2. JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
What steps did she take when the Acting State Services Commissioner, Iain Rennie, advised her office that former Minister David Benson-Pope had told Hugh Logan that he would “likely be less free and frank in meetings” with Madeleine Setchell, and when did David Benson-Pope advise her that was indeed what he had said?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) Link to this
Confirmation was sought from the member on the evening of Wednesday, 25 July, and he was advised to be full and frank about the matter.
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I thought that yesterday afternoon in this House would have shown that Mr Benson-Pope was not the only person with a flawed memory around here.
Why did the Prime Minister not sack David Benson-Pope right on the spot on the Wednesday evening when he clearly went to her and told her that he had lied and misled the country?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I was, of course, aware that this was new information. I was not aware that it contradicted anything that had previously been said. I discovered on the following day that it did, and I acted on that. I am still waiting for Mr Key’s colleagues to act on his untruths.
Is it not the case that if the National Party had not, in fact, asked the right question, David Benson-Pope would still be in Cabinet with the Prime Minister knowing that he had misled this country?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
No, that is not the case, because it was inevitable that my attention would have been drawn to transcripts of media interviews where clearly a wrong impression had been given.
Is it not the situation that when David Benson-Pope went up to the Prime Minister’s office on that Wednesday afternoon and told the Prime Minister the truth, the Prime Minister said that if the Opposition asked him the question he had to answer it honestly—because that is a new standard, and not something she normally expects?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
That is indeed a standard imposed here—not a standard imposed by the Leader of the Opposition himself, who told a blatant untruth about what he had said on Iraq.
Is it not the situation that the Prime Minister of New Zealand now has so little confidence in her own Cabinet colleagues that she cannot actually ask them whether they are telling the truth but has to have her own department undertake a forensic analysis; and what sort of way is that to run a country?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I would say that the forensic analysis going on is about why Mr Key did not tell the truth about his party’s position on Iraq. That is where the blowtorch is today.
Madam SPEAKERWhy did the Prime Minister have to go and look at the transcripts, when David Benson-Pope was actually in her office and telling her he had lied?
Please be seated. Mr Key’s question was heard in silence when I asked members to settle. The Prime Minister’s response will now be heard in silence.
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
It is clear that the whole story had not been told to me and to Cabinet. When it became clear that journalists had been told by Mr Benson-Pope that he had not expressed an opinion on Ms Setchell’s employment, and that that was not true, I moved to the conclusion that became clear on Friday, 27 July. I am still waiting for Mr Key to be held to account for not telling the truth about Iraq.
How many other members of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet are now sitting there in the situation where they, too, have lied and misled the public, but the Opposition has just not asked the right question; and is she applying the new standard to them as well—if the Opposition asks a question, make sure it is answered honestly; it is a new standard?
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK Link to this
I am applying the same standard to Ministers as I apply to Mr Key: tell the truth.
Gerry BrownleeI raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. Throughout the afternoon you have listened to the Prime Minister suggest that somehow Mr Key has not been telling the truth. That arises from the fact that the Labour Party has spent a considerable amount of time in trawling through old bits of newspaper, and cutting and pasting various ideas. But, essentially, should the Prime Minister not give an answer that is consistent with the public good, and would you not expect, Madam Speaker, that someone of the Prime Minister’s stature should be able to answer that question without having to resort to that sort of cheap tactic?
I am not sure exactly what your—[ Interruption] If members wish to remain in the Chamber, they will desist from calling out when the Speaker is on her feet. I am not entirely sure about the point of that point of order, but if the member was asking whether the Prime Minister was addressing the question, I say that yes, she has been.
Hon Tony RyallI seek leave to table a list of the numerous explanations of what the Prime Minister was doing as her chauffeur-driven car sped across the Canterbury Plains—
I remind members that when they seek leave to table a document, they should merely identify that document; they should not read and give a long explanation of it. In future if that is done, I will consider it to be a matter of disorder.
Judith Collins