Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
[Volume:626;Page:21150] 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) 
: 
 Today I want to ask two very important questions of public interest. The first question is: why was the Labour Party president Mike Williams present at a meeting in Dr Michael Cullen’s office last Tuesday? The second question is: why did the then Acting Prime Minister Michael Cullen arrive unannounced at the Auckland chamber of commerce on Friday morning to apologise? I will ask question No. 1 again: why was the Labour Party president Mike Williams present at a meeting in Michael Cullen’s office? The reason I ask is that it was actually a meeting between the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Transport and a number of interested parties who are concerned about the lack of progress on Auckland roading. They included Michael Barnett from the Auckland chamber of commerce Tony Friedlander from the Road Transport Forum and a number of other people. 
But there was one obvious exception to the group of people at that meeting who should not have been there: the Labour Party president Mike Williams. Now was it a meeting with the board of Transit? No the board of Transit was not asked to be there but Mike Williams the Labour Party president is on the board of Transit. In case members think the Government will tell us that it was not a politicised position I am happy to give them an explanation soon with some details that I will be tabling later to show exactly how politicised it was. At that meeting Mike Williams made a complete clown of himself. I want to report what the letter written by Michael Barnett from the Auckland chamber of commerce to Michael Cullen 2 days later stated. Michael Barnett stated—and I will table the letter—“We left the meeting disappointed believing that we had been totally misled.” That is what he stated. 
Michael Barnett went on to state that at an early point in the meeting it became very clear that the Transit board member Mike Williams who actually was not there as a Transit board member—he was there as the Labour Party president to shore up support—did not accept the evidence of huge slippage in Transit New Zealand’s time lines. What that group showed the Ministers quite clearly was that a number of projects that had been earmarked by Transit as being good to go back in December 2003—and Labour members should listen to this—have still not been started. Mike Williams told the meeting that yes they have and then he left early. 
Mike Williams then did something else that is despicable. He leaked the meeting—it was a private meeting—straightaway to Brian Rudman of the  
New Zealand Herald. 
 He said that Michael Barnett had turned into a pussycat and that the outcomes were bizarre. It states in the article that Michael Barnett had emerged from the meeting mewling like a pussycat. That is absolutely not true. The egg was on the face of Mike Williams because he had got it wrong. 
Jill Pettis 
: Oh ha ha! 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: Jill Pettis is laughing. If she is laughing because I am wrong then what about question No. 2? Why the next morning did the then Acting Prime Minister show up unannounced at Michael Barnett’s office at the Auckland chamber of commerce at 100 Mayoral Drive? He was surprised at that and asked why the Acting Prime Minister had come. Michael Cullen said that he was there to apologise. He told Michael Barnett that he was there to apologise not only for Mike Williams’ behaviour and his lies at the meeting but also for the fact that he then went ahead and leaked it to the  
New Zealand Herald  
journalist as well. 
Those are two questions that this House cannot let pass. If we are to see our roading so politicised by the Labour Party president taking such a level of control in the decision making then it is time Mike Williams went. He has already been enough of an embarrassment. He is on the Auckland Regional Transport Authority board and the Railcorp board as well as the Transit board. Here is an absolute Labour Party plant controlling the lot and he has to have the then Acting Prime Minister show up and apologise for his behaviour. That is what Michael Barnett says; that is what it states in the letter. 
The Auckland chamber of commerce has tabled a list of all the roading projects. I will not go into them in 5 minutes—time does not allow me to. But the list shows that they were good to go in December 2003—projects like the Manukau extension to State Highway 20. Has it started yet? No. And the Mount Roskill extension? So Mike Williams told the meeting lies. Michael Cullen knows that he did. Here is the man who is on the board of Transit and he has single-handedly stopped State Highway 20 from going through Helen Clark’s electorate. Why? Because the issue has been politicised. Helen Clarke says that over her dead body that road will get built. 
I seek leave to table three documents. The first is a letter from Michael Barnett chief executive of the Auckland chamber of commerce to the Hon Dr Michael Cullen dated 2 June. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: The second document is a press release from the Auckland chamber of commerce 2 days later stating that Auckland’s transport crisis needs actions not bully-boy slogging. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: The third document is a table that was presented to the Ministers at the meeting showing the various projects and the fact that they have not yet started despite the fact that Mike Williams claimed they have. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is.