1. Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he have confidence in all his Ministers; if so, why?
Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes; because they are talented people who are working hard for New Zealand.
Does the Prime Minister have confidence in his Minister of Transport or, indeed, in himself, given the poor process around briefing people about the Waterview motorway connection—in particular, his MP Melissa Lee, who was clearly ill-briefed, made fundamental errors, and then was hung out to dry by the Prime Minister himself?
I have enormous confidence in the Minister of Transport. One of the reasons I have confidence in him is that, unlike the Leader of the Opposition, I do not live in la-la land, which is exactly where one sits when one says—as Labour did—it would have $650 million a year to spend on State highways, but somehow is prepared to spend $3.2 billion on a tunnel through Mount Albert, which is 5 years of spending. It did not happen in the 9 years that Helen Clark was the Prime Minister. It would never have happened under Labour. I have enormous confidence in my Minister of Transport.
Does the Prime Minister have confidence in his Minister of Justice, who apparently failed to brief all of his parliamentarians that motorways are not part of his crime prevention strategy and that the people of South Auckland should not be stereotyped as criminals?
Yes, I have enormous confidence in the Minister of Justice. I was surprised that the Leader of the Opposition did not raise something that is directly related to the justice portfolio. The reason he did not do so is that the Minister of Justice is doing such an outstanding job.
Does the Prime Minister have confidence in the Minister for Social Development and Employment, who he said failed to fully brief him on the suitability of Christine Rankin’s appointment as a Families Commissioner, and can the Prime Minister tell us what the Minister failed to properly brief him about?
Yes, I do have complete confidence in the Minister for Social Development and Employment, and the reason I do is that the Minister did her own due diligence. In making that appointment to the Families Commission, one thing she knew about families was that they like to eat McDonald’s. I wonder how many families saw Shane Jones and Parekura Horomia ducking out from the hīkoi yesterday to have a Big Mac and fries.
Gerry is just jealous that he was not there with them! Is it fair for the Prime Minister to blame the debacle around Christine Rankin on Paula Bennett, given that when a major division occurred within Cabinet—and clearly the Minister of Justice was opposed to the appointment—it was the Prime Minister who made the decision that the appointment should go ahead?
No, it would not be fair to blame the Minister for Social Development and Employment. That was a decision made by Cabinet and supported by all the members of Cabinet.
Will the Prime Minister remove Christine Rankin from her appointment as a Families Commissioner if public comments made by her in recent weeks are found to be untrue? [ Interruption]
Mr SPEAKERI can only accept people at their word, and I accept the assurances that Christine Rankin gave to the New Zealand public.
Is the Prime Minister confident that his Minister of Immigration is fully investigating the allegations made last week in the New Zealand Herald about phoney job offers made to secure visas, about buying off witnesses who might provide evidence against this practice, and about dubious support for a business partner who, immigration officials believe, is a con man, all of which relate to Mr Bakshi MP; if so, why?
I am supremely confident, and I can assure the member, that the Minister of Immigration followed all of the right steps, including writing to the New Zealand Immigration Service to say it should ensure that the case was handled completely fairly, and it should go to extreme lengths to find the information that was required.
That relates to all of the allegations. As I have said, if the New Zealand Immigration Service feels that it needs to keep investigating, it should continue to do so.
Do the assurances that the Prime Minister has given the House just now relate to the allegations made last week?
Sue KedgleyDoes he have confidence in his Minister of Agriculture, who told the nation on television last week that he had no idea sow crates were widely used in New Zealand, when in fact he was briefed on the issue of sow crates by representatives from the Campaign Against Factory Farming in 2005, provided with a scientific publication concluding that the severe confinement of sows in crates was unacceptable from a welfare perspective, and received numerous e-cards from members of the public pointing out that thousands of pregnant sows are cruelly confined in sow crates; if so, why?
Notwithstanding that that question went on just about longer than the documentary on Sunday, the answer is yes, I have complete confidence in the Minister of Agriculture.
Further to his comments that he found the images screened on the Sunday programme very, very disturbing, does he find it even more disturbing to discover that this is in fact a legal and normal practice in the pig industry, and will he be advising his Minister of Agriculture to ban sow crates as soon as possible, on the grounds that they are cruel?
As the member will know, the Minister of Agriculture is looking at that issue. It is also important to note that a pig code was established in 2005 and the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is considering that issue at the moment. Those who sit on that board include members from the SPCA and Federated Farmers. If the images that were displayed on the Sunday programme are in any way a reflection of the industry in New Zealand, then I will expect changes to be made to that code and to the industry.
I seek leave to table a letter from the Campaign Against Factory Farming, where it briefed the current Minister in 2005.
I seek leave to table eight emails from members of the public pointing out that thousands of sows are confined in cruel sow stalls.