A convicted fraudster employed by a Government agency took kickbacks, it was claimed in Parliament yesterday.
Tame Te Rangi, an official for the Maori broadcasting funding agency Te Mangai Paho, resigned on Monday after his 10-year-old fraud conviction came to light.
Te Mangai Paho chief executive Trevor Moeke said he was unawarethat Mr Te Rangi was jailed for five months for stealing nearly $40,000 from a Ngati Whatua trust in the early 1990s.
He said the resignation was the result of pressure from claims made about Mr Te Rangi in Parliament two weeks ago.
Maori Affairs Minister Parekura Horomia said that Te Mangai Paho had checked Mr Te Rangi's background and found nothing untoward.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said Te Mangai Paho should have known about the conviction.
"It's not necessarily a fault of the chief executive. As you're aware, at much higher and more sensitive levels of the public service we do extensive security checks. At that level that wouldn't have happened."
Yesterday in Parliament Act MP Rodney Hide claimed that while Mr Te Rangi was at Te Mangai Paho he sought kickbacks from those seeking contracts and also misused money from other agencies.
"Mr Te Rangi emailed ... requesting Maori Sports Casting International [MSCI] pay him a cash fee of several hundred dollars to be hidden in his accommodation, travel and meal expenses," Mr Hide said.
In Parliament two weeks ago Mr Hide said Te Mangai Paho had paid almost $535,000 over three years to MSCI for covering sports matches.
He also said then that Mr Te Rangi was paid $7000 for expenses he claimed for travel, meals and accommodation while he was commentating rugby matches.
Yesterday, Mr Hide also claimed MSCI had misused public money to benefit politicians.
He asked Mr Horomia whether he had any concerns about MSCI's operation given that it not only provided kickbacks to Mr Te Rangi but also used money from a $10,000 Te Puni Kokiri training contract to put on food, alcohol and a band at Auckland's Lakeside Convention Centre to assist two ministers during last year's election campaign.
Mr Horomia said he did not know any details of the claims.