MPs' code of ethics 'at risk' from politics

Labour MP Ross Robertson hopes his proposed Code of Ethics for Parliament will not fall victim to the politics of the present.

Senior National MPs Bill English and Lockwood Smith have described the promotion of a code as "a diversion" from the inquiry into Labour MP Taito Phillip Field and his dealings with illegal immigrants.

Mr Robertson said he had written to the standing orders committee on April 7 asking to make a submission, and it is the third time he has sought to get such a code adopted.

The code borrows heavily from the British Code of Conduct that was adopted in 1996. It would cover MPs' behaviour both inside and outside Parliament though Robertson's version does not promote the notion of "enforcing" the code.

But incorporating the code into Parliament's standing orders might provide a platform for Parliament's committees to examine apparent breaches.

The Speaker has ruled that Parliament's privileges committee cannot examine the conduct of MPs outside the House, only inside.

The ministerial inquiry into Mr Field commissioned by Prime Minister Helen Clark was limited to examining conflicts of interest as a minister only, not an member of Parliament.

Mr Robertson, whose Manukau East electorate borders Mr Field's Mangere, said he did not want to discuss the case.

"I don't want to get into personalities."

Meanwhile, Helen Clark again rejected calls for an investigation into the other 262 successful visa applications that were promoted by Mr Field but were not canvassed in the nine-month inquiry carried out by Noel Ingram QC.

Helen Clark said yesterday the successful cases were a matter of judgment for the minister in charge.

"No, I don't [want an investigation]. Nor would I want to investigate all the representations from members of Parliament across parties who go to the minister asking for a discretion," she told Newstalk ZB.

"It's a matter of record that he's been severely punished - he's no longer a minister, he's been publicly humiliated, he's apologised to Parliament, he's accepted he's got to change the way he works. Now some people want to go further and sort of bring out the executioner's weapons."



PRINCIPLES OF THE DECORUM CODE

Extract from Ross Robertson's proposed Code of Ethics.

MPs should at all times conduct themselves in a manner which will tend to maintain and strengthen the public's trust and confidence in the integrity of Parliament and never undertake any action which would bring the House, or its Members, into disrepute. Members are to observe the following principles:

SELFLESSNESS
Members should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest.

INTEGRITY
Members should not place themselves under any financial or other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in the performance of their official duties.

CONFIDENTIALITY
Information which they receive in confidence in the course of their parliamentary duties should be used only in connection with those duties, and never be used for the purpose of financial gain by themselves or others.

HONESTY
Members have a duty to declare any private interests relating to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising to protect in a way that protects the public interest.

- Additional reporting by NZPA