National calls for probe into Thai tiler's visa

The National Party has called for a judicial investigation into the case of a Thai overstayer who was paid by a minister's wife while the minister applied for a work permit for him.

Associate Justice Minister Taito Phillip Field confirmed last night that his wife, Maxine, had paid Thai overstayer Sunan Siriwan at least 100 Samoan tala ($54) a week since March while he waited in Samoa for his New Zealand work permit application to be approved.

Mr Siriwan stayed for some of that time in a garage on a property near Apia where the Fields are building a two-storey house.

Mr Field said he and his wife also paid $5000 to fly Mr Siriwan's wife and 2-year-old New Zealand-born son from Thailand to Samoa.

He said he had never employed Mr Siriwan, a tiler, to work on the house, but had offered him free food and accommodation while waiting to hear about his work permit application.

"I said there was tiling there that needs to be done, but there was no employment arrangement," he said.

National immigration spokesman Tony Ryall called yesterday for "an independent investigation by a judge".

"If a minister did get cheap services in return for supporting a work visa, then that is unprecedented," he said. "This would go to the heart of ministerial conflict of interest."

But Prime Minister Helen Clark rejected suggestions Mr Field had done anything wrong. "I think the only thing he is probably guilty of is trying to be helpful to someone."

Mr Field said Mr Siriwan and an Auckland builder, Keith Williams, approached him in March because Mr Siriwan's wife had been deported to Thailand and he faced deportation because his application for refugee status had been refused.

Mr Field said he suggested that Mr Siriwan go to Samoa, from where he could apply for a New Zealand work visa. He agreed to ask Associate Immigration Minister Damien O'Connor whether it would be feasible to consider such an application.

After talking with Mr O'Connor, he met Mr Siriwan and Mr Williams again and told them that it "looked favourable". He agreed to pay for Mr Williams' fare to Samoa because Mr Siriwan could not speak Samoan or much English, but said he did not pay for Mr Siriwan's fare.

Mr Field said Mr Siriwan did "preparatory work" on the floors of the house to get it ready for tiling. Mrs Field was in charge of the project. "Maxine said, 'You are doing good work, let me give you some money,' so she gives him initially 170 or 200 tala a week," Mr Field said.

"He was getting a free bed, free food, was being taken on trips, and we were arranging to bring his wife. We paid for his wife's air fare from Thailand to Samoa. We are still paying for him because we feel for him."

Mr O'Connor said this week that he was "unaware of Mr Siriwan's employment or activity in Samoa". He said he would review the application in the light of "the new information".

* The Herald was given an email yesterday, dated August 9, 2002,  in which a member of Mr Field's Mangere electorate staff said Mrs Field would need to share some of the income of a new staff member. Mr Field said this was "a mistake" and his wife was not paid for her voluntary office work.