King said the ministry was \u201cshocked and disappointed at Harrison\u2019s serious criminal offending\u201d.<\/p>\n
New Zealand actor Temuera Morrison. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray<\/p>\n
Renowned Kiwi actor Morrison told the Rotorua Daily Post he was \u201ctaken by surprise\u201d by longtime friend Harrison\u2019s admission of his role in a money laundering scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m actually trying to contact him just to send him a bit of love and just say, \u2018Bro, I still love you, bro\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people make mistakes in life, and I\u2019m not holding anything he\u2019s done recently against him, and he\u2019s still a very dear friend of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morrison, who played Jake \u201cThe Muss\u201d Heke in Once Were Warriors, said he had known Harrison for many years through his work with other members of the Morrison family and described him as \u201ca beautiful father, beautiful man, big heart\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe has some beautiful children, and those are the ones I feel a little bit sorry about when people make mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morrison said he did not know the circumstances that led to Harrison\u2019s involvement in the scheme, and said the offending seemed out of character. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still a beautiful man, and I still support him dearly. I\u2019m not going to let some of his bad decisions tarnish that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Can Government get the money back? <\/p>\n
An expert said the taxpayer-funded cost of Harrison\u2019s five years of paid leave was \u201cvery unlikely\u201d to be recovered. <\/p>\n
Employment law specialist Simon Schofield, who teaches at the University of Auckland, told the Herald the likelihood of Harrison\u2019s former employer recovering any money was low. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe only costs that they could potentially try to claim back were associated with their employment investigation.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said this would not be worth recovering. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf there were any costs associated with the employment process, then an employer would probably let those lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schofield said the situation was \u201cunusual\u201d, and it seemed like an \u201cawfully long time\u201d to be paid, given the information that the employer would have had. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs an employee, there should have been a provision in his employment agreement which allows for unpaid suspension.\u201d <\/p>\n
Schofield suspected Harrison\u2019s employment agreement did not have such a clause, and that was why he continued to be paid. <\/p>\n