Swain Paul: General Debates 
Swain Paul: General Debates 
[Volume:611;Page:8766] 
Hon PAUL SWAIN (Minister of Transport) 
: 
 That is a somewhat different Stephen Franks from the one we heard even last week. That is the closest thing I have seen to a letter saying: “Dear Parliament I’m sorry for what I said last week. Signed Stephen Franks.” 
There he was talking about constitutional issues but last week and the week before he has been personally attacking judges. There is no future in that. I think Margaret Wilson is right to say that there is nothing wrong with a politician advocating a change to the law—which is what he did just then—but attacking a judge personally either directly or by implication risks bringing the judiciary into disrepute. Unfounded attacks on judges are unfair and not in anyone’s best interests. I say to that member play the ball not the person. In my view even Mr Prebble who upholds and respects constitutional issues in this Parliament would have been embarrassed by what that member did last week. Such attacks on individuals in the judiciary will not stop his party languishing around 4 or 5 percent in the polls. There is no future in that. 
When I was a young fellow I used to play rugby and we always whinged about the ref at half-time when we were losing. We never never whinged about the ref at half-time when we were winning. The coach used to say: “Stop whingeing about the ref and concentrate on winning the game!” That is exactly my advice to the National Party. Its members’ recent attacks on the Speaker were shameful. They try to hide the fact that there is no leadership no policy and no principle in that party. There is nothing in that party so what do its members try to do? All they try to do is shift attention away from their pathetic performance and on to other people. I say that is outrageous. There was a great painter once—I think her name was Barbara Kruger—who said: “Do nothing blame everyone be bitter.” That sums up the National Party in a nutshell. Its members are attacking Parliament attacking public servants attacking the police and attacking the judiciary. Everybody knows that is a smokescreen a cover-up for the fact that they have no leadership no policies and no principles. 
Let me also come to New Zealand First. New Zealand First has been most concerned about who has been prosecuted and who has not. We should probably feel a little sorry for Mr Peters because he earns so little that he cannot afford his own taxi fare. What a shame! I can tell that member that we will fix that little problem. As Minister of Transport I will be introducing legislation—certainly surely and not too far away—to deal with the offence of taxi-running. Maybe these people are tired and emotional who knows? Maybe it is late at night and they hop into a taxi and the hard-working taxi-driver trying to make a living to bring up the family asks for the fare and the tired emotional person says he or she is not going to pay. Well there will be an opportunity for the police to prosecute that person. I know that New Zealand First which supports hard-working New Zealanders will support that legislation. New Zealand First is a law and order party and it will support the offence of taxi-running. I am absolutely certain about that. 
Everybody knows what the National Party is up to. Everybody knows that its members are attempting to try to hide the fact that they are making absolutely no headway. “Flat-lining” I think was the word used in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 article just recently. Then of course there are a whole lot of other editorials talking about the National Party’s performance which is absolutely hopeless. It is dog tucker.