Horan Brendan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeHoran Brendan: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 22 May 2014. Volume:699;Page:18253. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]7.BRENDAN HORAN (Independent) to theMinister of Labour: What measures is the Government taking to address the problems of bullying discrimination and harassment occurring in New Zealand workplaces?Hon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Labour): Bullying in the workplace is unacceptable. This difficult issue can adversely affect people’s personal health and can seriously impact business productivity. Our employment health and safety law provides explicit protection for employees from bullying discrimination and harassment. Additionally in February this yearWorkSafe New Zealand in conjunction with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment issued best-practice guidelines on workplace bullying. The guidelines seek to support those involved in responding to situations before they get out of hand.Brendan Horan: Would those guidelines provide protections to ensure that a member of Parliament or a party leader cannot bully—Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a question to the Minister of Labour. Further supplementary questions that the member asks must relate to a ministerial responsibility of the Minister as Minister of Labour. I invite him to ask his question.Brendan Horan: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am referring to workplace bullying.Mr SPEAKER: I will listen very carefully to the question but the member is at risk. If I consider he is asking a question that does not have direct ministerial responsibility I have two courses of action: either to leave it to the Minister to answer it that way or I have the option to rule it out of order.Brendan Horan: Would those guidelines provide protections to ensure that a member of Parliament or a party leader cannot bully or intimidate a ParliamentaryService employee into conducting unlawful activities—for example accessing the emails of another member without that member’s permission?Richard Prosser: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I believe this question is out of order. I draw your attention to Standing Order 375(b) relating to the responsibility of the Minister and also to Standing Orders 377(1)(a) and 377(1)(c) which state respectively that statements given as fact must be able to be authenticated and that statements must not contain discreditable references to any member of Parliament.Mr SPEAKER: On the occasion I am going to invite the Minister to answer it. He needs to answer it very carefully in line with his ministerial responsibility.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: It is difficult to answer such a question in the abstract and I do not comment of course on specific cases. I suspect the matter the member refers to if it were made out is one for the Parliamentary Service.Brendan Horan: Would those guidelines mean that an employee who made a complaint to her employer about abusive emails and text messages from her boss should be able to respond to that person’s public denials without fear of legal action; if not why not?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there is ministerial responsibility—the Hon Simon Bridges.Richard Prosser: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Referring back again to Standing Order 375(b) and the matters of administration for which the Minister is responsible I believe that the Minister as the Minister of Labour is one of a number of Ministers responsible for the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and thereforeWorkSafe New Zealand but he is not specifically solely responsible and the question should have been directed to a Minister in his or her capacity as the Minister responsible for the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.Mr SPEAKER: No I do not accept that part. We allowed the first question through marginally on the question around guidelines. This is a further explanation or request for an explanation from the Minister about those guidelines. The question stands.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: Effectively my answer to the earlier supplementary question still stands. I am sure that Parliamentary Service is aware of best-practice guidelines on bullying and is incorporating them as appropriate. As a general statement of principle bullying is unacceptable no matter where or when it occurs.Brendan Horan: Does the Minister believe that an employee locked out of her office by her boss should be allowed to challenge that boss’s public denials and the denials of his colleagues without fear of legal action?Mr SPEAKER: That is an opinion question and again in so far as there is ministerial responsibility I call the Hon Simon Bridges.Hon SIMON BRIDGES: I think that is a matter of opinion and indeed one that requires a legal opinion. I will repeat really all that I have said. Bullying is unacceptable no matter where or when it occurs.Mr SPEAKER: Supplementary question—Jacinda Ardern. [Interruption] Oh sorry—Brendon Horan. It is actually not that easy a mistake to make but I still managed to do it. [Interruption] If the member wants to ask his question he had better get on with it.Brendan Horan: Would those guidelines mean that MPs might have to take responsibility for their treatment of staff rather than hiding behind Parliamentary Service and gagging clauses—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That question is definitely out of order. Any issues regarding Parliamentary Service are addressed to the Speaker as the appropriate Minister.