McCully Murray: Points of Order — Member’s withdrawal from Chamber ; Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises 
McCully Murray: Points of Order — Member’s withdrawal from Chamber ; Debate on Crown Entities Public Organisations and State Enterprises 
[Volume:609;Page:6225] 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY (NZ National—East Coast Bays) 
: 
 This debate in the House this afternoon on Crown entities public organisations and State enterprises gives us the welcome opportunity to review recent events in Te Mangai Paho. We have already seen one victim in the form of the chairperson leaving his post. In a matter of days we will see the next victim in the form of the chief executive Mr Trevor Moeke and we have seen in the House this week the quite amazing spectacle of the Minister of Maori Affairs who is completely out of control and unable to account for the goings on in his portfolio. 
Today due to events at question time we now have another victim lining up for the chop in the form of the chief executive of Te Puni Kokiri Mr Leith Comer. I can tell the House this afternoon that as a consequence of the statements made in the Chamber today by Ministers Horomia Cullen and Mallard if those statements are true—and we must accept them as such—the chief executive of the Ministry of Maori Affairs must be sacked. Mr Rodney Hide MP and I have written to the State Services Commissioner this afternoon asking him to formally inquire into those matters. If the statements made by those ministers at question time today are correct Mr Leith Comer must be sacked. 
It is a matter of record that the matters that Mr Hide requested answers for by parliamentary questions over a period of months were proven to be most serious. In the Treasury report dated 28 May we saw a lengthy litany of inconsistencies exposed—and I use that term to get into a parliamentary format the document that Mr Hide and I released to the media the following day 29 May—a very substantial litany of inconsistencies—[ 
Interruption 
] Mr Horomia said “lies” yesterday but I say “inconsistencies” because I was well brought up. What we then saw in response to this document and in response to the Treasury report was a media briefing conducted by the chief executive of Te Puni Kokiri the following day 30 May. That was reported widely on 31 May. I have here the  
Dominion Post— 
I am told this is an award winning newspaper—where the headline reads “Te Puni Kokiri boss apologises”. The  
New Zealand Herald  
also covered this event: “Maori ministry chief apologises to Horomia”.  
When we read these two articles it is quite clear what Mr Comer told the assembled media. He told them that the events detailed in the Treasury report exposed some inconsistencies with the answers that had been provided over the previous few weeks by his Minister. He said: “I am responsible and we are responsible for these answers being incorrect for them being wrong. I have apologised to the Minister and I take full responsibility.” If members read the  
Dominion Post  
it is absolutely clear from the reference to the detail in the report that that is the impression he gave to the nation’s media. 
What we have been told by Mr Horomia Dr Cullen and Mr Mallard at question time today is that indeed there was no such apology. They have said that oh no the apology was only about one question and it was not around or on 30 May it was way back on 10 April. It was about something completely different. 
Rodney Hide 
: Are you allowed to say that he lied? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: No I am allowed to say that it exposed a terrible inconsistency. What is clear is that Mr Comer for reasons that only he can explain decided to call the nation’s media together and give them the impression that he was taking full responsibility for the report and for the inconsistencies that it exposed. He said this of the Minister: “He has asked for an explanation and I have been in front of him and accepted the fact that some of the information that we have given him was not correct.” What the Minister has said is that the only apology he has had was about one question way back on 10 April. 
If that is correct then Mr Comer cannot hold office as a senior public servant in this country. Any public servant who will call together the nation’s media for a briefing and tell them that there is a document that exposes inconsistencies—he has apologised for those inconsistencies to the Minister and taken full responsibility in an attempt to get the heat from the public and the media off his Minister—such a public servant is engaging in a rather large enterprise in deceit. I question whether such a person if those facts are true can hold office in this country. 
I say to the Minister who answered the question this afternoon that he had better come down to this Chamber and explain because that is the only reasonable inference he has left in relation to his chief executive this afternoon. [ 
Interruption 
] That is right. And the chief Government whip who has presided over this façade of stupidity on the other side knows that either the Minister has to go or the chief executive has to go because they cannot both be right and they cannot call together the nation’s media in this country and tell them one thing knowing it to be totally untrue and expect to live to tell the tale.