The Labour Party is calling for an Auditor-General's inquiry into travel claims by former cabinet minister Pansy Wong and says a report that cleared her of systematic rule breaches didn't ask any of the hard questions.SEE ALSO: Wong's mysterious
The Labour Party is calling for an Auditor-General's inquiry into travel claims by former cabinet minister Pansy Wong and says a report that cleared her of systematic rule breaches didn't ask any of the hard questions.
SEE ALSO: Wong's mysterious $200,000 fundraiser
An independent investigation of travel claims by Mrs Wong and her husband Sammy was ordered by Speaker Lockwood Smith after it was revealed that on a trip to China in 2008 Mr Wong was involved in a business deal.
That trip was made with a 90 percent taxpayer-funded rebate on their air fares, and it is against the rules to use the allowance for private business.
The report covered claims for the last 10 years and found no evidence the rebate had been misused on other occasions.
Labour doesn't accept its findings.
"The report records that the Wongs have taken 13 overseas trips and claimed $54,149 in terms of the international travel rebate," party leader Phil Goff said yesterday.
"It's also interesting to note that Sammy Wong has claimed almost $93,935 in domestic travel subsidies."
Mr Goff said Mr Wong told investigator Hugh McPhail that those trips were not for business purposes and his word had simply been accepted -- despite the fact that many were to Christchurch where he had significant business interests.
"None of the hard questions have been asked, the evidence has been accepted without question," Mr Goff said.
"We know that there was frequent travel, a very high level of domestic and international travel."
Mr Wong made five of the international trips on his own, which Mr Goff said was unusual.
"The report reveals that Sammy Wong has business interests in China and Vietnam -- the very countries he travelled to on these so-called holidays at the taxpayers' expense," he said.
A chart in the report shows Mr Wong used the spouses free domestic air travel allowance to make 358 trips in 10 years.
The report says the level of travel up to 2005/06 was above average for a spouse but after that it dropped to below the average except for last year.
Mrs Wong has apologised and paid back the $474 rebate for the China trip.
She resigned her portfolios after that trip was revealed last month, and said yesterday she had considered quitting Parliament as well.
"I was frustrated with myself, because I'm very conscious that New Zealanders are fed up with the misuse of parliamentary funding," she said.
"I guess I let myself down."
