1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Has there been any amendment or addendum to the Cabinet Manual to accommodate the arrangement her Government has reached with New Zealand First and United Future allowing their leaders to be Ministers, but not fully bound by collective responsibility; if not, why not?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this
No, but it may be revised in future to reflect practice as it develops.
How can she expect the public to understand her odd governmental arrangements that involve, according to the Cabinet Office, Winston Peters and Peter Dunne wearing at least three different hats, when she has not even made changes to the Cabinet Manual to clarify the bizarre situation of Ministers wanting to sit with the Opposition?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I am sure the public would be guided by the same advice from the Cabinet Office, which is that the arrangements are entirely legally credible.
Why would the international community believe that anyone but Phil Goff is the real Minister of Foreign Affairs, when her named Minister of Foreign Affairs does not even sit on the Cabinet external relations and defence committee, let alone chair it as in the past, and refuses to take any responsibility for the broader policies of the Government?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I would be very surprised if the international community took the slightest interest in who sits on a Cabinet committee in New Zealand.
Why, when the Cabinet secretary advised that the complex arrangement she has come up with requires clarification at an early stage, has she not made any changes to the Cabinet Manual in the month she has had since the formation of the Government?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
In terms of time, if the Cabinet Manual were revised in a month, that would be galactic speed.
Does she agree with the advice of the Secretary of the Cabinet that “the foreign affairs portfolio stretches across the whole of Government business”, and that the broad nature of the portfolios held by Mr Peters made this arrangement “complex to manage”; if so, how does she believe that the Government can balance Mr Peters’ strong views on issues with international dimensions, such as the proposed free-trade arrangement with China, with his role as the Government’s representative to the world?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
In precisely the same way as I assume Dr Brash would have done, given that we have Mr Peters’ word that Dr Brash offered him the Ministry of Foreign Affairs portfolio.
Heather RoyHow can the Prime Minister have any confidence in Winston Peters as Minister of Foreign Affairs, when he does not even have the diplomacy skills to keep his six New Zealand First MPs in the tent, without the waka-jumping legislation to give her the votes to prop up her Government?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
There is huge irony in that question, given that ACT is the only party to have used that Act.