Brownlee GerryHon GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam): What a shambles the Government is in. What an absolute shambles the Government is in. Here we have them on a day when they had called extraordinary hours for the sitting of the House—a time when the House could've sat between 9 o'clock this morning and 1 o'clock this afternoon to progress six bills that the Government had set down on the Order Paper. And what happened? Ministers responsible for bills failed to turn up to the House. Unbelievable. So an hour and a quarter before the House was scheduled to lift the whole thing was shut down. I often say that the House in politics the Parliament in politics is a bit like the heart. Everyone knows that if their heart's not beating too well they're not well. Well the heart of this Parliament is not beating well and this Government is in very bad shape. One of the problems quite clearly and quite evidently demonstrated in the last two days in this House is that the right honourable gentleman over there still hasn't stopped acting as Prime Minister. He has the veto on everything this Government does. We have an industrial relations law—which by the way is appalling for employment prospects in New Zealand appalling for anyone who's got an entrepreneurial spirit and might want to start a business. But anyway it's been through Cabinet it's been to the select committee it's coming back to Parliament and the right honourable gentleman says Uh-oh. We may have made a mistake. Pull on the brakes we're no longer supporting it." And that's not just for this bill—it goes on and on and on.So I can't wait to see the news footage next week of the Prime Minister in New York giving the grand speech to the General Assembly talking about their ambitious plans for the relocation of Nauru refugees to New Zealand and then qualifying it all by saying "But only if Winston says we can." [Interruption] SPEAKER: I think there are some members who would like an early shower. If I have—[Interruption] I think that the shadow Deputy Leader of the House should lead by example. Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member on his feet has been around long enough to know the appropriate way to refer to other members of Parliament.Hon David Bennett: It's not a point of order.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Now "sir" will be a supplementary if he likes but he cannot call me Winston. Thank you very much. SPEAKER: Right before the—I'd let it ride—Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Well only—SPEAKER: Order! The member will resume his seat. The member who interjected during the point of order will stand withdraw and apologise. Hon David Bennett: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: No. Loud enough so the House can hear him.Hon David Bennett: I withdraw and apologise. Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: Well perhaps I should break my flow as it has been broken simply to say that I meant nothing pejorative in the use of the first name. I was simply referring to it in terms much like people refer to RNZ or BNZ or any of those other institutions that are so well embedded into our society. In fact I'm sure that at some point—SPEAKER: Order! The member knows that he does not refer to points of order that have been dealt with.Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: All right—so back to the shambolic Government and the utterly disgraceful mess that they're in. So we just had the speaker before me the Hon Kelvin Davis the Minister for Crown/Māori Relations talking about the new institution that's being set up; a new department announced by the Prime Minister with the well-known person Tītewhai Harawira sitting next to her in the Cabinet room last week. There is a brand new central agency that is going to be able to have a view on every single bill. One problem—one problem: when the Minister was asked last week "What is the role of the Minister for Crown/Māori Relations?" he announced—10 months after taking the warrant taking the salary taking the car taking the house all the drama—that very shortly there'll be an announcement about what he does. Now if that's not shambolic you tell me what is. Do you know why there's been no announcement? Because the right honourable gentleman hasn't decided what that role is just yet. So there they'll be at the UN the two of them side by side holding hands putting on the spectacle or the picture of a united Government knowing full well that those hands are only locked by the shackle of the secret agreement that keeps getting referred to in the House but hasn't been made public and of course the general display that the Government knows what it's doing. Well I would ask a simple question: if the Government knows what it's doing that's one thing but if the Government doesn't know where to be to do what it has to do as was the case this morning how can anyone believe they know what they're doing?Another example this week was the failure to turn up in the House by a Minister leading a bill on the Family and Whānau Violence Legislation Bill who twice failed to get to the House leaving it to other Ministers telling us that they don't really care about their policy. The virtue signalling is far better and frankly look at the faces across the other side of the House. They are basking in their self-congratulations at the fine words that they're all uttering but assured that that doesn't make any difference."