English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 10 June 2003. Volume:609;Page:6050. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
3.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: What was her reaction to reported comments made by a United States Government spokesman that personal attacks by her on President Bush had been “beyond the call” and that her remark about Al Gore had been the “coup de grace” and did those comments influence her decisions about deploying New Zealand Defence Force personnel to Iraq and Afghanistan? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Very restrained and no. 
Hon Bill English 
: In the light of the comment made by Robert Zoellick that there had been “some things done recently that would make a free-trade agreement harder to carry to Congress” does the Prime Minister believe that her announcement yesterday improves the prospects of New Zealand getting a free-trade agreement or not? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: What I am inclined to agree with are the words of the member himself who said in the  
Listener 
 a few weeks ago that wanting a free-trade agreement was “not anything like a good or sufficient reason for being involved”. 
Jill Pettis 
: What factors did the Government consider before making the deployments? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: There were two key factors: firstly the Government took into account that UN Resolution 1483 provided cover for the deployments; and secondly there was a need for Iraq to be rebuilt as quickly as possible. There is also the need to ensure that Afghanistan does not again become a failed State enabling terrorists to operate freely from it. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: If the Prime Minister is relying upon the single UN Resolution 1483 for her Government’s about-face on Iraq how is it that none of the previous 17 UN resolutions culminating in Resolution 1441—all of which were ignored by Saddam Hussein—were in her judgment adequate to justify military intervention? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The member will be aware of the legal advice the Government received which said that the only explicit authority for military intervention would have come from a fresh resolution. It was the New Zealand Government’s view that if there were to be military intervention there should have been such a resolution. 
Peter Brown 
: Will the Prime Minister tell us specifically whether she acknowledges that her rather naive comments about Bush and Gore did cause deep offence and that the sending of engineers to Iraq is an opportunity to rebuild that relationship between New Zealand and the United States of America; and is she not taking full advantage of the opportunity to rebuild a relationship or does she regard it as of so little importance? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It is a very important relationship to us and it is in good shape. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In reply to my question the Prime Minister quoted a legal opinion. I request that the text of that be tabled. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: The comments referred to a legal opinion; the Prime Minister did not quote from it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: First of all the member should have raised the issue immediately but secondly and irrespective of that the point made was that there was mention of a legal opinion. There was no quoting from it. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not disputing this in any way but we have just heard from Mr Cullen and if Helen Clark was relying on a legal opinion and is prepared to table it I think it would be very helpful. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I understand that the advice the Government got from the ministry was released under the Official Information Act. I do not have it with me in the House today. 
Hon Bill English 
: Does the Prime Minister recall making the following statement: “At some future point when there is an issue New Zealand does need to raise with the US at the highest level I think there is a reasonable chance of being able to place the phone call and get the phone picked up.”; and has she made that phone call with regard to obtaining a free-trade agreement for New Zealand? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I am sure that at any such time if such a call is required it will be answered.