5. Hon MARYAN STREET (Labour) Link to this
to the Prime Minister
Does he stand by his statement in relation to the New Zealand High Commissioner’s apology to the Indian Government for Paul Henry’s on-air comments: “It doesn’t matter that the words don’t come out of my mouth. They’ve come out of the mouth of the High Commissioner, but they have been the instructions of the New Zealand Government.”?
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) Link to this
Yes, because at the time I made that statement last Friday, I assumed that that had been the case for both the apology to the Government of India and an apology directly to the Chief Minister of Delhi. Subsequently, I have been advised that although my foreign policy adviser had spoken to the high commissioner and directed that an apology be delivered to the Chief Minister, this occurred after the separate apology to the Government of India had already been delivered.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
Why was he all but silent on this issue until after the Indian Ministry of External Affairs had issued a media statement and delivered a strongly worded démarche to the high commissioner on 7 October?
Firstly, I would not say that I was silent on the issue. I was questioned extensively on Monday at my press conference. At the time, I did not refer to Phil Goff’s comments, which were that it was Paul Henry being Paul Henry. But had I known that Mr Goff had said that 5 hours after he had a chance to consider it, I probably would have repeated those comments as well.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
What advice did he receive from the Minister of Foreign Affairs about how his Government should respond to this rapidly escalating diplomatic incident?
I did not receive any, but my office and my foreign policy adviser would have been closely working with their counterparts in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
How has he enhanced our relationship with India and the progress of the complex free-trade agreement with India through his appalling lack of judgment and leadership over Paul Henry’s repeated slights?
I know this will come as a tremendous surprise to the member, but I am not responsible for what comes out of Paul Henry’s mouth, or Michael Laws or any of the other shock jocks who work in the broadcasting world.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
Does the Prime Minister accept that in hindsight he might have defended the Governor-General during his interview on Television One last week?
As I said yesterday, one can always reflect on these things in hindsight. The comments I made about 8 hours after the incident, at my post-Cabinet press conference, were that the comments were plain wrong and that the Governor-General was doing a tremendous job. I did not choose to quote Phil Goff when he said that Paul Henry was just being Paul Henry, because I assumed Mr Goff would have thought about his own comments a little more.
Hon Trevor Mallard Link to this
I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That was a commendably direct question about the Prime Minister’s action at the time of the interview. The Prime Minister gave a long diatribe about what he did afterwards, but he did not refer to the fact that he did not pull Paul Henry up to defend the Governor-General during the interview.
Mr SPEAKERThe member is now getting into the substance of an issue. I listened to the question very carefully. Although it was a brief question, it really asked the Prime Minister on reflection how he felt about the way he handled the issue. The Prime Minister gave his view of the way he handled the issue. The type of question that seeks an opinion will never get an exact answer.
Hon Maryan Street Link to this
I seek leave of the House to table the statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs released on 7 October 2010 entitled “India denounces racist remarks against Delhi Chief Minister”.