Key says rules for former MPs outdated

Taito Phillip Field in court the day of his conviction. Photo / Martin Sykes

Prime Minister John Key says he assumed access to parliamentary perks for convicted former MP Taito Phillip Field would be nullified, and is keen to see that happen.

On Tuesday, Field was found guilty of 11 bribery and corruption charges and obstruction of justice charges. He is due to be sentenced on October 6.

The parliamentary rules on entitlements do not cover the issue of MPs with convictions.

That means the former Labour member for Mangere, who served more than five terms, is entitled to hefty travel allowances for ex-MPs. So is his wife, Maxine.

In Cairns, where Mr Key is attending a Pacific Islands Forum meeting, he told reporters that he understood if an MP was convicted and jailed he or she was no longer entitled to perks.

Mr Key said it appeared the parliamentary rules surrounding claims were outdated and needed looking at, and considered Field had blown his right to take advantage of perks.

"He's been found guilty...from crimes for his time in Parliament and I can't see how he should therefore benefit from his service in Parliament."

But he said, under the circumstances, he was "willing to explore how provision could be made to address the situation".

Last night he said that "at a moral level" the entitlements for Field or his wife were inappropriate.

Labour's chief whip Darren Hughes told Radio New Zealand this morning Field's case was a serious one, and MPs in such a position should not be able to claim future entitlements.

"I don't think they should, and I don't think many people listening would think they should either," he said.

"Certainly he is eligible under the criteria that existed for those MPs, but he's been found guilty by a jury on these charges, which are serious and relate to his work as an MP..."

Mr Hughes said he would support any procedural rule changes which would make those entitlements ineligible under circumstances such as Field's.

Field and his wife can claim for up to 12 free domestic return trips a year and a 90 per cent discount on international travel as long as it does not exceed the cost of a return business-class flight to London on Air New Zealand - about $10,000.

On the basis of a $600 return airfare to Samoa, that would amount to 18 flights a year at $60 each.

Parliament's Speaker, Lockwood Smith, said last night he would be willing to review the parliamentary perks rules.

Dr Smith acknowledged last that there is no reference to the coverage of former MPs who are convicted of criminal offences and that under the existing arrangements the entitlements would apply.

But he said: "Given the seriousness of this matter, I am willing to explore how provision could be made to address the situation."

Former MPs can claim the perks only if they were elected before 1999. Field was elected in 1993.

The Field case was described yesterday as a wake-up call for the Samoan community.

Keneti Muaiava, lecturer in Samoan culture and dance at the University of Auckland, said customary practices such as lafo (customary gifts) needed to be looked at carefully and in context.

"A lot of matai [chiefs] come here and run things in the fa'asamoa way. But we need to acknowledge the land that we're standing on first," he said.

"A lot of them don't realise that. Those customs are okay in Samoa, but this is a whole different country, [meaning] different laws and rules."

Mr Muaiava also said that "Taito" - one of the highest chiefly titles in Field's home village of Manase - could be removed only by those who bestowed it.

"In the Samoan community, being looked down at like that, he's already in jail," he said.

"He went out and showed his faith every day," Mr Muaiava said. "He represented us - good on him. But he needs to be made accountable."

- With NZPA