8. PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) Link to this
to the Minister of Housing
Does he stand by his statements reported by IRN, NewsRoom, and TV3 respectively in June 2007 that he “is promising corruption allegations involving Housing New Zealand will be looked into thoroughly”, has “asked the board to look into a claim that the former Mangere tenant might have been helped by someone inside the corporation to get a house”, and “says he will look into allegations that insider help was given to a tenant who managed to sublet a state house”; if so, why did he say yesterday that “The investigation that we have had has been about the length of time it has been taking to investigate allegations.”?
Hon CHRIS CARTER (Minister of Housing) Link to this
Yes. I advised the House on 28 June 2007: “Today I have written to the chair of Housing New Zealand, requesting that the board review the corporation’s investigation processes”. I did that because I was not satisfied that the case the member raises, and other cases, had been dealt with in a timely or an efficient manner. As far as the particular case the member raised yesterday and again today is concerned, which is part of that process of review, I can assure the House that it has been carefully investigated. There is no basis for believing that unjustified assistance was provided by corporation staff. However, I am not prepared to comment further, as that could jeopardise pending legal action.
Is the Minister saying that the investigation into corruption is part of the wider investigation into the length of time it has been taking to investigate allegations?
Absolutely. As I am sure that the member reads all of my press statements very thoroughly, he would have seen that on 28 June 2007 I listed the four issues I wanted Housing New Zealand Corporation to look at. They were—and I will repeat them—why a refocusing of the investigations unit by the corporation management last year did not seem to have improved its performance; how many other cases have been affected; what impact any of the delays have had on the cases; and, finally, the causes of the delay in the Māngere case.
Russell Fairbrother Link to this
What reports has the Minister seen about allegations of corruption in Housing New Zealand Corporation?
Last year the allegations that were repeatedly raised in this House by National’s spokesperson on housing about corruption in Housing New Zealand Corporation were found, after a thorough investigation by the Auditor-General, to be false. This year the same member raised allegations of corruption by Housing New Zealand Corporation staff at our Māngere office. An internal audit, peer reviewed by an external agency, has confirmed that there is no basis to believe there is any truth in the latest allegations of corruption. I can only agree with the editorial in the Waikato Times of 1 August this year, which stated: “Mr Heatley has sensationalised his criticisms. They are mischievous and illogical.”
In regard to the investigation report’s due date, why did he say in this House yesterday that “No such date as the end of July was given.”, when in this House on 28 June he said: “Today I have written to the chair of Housing New Zealand … with a due date for report back to me of 27 July.”; was he misleading the House then, or was he misleading the House yesterday?
In my answer halfway through the questions from that member yesterday, I realised at that point that he was talking about two different investigations. I had answered the question yesterday about the investigation into the processes at Housing New Zealand Corporation, and I gave some answers about that, but I realised quickly, as the questions went on, that the issue was actually about the Māngere case. I received a report on 6 July about the Māngere case, and I was commenting about that.
The Minister has just admitted and conceded to this House that he realised during question time yesterday that his answer was, in fact, incorrect. Why did he not correct it at the time?
Madam SPEAKER
Hon Dr Michael Cullen Link to this
There is a difference between giving an incorrect answer to a question that one has understood, and answering a question that one has not understood the purport of, but answering it to the best of one’s ability at the time.
Why has the report sat on the Minister’s desk since 27 July—because we understand from him that that is when he demanded it be delivered to him—and why does he not release it now, 6 weeks after he received it?
I like to have any report that I receive checked. It has to be peer reviewed by the Department of Building and Housing, which is the monitoring agency for Housing New Zealand Corporation. That has now happened. In the Māngere case, which the member has been making a lot of noise about, but which we have now found to be false, the report was also checked by an external agency just to make sure that there was absolutely no possibility of corruption being involved. That all takes time. I now have the reports back, and they will be released soon.
Does the Minister see the irony of his investigation into “the length of time it has been taking to investigate allegations”, when he himself is sitting on a report he promised 6 weeks ago?
I do see the irony of that member once again making false allegations about corruption at Housing New Zealand Corporation and wasting taxpayers’ money.
How can it be that a Bay of Islands holiday homeowner is dobbed in for subletting a State house in February 2006, an investigation into that takes till May 2006 to start, a report on it is completed in August, it sits around on a corporation desk for 10 months until questions are raised in this House in June 2007, and it is then sent to the Crown solicitor, where it is still sitting on his desk; and why, oh why is the Minister himself still sitting on a report that he received 6 weeks ago?
Those very questions facilitated my getting Housing New Zealand Corporation to work on that. I thanked that member in this House 3 months ago for raising those issues. They are valid issues. The nonsense about corruption is not a valid issue, but there is a valid issue about process. I can assure this House that I am on to it and we are fixing it up.
I seek leave to table the Minister promising, in various media reports, there would be a corruption investigation.
I seek leave to table the Minister demanding a July 27 report back from Housing New Zealand Corporation.
I seek leave to table an editorial from the Waikato Times of 1 August.