Sammy Wong named wife's office as his business base

Pansy Wong quit the Cabinet after it was learned her husband did business on a taxpayer-subsidised trip to China. Photo / Richard Robinson

Embattled former Cabinet minister Pansy Wong is facing fresh suggestions her husband Sammy may have misused taxpayer-funded support for his wife's official duties to further his business interests.

Labour MP Pete Hodgson, who first raised questions about Mr Wong's business dealings, yesterday produced Companies Office records showing he registered two companies to the same address as his wife's Botany electorate office.

Former National Prime Minister Dame Jenny Shipley and her husband Burton are listed as directors as one of the companies.

The Parliamentary Service provides most constituency MPs with $64,000 a year to maintain electorate offices.

Mr Hodgson said he did not know whether the companies had actually traded from the address or whether Dame Jenny was aware they were registered there.

However, he said the Parliamentary Service's rules relating to use of the offices were designed to ensure MPs kept their official duties separate from their private affairs.

"What's happened here is Sammy Wong's private life is now firmly enmeshed in his wife's public life."

But Prime Minister John Key said the matter was "not that sinister".

"You've got to be very careful when you start looking at mailing addresses. A lot of people have mailing addresses for all sorts of reasons.

"Sometimes it's simply that they move houses and it's just convenient to have a location that they know they are constantly going to be at."

He said further questions should be directed to Mrs Wong, although he said he had advised her not to talk to the media while the use of the MPs' travel allowance by her and her husband was being investigated by the Parliamentary Service.

Neither Mrs Wong nor Dame Jenny was available for comment yesterday and the Parliamentary Service refused to comment.

Mrs Wong resigned from her ethnic affairs and women's affairs portfolios last week after it was revealed that her international travel perks paid for part of her husband's trip in late 2008 to China, where he also did business.

Mrs Wong qualifies for a 90 per cent discount on private international travel but it is not allowed to be used for business purposes.

The Speaker is looking into details of her travel with her husband.