US embassy cable - 04WELLINGTON1018

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 001018 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/ANP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, NZ, PBIO 
SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT "IN BALANCE": ACT PARTY SWEARS IN 
REPLACEMENT TO ROGUE MP 
 
 
1. (U) ACT Party MP Kenneth Wang was sworn into Parliament 
November 30, replacing former ACT MP Donna Awatere Huata. 
Huata was removed from Parliament November 19, after losing a 
year-long court battle to retain her seat, which culminated 
in a Supreme Court hearing.  The Supreme Court, in its first 
substantive finding since its inception in January, ruled 
that Huata distorted the proportionality of Parliament by 
voting as an Independent, and that Huata had no legal basis 
on which to bar ACT from invoking the "party-hopping" clauses 
of the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Act in order to remove 
Huata from the Party and Parliament.  Speaker of the House 
Jonathan Hunt  announced Huata's seat vacant following the 
Supreme Court's finding. 
 
Fraud, Abuse, Recriminations 
---------------------------- 
 
2. (U)  Awatere Huata's troubles began in December 2002, with 
media accusing her of using funds from the children's reading 
program Pipi Foundation for a stomach stapling operation. 
The ACT Caucus voted to suspend her membership in February 
2003, and she has voted as an Independent since that date. 
Following an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, Huata 
and her husband Wi Huata will appear in court December 9 to 
face 19 counts of misusing checks and perverting the course 
of justice. 
 
New Zealand's Changing Demographic 
---------------------------------- 
 
3. (U)  Kenneth Wang's entrance into Parliament as the first 
Chinese male MP reflects New Zealand's increasing diversity, 
and emphasizes the growing importance of the Asian 
electorate, although ACT has been quick to downplay the issue 
of ethnicity.  Wang, 39, was born in China, and emigrated to 
NZ in 1984.  Wang has spoken to the Press about his 
experiences during the Cultural Revolution, and the impact on 
him of witnessing the communist authorities, crackdown on 
dissent and intellectualism.  "That taught me a lesson that 
the socialist ideology and way is often not the best way." 
Wang is managing director of his own small business 
Brandworks, an Auckland-based marketing and advertising 
agency.  He will be the ACT Party's Spokesman for Commerce 
and Small Business, and Associate Spokesperson for Education. 
 Wang is married to Li Ma, and has two children, Colin and 
Amy. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
4. (SBU)  Wang's entrance into Parliament will  provide ACT 
its full complement of 9 MPs out of 120.  This not only 
restores lost funding, but advances the Party ahead of the 
center-left Green Party (9 seats) for provision of questions, 
seating and speaking order.  While ACT's advancement is 
largely an issue of protocol, Hide likely hopes to capitalize 
on its better seating and increased number of questions to 
further its successful attacks on the Government, which most 
recently led to Labour MP John Tamihere's resignation from 
Cabinet.  ACT's financial boost, combined with the chance to 
refocus the substantial resources diverted to this case, 
could not come at a better time for a party polling at less 
than 3 percent, a far cry from their 7 percent take in the 
2002 election, and only half of the minimum 5 percent 
threshold for entry into Parliament.  ACT needs to focus on 
moving voters past the Huata scandal and onto its policies as 
the 2005 election looms. 
Swindells