Posted by Blogger Name. Category:
Credibility
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David Cunliffe
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Donghua Liu
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John Armstrong
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Labour Party
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NZ Herald
The Herald has just posted this story:
Labour Party leader David Cunliffe - who said this week he had never met Donghua Liu or advocated on his behalf - wrote a letter to immigration officials on behalf of the controversial businessman who was applying for residency in New Zealand.And the Herald has posted this snippet from an interview with Mr Cunliffe yesterday on Twitter:
The 2003 letter was written in his capacity as the MP for New Lynn after he was "approached my constituent Donghua Lui [sic] who is concerned at the time it is taking to process his Investment Category application".
Mr Cunliffe this week denied any involvement with Liu's residency bid after the Herald revealed the property developer paid $15,000 at a Labour Party fundraiser for a book signed by Helen Clark in 2007.
The letter, released to the Herald today under the Official Information Act, dated April 11, 2003 said Liu's application for residency was accepted for processing by the Immigration Service on August 13, 2002.
Mr Cunliffe said Mr Liu wished to set up a joint venture business with his Tianlong Property Development Company - which owns his stalled property development in Newmarket - to export large quantities of agricultural and horticultural products to China.
"It is hoped that products from the company will be available to the market in July 2003," wrote Mr Cunliffe.
"I am aware of the difficulties facing the Business Migration Branch of New Zealand Immigration Services in coping with the overwhelming numbers of applicants that have applied for consideration under these categories and the time taken to verify documents.
"However, it would be very helpful to Mr Liu to be advised of an estimated period of time in which he could expect a decision on his case."
"Yesterday, Mr Cunliffe told reporters questioning him about Liu's financial support for Labour he did not recall meeting him and denied advocating on Liu's behalf in his residency application."
Liu was granted residency under the Investor Category in 2005 by Labour's associate Immigration Minister Damien O'Connor against official advice.
Wow. Is this ever going to set a cat amongst the pigeons! It's hard to imagine how Mr Cunliffe can survive this.
Even this morning, he told Tim Fookes at Newstalk ZB in Wellington that to the best of his knowledge, he had never met Mr Liu. Just hours later, he is exposed as having written a letter to the Immigration Service where he said that he had been "approached by my constituent Donghua Lui [sic] who is concerned at the time it is taking to process his Investment Category application".
Here, via the Herald, is the letter in question:
And John Armstrong has chimed in; he opines:
David Cunliffe is in deep political trouble. So deep that his resignation as Labour's leader may now be very much in order.
It now emerges that - contrary to the point-blank denials that Cunliffe gave to a press conference only yesterday - that he did assist controversial businessman Donghua Liu in the latter's application for New Zealand residency.
At a minimum, the revelation that Cunliffe wrote a letter to immigration officials seeking information on progress regarding the residency application is a massive blow to the Labour leader's personal credibility. How can anyone have any confidence in what he says from hereon?
Cunliffe may argue that the letter was about immigration processes and written on a constituent's behalf - something MPs frequently do - and therefore was not an endorsement of the application.
But that does not wash. Either deliberately or through a lapse of memory, Cunliffe has been economical with the truth.
He has called for National Party ministers' heads to roll for the equivalent or less. Having set the standard required of others, it is incumbent on him to himself follow suit.
The self-ravaging of his credibility means Labour now has to abandon its strategy of trying to paint John Key and National as corrupt. To carry on it that fashion would be the height of hypocrisy.
This is a huge blow to David Cunliffe, and a huge blow to the credibility of the Labour Party.
Parliament sits in just over 40 minutes. It will be unmissable this afternoon.
