5. GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) Link to this
to the Minister of State Services
What qualities does he think are desirable in appointees to the boards of Crown-connected organisations?
Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of State Services) Link to this
As section 29 of the Crown Entities Act 2004 records, appointees should have “the appropriate knowledge, skills, and experience to assist the statutory entity to achieve its objectives and performance functions;”.
Does the Minister think that a man who has been described as “an unmitigated falsifier of veracity” and who is “wrestling with the truth” would be a good person to have on the boards of important Crown entities like the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, Genesis Power, GNS Science, and ONTRACK; if so, can he explain why the President of the Labour Party, Mr Mike Williams, who has indeed been described as “an unmitigated falsifier of veracity”, has been appointed to all those boards listed?
Although I do not accept for 1 second the assertions in the member’s comments, the appointment of Mr Williams to those boards was not my direct responsibility. It is something I am aware of. I make the point that we do not appoint duffers to the position of president of the Labour Party, and Mike Williams is a very able man. He has extensive business and management experience, and he brings those skills to bear in his roles.
Hon Dr Michael Cullen Link to this
Can the Minister confirm that those claims about Mr Williams were made by a man who claimed he was offered a place in Cabinet and subsequently withdrew that claim; who claimed that he gave money to the Labour Party to head off the Exclusive Brethren, when he gave the money before anybody other than the National Party knew about the Exclusive Brethren’s involvement; who claimed to have supplied a bribe to have large numbers of people eat at a KFC outlet; who claimed that Mike Williams had asked for a job, when in fact he had offered Mike Williams a job 2 years earlier; and who claimed that Mr Williams had turned up at his house uninvited, when Mr Williams was able to present an email showing that, in fact, he had been invited?
Maybe the poor old chap made a mistake when he wrote the cheque to the Labour Party. To the Minister—
Hon Dr Michael Cullen Link to this
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I take it from that that someone who pays a cheque to the National Party is expected to support the party from thereon.
Madam SPEAKERI am sorry but I am keeping order here. National had the last question. If I give it to National, National would have two questions.
Does the Minister think that an important quality of Crown entity directors is that they should be honest and upfront; if so, does he think that Mike Williams was somewhat unmitigating in falsifying veracity when he earlier this year on the Agenda programme denied he had told delegates at the Labour Party conference that it would be “a damn good idea to use taxpayer-funded material to get around the Electoral Finance Act”, only to be found out later on Television One via an audio of his saying exactly that?
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
Why does the Minister think there is some reliance on the word of someone who claimed to give money to the Māori Party in that email, as well, which was demonstrably false, I understand; second, has a Karaka sales memory that four people are prepared by affidavit now to swear did not happen, and that he was not even at the same table; and claimed that he had offered $1 million to Howard Morrison to stand as an Independent, which would mean there would be $980,000 left over? How many times does someone have to say things like that before one starts to come to the conclusion that maybe his memory is not so good?
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. The Cabinet Manual makes it very clear that the Minister of State Services is responsible for Crown entities, and has a portfolio responsibility that includes the appointment process and guidelines for appointments to State entities. That question does not go anywhere near those responsibilities, whereas my questions do.
Rt Hon Winston Peters Link to this
With the greatest respect, there was an effort to malign Mr Williams by the use of those words, which I think are demonstrably unfair and not true. Simply, if Mr Brownlee wants to throw that into the arena, it becomes a questionable matter.
I thank the members. Certainly, the supplementary questions were going rather wide of the primary question and the ministerial responsibilities.
Were the self-proclaimed qualities of being “a good administrator” and “articulate” the main considerations when Mr Williams was appointed to the New Zealand Transport Agency, the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, Genesis Power, GNS Science, and ONTRACK, or was it that he “doesn’t take a breath without Helen’s say-so” or that “he’s a little too subservient”?
I think Mr Williams is a capable man, and I think he has acquitted himself well on those boards. I would note that we also appoint people to senior roles on boards who are clearly aligned to the National Party.
Can the Minister give the House an assurance that no taxpayer money was spent on or by Mike Williams when he went cap in hand to Monaco to ask Mr Glenn for more money?
I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. You have ruled out my supplementary question. Without our losing one of our supplementary questions, can I reword that question?
Does he recall the repeated calls from Mike Williams on election night 2005 for commentators to wait until the South Auckland booths came in before calling a result, and does he think that that may have been because Mr Williams was confident that sooner or later the “Kentucky Fried Chickens” would all come home to roost?