Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:670;Page:17386] 
7. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: What role did he or his department play in the decision to shift the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals from AMI Stadium to Eden Park? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY (Minister for the Rugby World Cup) 
 on behalf of the  
Prime Minister 
: Under the terms of the host union agreement all decisions relating to locations and venues for Rugby World Cup games are the province of Rugby World Cup Ltd a subsidiary of the International Rugby Board. With regard to the decision to move all Rugby World Cup games from Christchurch the International Rugby Board through Rugby World Cup Ltd publicly signalled its wish to consult other stakeholders including the Government. This consultation occurred through the Minister for the Rugby World Cup who discussed these matters with the Prime Minister. With regard to the decision to select Eden Park as the alternative quarter-finals venue the Prime Minister understands that this decision was made by Rugby World Cup Ltd on the recommendation of Rugby New Zealand 2011 on the basis of considerations outlined by Mr Martin Snedden yesterday. The Government was informed but not consulted in relation to that decision. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Did the Prime Minister’s office receive a report on or before 7 March that made it clear that there would not be sufficient accommodation in Christchurch for the quarter-finals? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: I would need to check on which reports were received on which dates. But I can say that reports were received continuously in relation to accommodation from two different sources: firstly Ministry of Economic Development officials were asked to assess the situation and report to the Government from time to time; and secondly Mr Snedden as the chief executive of Rugby New Zealand 2011 made his own assessment which was reported to the Government from time to time. To be more precise I would need to check those reports. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: When did the Prime Minister become aware that an in principle or provisional decision had been made to shift the quarter-finals to Auckland before Rugby World Cup officials began their trip to New Zealand? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: The Prime Minister was not aware that any decision was made as asserted by that member. The Prime Minister was aware that officials from the International Rugby Board were coming to New Zealand for the purpose of meeting the other stakeholders formally consulting and then making a formal decision in relation to the games scheduled to be played in Christchurch. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Why did the Prime Minister as recently as yesterday morning hold out hope to the people of Christchurch that the quarter-finals would be held there when an informal decision as the Minister has just replied had been made that they would not? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: The Prime Minister was acting on the advice of the Minister for the Rugby World Cup. The Minister for the Rugby World Cup was told on Monday of this week that the board of Vbase the Christchurch City Council - owned company that administers AMI Stadium was receiving a briefing from the engineers who had done their scoping work over the previous days. That meeting I repeat occurred on the afternoon of Monday this week. On Tuesday of this week the Minister for the Rugby World Cup went to Christchurch to meet Vbase to receive details of that report and to enter into discussions and on the following day—yesterday—the parties all met including the visiting International Rugby Board executives to make the final decisions. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Why was the Prime Minister not involved in the announcement of the decision to shift the quarter-finals from Christchurch to Auckland? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: The Prime Minister has enormous confidence in his Minister for the Rugby World Cup. He was aware that that Minister was keeping himself closely informed of developments in Christchurch and was visiting Christchurch on Tuesday. The Prime Minister would not have been aware in time of the meetings taking place yesterday to shift his timetable in order to be there if he had wanted to. But his attendance might well have been taken by his Minister for the Rugby World Cup as an indication of a lack of confidence—which would have been disappointing. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Who if anyone advised him that attending to matters in his room was a higher priority than attending Parliament while questions on this matter were being dealt with yesterday? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: I think that at the heart of the member’s line of questioning is the suggestion that somehow the decisions should have been made sooner and announced sooner. I want to repeat what I have said publicly. The people of Christchurch who take great pride in their rugby prowess have suffered a significant tragedy. The decision to take away from Christchurch all of the Rugby World Cup games was made most reluctantly by all of the parties who were consulted by the International Rugby Board. For the member to suggest that somehow that decision which was indeed hurtful should have been made without all of the evidence being assembled and properly considered by those parties is frankly an insult to the people of Christchurch. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was a very long answer to a question that was not asked. It was a very clear question as to whether the Prime Minister was advised not to attend Parliament yesterday and to stay in his office. That question was not answered. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If the Minister wishes to answer it further I will sit down in a moment. But let me point out that it is against the Standing Orders to make any reference to the absence of a member from this House. I did not rule the question out of order because I wanted the Minister to have the opportunity to handle it in the way that he saw fit. I do accept that he did not answer the particularity of the question but the question is a pretty marginal one anyhow. If the Minister has anything further that he wishes to add to it I do not want to prevent him from doing that. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I invite you to review the tape. The question was very carefully drafted. It gave no indication of whether the Prime Minister accepted that advice if it was received. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is a very fine line that the member points out. The implication of the question was that the Prime Minister was not present in the House. But I do accept the point the member makes that the question did specifically ask who had advised the Prime Minister—I cannot remember the exact wording. If the Minister could deal with the actual particularity of the question that would be helpful. 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: The Prime Minister is perfectly capable of making decisions about his own diary and timetable without advice. Right at this minute the Prime Minister is extremely busy attending to important matters of State that are the result of some very tragic events that have occurred in New Zealand in recent times. That causes the Prime Minister to think very carefully about the allocation of his valuable time. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Did he personally deal with all the paperwork received in his office on this issue or did he treat it as he claimed to have done with the BMW issue as a matter for his chief of staff to take responsibility for? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: The Prime Minister as I indicated in my primary answer has taken considerable advice from his Minister for the Rugby World Cup on this matter. That Minister has been closely engaged in dealing with the parties over recent weeks and as appropriate has seen fit to inform the Prime Minister of developments as matters have proceeded. 
Hon Annette King 
: Can the Prime Minister explain why the Hon Steven Joyce who answered questions on this issue in the House yesterday after the announcement was made said on radio yesterday morning that no decision would be made for 2 days? 
Hon MURRAY McCULLY 
: I am not familiar with the particular quotation that the member refers to but I can say the Minister of Transport was answering questions yesterday as I understand it on behalf of the Minister for the Rugby World Cup who was I can confirm consulting relevant parties in Christchurch.