1. Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour—New Lynn) Link to this
to the Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee
Is the Finance and Expenditure Committee considering initiating an inquiry into banking practices, including the relationship between the official cash rate (OCR) and short-term interest rates?
CRAIG FOSS (Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee) Link to this
The answer is no. The member may note that yesterday the Finance and Expenditure Committee issued a press release noting that it had resolved to further investigate whether it will initiate an inquiry into the relationship between the official cash rate and short-term interest rates in the context of matters raised in its report on the Reserve Bank’s Financial Stability Report for May 2009.
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
When will the committee make a decision on this inquiry, given that the Governor of the Reserve Bank, the chief executives of two major banks, and today the Minister of Finance, have all indicated their support—
Mr SPEAKERThe member should resume his seat for a moment. I am not sure that he can ask the chair of the committee about when the committee may do something, because that is not a matter that is in the hands of the chair of the committee. That is a decision for the committee. I invite the member to rephrase his question.
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Without seeking to trifle with your ruling, I seek further guidance. I had deliberately phrased the question in that way because I believed that in asking the question “when”, I was directing the question to a process matter, as guided.
That is absolutely correct; supplementary questions should relate to the procedures of the committee, but the chair of the committee cannot be asked about matters that are properly the decisions of the committee. Forgive me if I am wrong, but it would seem to me that a decision on something that the committee might do is a matter for the committee to decide. The chair cannot be—
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
I fully agree with you that it would be improper for the member to presage what the decision of the committee might be. But I submit that the question of when the committee might make that decision is entirely a process question, and the member is not only at liberty but obligated to tell the House if he knows the answer. If no time line has been set by the committee, that would be an entirely appropriate response.
The member is obviously able to frame a question along those lines, with respect to process, about when a decision might come before the committee. That indeed would be within the Standing Orders.
Hon David Cunliffe Link to this
Perhaps I could assist by rephrasing it. Is the member aware of when the committee will make a decision on this inquiry, given that the Governor of the Reserve Bank, the chief executive officers of two major banks, and the Minister of Finance have all indicated their support for the proposal; and does he therefore agree with the Dominion Post that National MPs are dithering on the matter?
No. The committee will make its decision when the committee sees fit. I have seen such a report, and the member who is asking the question is a member of that committee. The press release that was released yesterday was from the full Finance and Expenditure Committee.