookshop he ran in San Francisco, in the 1980s.

But he told the Herald in a written statement that he was uncomfortable with the group's positions and asked it to find other space.

"I regret not taking action sooner but hindsight always makes us wiser. I am not a member or a supporter and never have been either."

Mr Peron said he had also stocked the group's newsletter, but had taken over an existing store that already stocked it and he believed it was a condition of sale to keep it in stock.

He said every group that had asked to use space for meetings had received permission to do so and the man boy association was the only group he had specifically asked to find other space.

Mr Peron denied trading in pornography in the guise of a bookstore or being a paedophile, as claimed by the New Zealand First leader under parliamentary privilege.

The shop, Aristotle in Symonds St, had videos and DVDs. Of the total stock, about 2 per cent could be classed as adult material, and rated by the Board of Censors.

"To call this a porn shop is like calling Borders a religious bookstore because they sell Bibles. We are not a porn shop, nor are we a shop which has children as customers."

Act leader Rodney Hide identified himself as a friend of Mr Peron.

He said Mr Peters had made the vilest of allegations and that Mr Peron was an upright person who was being used by Mr Peters to score cheap political points simply because he was gay and a friend of Mr Hide's.

Mr Hide said that he knew Mr Peron and his partner well.

Mr Peron last night attacked Mr Peters as "a second-rate politician" who was making accusations to further his career during an election year. "He has no human decency."

Originally from the United States, and resident in South Africa before applying to come to New Zealand in 2001, Mr Peron is also the executive director of the Institute for Liberal Values, New Zealand, also based in Symonds St.

Mr Hide is a board member of the institute, which promotes liberal thought.

Mr Peters said Mr Peron had entered New Zealand under a business relocation category and that Mr Hide had sponsored the application.

Mr Peron said he had withdrawn that application. He then applied for, and was granted, a three-year work permit.*

Mr Hide said he was approached by friends of Mr Peron's to assist while he was still living in South Africa, before he had even met him.

In questions to Immigration Minister Paul Swain, Mr Peters also alleged that Mr Peron had his work visa cancelled in South Africa "because of the dubious nature of his business activities."

Mr Peron said that was false. He had a visa routinely approved and then suddenly it was not approved. But it was renewed after the relevant minister investigated.

* CORRECTION: Mr Peron has a work permit, not residency as originally reported.