Helen’s new standard

Helen Clark has defended one of her Ministers who hired an illegal over-stayer to work for him in Samoa for $1.20 an hour or $54 a week.

She has said he was just “being helpful”.

Now could you just imagine if say this was former National MP Arthur Anae who had done this. Helen would be on the front page calling him a sweatshop operator. No less than a dozen unions would have come out and condemned it as exploitation, and proof National wants to abolish the minimum wage.

The issue is simple. If a constituent comes to you in desperate need of help, you don’t take advantage of their situation to save tens of thousands of dollars by asking if he will work for you for next to nothing.

Both the Prime Minister and this Minister of the Crown see nothing at all wrong with this. It highlights their unfitness for office. I repeat that Jenny Shipley sacked a Minister for immigration conflict of interest issues in 1999, in the week before the election. Clark does not sack him, but praises him.

And just to add to the ethical issues, the NZ Herald has an e-mail suggesting Field’s wife is on the payroll, which is illegal under parliamentary rules.