Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:621;Page:16215] 
1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Hon John Tamihere; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Acting Prime Minister) 
: 
 A number of allegations have been made against Mr Tamihere. An inquiry has been set up to consider those allegations. I hope that the outcome will enable me to reaffirm my confidence in Mr Tamihere as a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Can the Prime Minister confirm that she has been given a written guarantee by Mr Tamihere that he has done nothing that would embarrass her and can she tell the House why she is not embarrassed that Mr Tamihere has accepted a $200000 golden handshake after giving an unequivocal assurance to the public that he would not do so? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I cannot answer the first part. I am aware that Mr Tamihere certainly has given a verbal assurance to the Prime Minister who of course is in India at the present time. On the second issue the issue that was in play in 1998-99 was the extraordinary tendency of the National Government to keep paying people large sums of money to go away when they were no longer wanted. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Does the Prime Minister recall these comments on radio on 29 July 1999 from Mr Tamihere on the question of a golden handshake: “Oh it’s never happened before so I want to make a number of points clear. As of last night there won’t be any severance pay. No there won’t be. I don’t mind. Well it hurts me and obviously if my bank manager is listening it’s going to hurt him.”? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I have been reminded of those comments on a number of occasions in recent days. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Can the Prime Minister tell the House why she finds it acceptable for Mr Tamihere to mislead the country by stating he would not accept a golden handshake and then accept a payment of almost $200000 when she had earlier stated that Ms Dalziel was required to resign for misleading the public and can she tell the House the reason for her acceptance of two different standards of ministerial behaviour? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I will ignore the implication in the last part of that question which I am sure he is aware is clear to most members on this side of the House. In terms of the first part of the question I suggest the member waits for the outcome of the inquiry when the nature of the payment hopefully will be made clear. On this side of the House we prefer to see the evidence in full before arriving at judgment. 
Rodney Hide 
: Did the Prime Minister believe John Tamihere when he said he would not accept a golden handshake; if so does she believe him now? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: This question places me in difficulties because it is addressed to what the Prime Minister believes and she is in India. I am the Acting Prime Minister. [ 
Interruption 
] I believe the statement made by Mr Tamihere in 1999. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Did the member hear the Minister’s full reply? 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Well that is— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I wonder whether the Minister could repeat the last part of the sentence. The member can raise a point of order when it is complete. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I was saying on my own behalf as Acting Prime Minister that yes I did believe Mr Tamihere’s comment made in 1999. We shall await the outcome of the inquiry to see the nature of the payment made. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. These questions are not asked of the Acting Prime Minister. Mr Speaker you have made it very clear when in the past we have questioned the ability of Ministers to answer that Ministers answer as if they were the Minister. Surely today Dr Cullen answers as if he were the Prime Minister. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: To be more precise for the purpose of question time I am the Prime Minister. I have the authority of Cabinet to be the Acting Prime Minister. Strictly speaking the question should therefore not be addressed to “she” but to “he”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is perfectly correct. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Does the Prime Minister recall these comments made on radio on 29 July when Mr Tamihere said: “And as I have indicated to you this morning as of this morning it’s no longer an issue for whanau Waipareira or John Tamihere” alongside the letter he received dated 3 May 1999 from the secretary for that trust setting out the golden handshake he was about to receive; if so what did she as Prime Minister do with that information either then or later? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The information the member referred to has just been released so the Prime Minister did nothing with it in July 1999; and that payment was not received at that time. 
Dr Don Brash 
: If the Prime Minister does not believe that misleading the public failing to pay tax on $200000 of income providing an inaccurate return on electoral expenses failing to declare the gift of a motor vehicle and failing to declare the gift of a $2000 insurance premium are sufficient grounds for removing a ministerial warrant what more will Mr Tamihere have to do to justify the Prime Minister’s action? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: As I have said an inquiry is under way into these allegations. Depending on the outcome of the inquiry action will be taken as appropriate whereas the member who asked the question when one of his colleagues was convicted by a court left him on the front bench of the National Party. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Did the Prime Minister take any notice of the proceedings in  
Hansard 
 of 27 July 1999 when she was warned by New Zealand First of this and when the then Prime Minister Jenny Shipley said: “If it is as alleged and if the Waipareira Trust does not receive any income other than from Government-funded sources it may well be a significant issue. But I would not want to conclude that until I have knowledge as to whether the trust has sources of income other than Government contracts.”; if so what did the Prime Minister or for that matter the previous Prime Minister do with this very serious information? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am certainly not responsible for what the previous Prime Minister Jenny Shipley may have done with that information. All I can say is that the issue of the nature of the payment and the timing of that payment and who insisted on that payment being made is properly a matter for the inquiry; and I suggest members wait for the outcome. 
Rodney Hide 
: I seek the leave of the House to table a document setting out seven golden handshakes six of which are smaller than John Tamihere’s payout headed “A decade of shame”. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member has had quite long enough to discuss what is in the document. Is there any objection? There is. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Noting the Acting Prime Minister’s comments that the information about John Tamihere’s golden handshake came to light only in recent days I seek leave to table comments made on Friday by Mr Tamihere stating that information about the golden handshake was known in 2000 when he was investigated by the five organisations including the Prime Minister’s own department. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that. Is there any objection? There is. 
Rodney Hide 
: I seek leave to table a statement by the Rt Hon Helen Clark on 5 February 1997 in which she said: “Aotearoa Television is a private television company sustained almost entirely by taxpayers’ money. The manner in which that company spends that money is a matter of great public interest and should be of great interest to the Government.” 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that statement. Is there any objection? There is. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave to table a letter dated 3 May 1999 from the secretary for the Te Whanau o Waipareira Trust to John Tamihere setting out the circumstances of the payments that he was going to receive at that time. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.