King Annette: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: General Debate[Sitting date: 19 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16811. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai):I have to say to the member who has just resumed her seat Amy Adams talking of bedfellows how does it feel to be in bed with a party that thinks incest is OK? I have to say that this Government has become a mathematical nightmare not just because of its bodgie Budget figures or the dishonest recollection of the state of the economy in 2008 or its shonky promises of a brighter future. No—National has been reduced to an algebraic equation of its own actions over the last 5 years and it goes like this: “f” plus “s” equals “be” plus “sr” over “a” plus “c”. That is “flattery” plus “self-importance” equals “bloated ego” plus “self-righteousness” over “arrogance” and “cronyism”.The greatest exponent of this mathematical operation must be the Minister of Justice Judith Collins because she has fallen for the oldest political trap in the book—the oldest political trap in the book. She fell right into it. It is called flattery. She believes the people around her and all her new-found friends when they say to her: “Yes Minister. Very courageous Minister. You are such a clever Minister. You should be the Prime Minister Minister. Can we help you and your party be more successful Minister? How much do you need Minister?”. You see flattery has led to self-importance a bloated ego and a self-righteous defence of any action—dodgy or otherwise. And that is what we have had from the Minister of Justice. She has been bolstered by all the sycophants around her calling her “Crusher” and “Bold” and “Ballsy” and the “Reputation Slayer” and “Tougher than Teeth”. So when she is questioned as a Minister about her conflict of interest—not a potential one but a real conflict of interest—involving a business her husband fees paid promotion for more business to help the family coffers financial gain and Cabinet rules what does she do? First of all she says “I’ve done nothing wrong.” She claims that others are using terminological inexactitudes and then she says others are using malicious fabrications.She was economical with the truth and she has been caught out. She was caught out and the Prime Minister first of all was a little cross and then he said he was angry. And what we saw was very little boldness or “ballsiness” from the Prime Minister because all he did was slap her with a limp bus ticket. She should have been sacked as a Minister if he had shown real leadership as a Prime Minister. She was economical with the truth to the media. None of us will forget her saying “You’re wrong Paddy. You’re wrong Paddy. You’re wrong Paddy. There is nothing to see here.” Then we had from her the fake regret: “I’m apologising but I don’t like apologising.” That was the sort of apology that we got from the “apologetic” Minister. Then we got: “It is all so hurtful. It’s not fair to my family and my friends.” And then we got the tearfulness. But yesterday and today she was back at it. She was back at the old arrogance—it has not gone away.You know I did think it would take a little longer for her to become so arrogant but there were real signs of it in Opposition. Judith Collins built her reputation on relentless attacks—often unfounded untrue and vicious—on Ministers in Helen Clark’s Government. Some of us will not forget her outrageous attack on the former Minister for Social Development. She called him a pervert a grub and a dirty old man. Perhaps it is she who has perverted the conflict of interest rule. Perhaps it was she who perverted the course of her car on the way to the airport. Judith Collins is the current Icarus of the National Party. She has flown too close to the sun and she is crashing and burning. And she has helped to create a new algebraic equation: “a” plus “dd” equals “gd” over “d20/9”—“arrogance” plus “dodgy deals” equals “growing distrust” over “defeat on 20 September 2014”.