Smith Nick: General Debate 
Smith Nick: General Debate 
[Volume:621;Page:16552] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) 
: 
 For a Prime Minister to lose one Minister is careless but to lose six Ministers including Lianne Dalziel for being dishonest shows that this Government is rotten to the core in its culture. We have to ask the question: what is it about the culture of this Helen Clark Government that Ministers believe that they can say one thing and do another? 
We have had all sorts of speeches from Government members today about the word “honour” in relation to the announcement from John Tamihere and his resignation. It is anything but. Let us not get cute. The reason the announcement was made this afternoon was to hide the disgraceful conduct of Mr John Tamihere under the news wave of the US presidential election. What has changed? Lianne Dalziel chuckles away. Is she a member we would believe? As a Minister she was fired for being dishonest. Ruth Dyson can throw her name into the hat. She is a member with criminal convictions who had to resign. 
The US presidential election was the reason this has been announced today not 4 weeks ago when John Tamihere knew he had taken a $195000 golden handshake when he said he would not take it and not 4 years ago when he knew that he had taken $195000 when he said he would not take it. There is absolutely no honour in that whatsoever. 
Mark Burton pretends as do other Labour members that John Tamihere has done nothing wrong. That is how low the Labour Party sets the standard. They say that it is OK to do one thing opposite to what they have said. The tone has been set by the Prime Minister. Let us remember that this is the Prime Minister who signed a painting that she did not paint. She committed an act of fraud and she set the example of dishonesty that goes on within this Government. This is also the Prime Minister who was dishonest in telling the people of New Zealand that all the “corngate” documents were released at the last election when that was blatantly dishonest and not true. 
The Prime Minister set a standard and six Ministers have had to resign because of their disgraceful conduct. I ask the House to compare that behaviour with the last 9 years of the National Government when not one Minister was found to be dishonest—not one. 
I want to know how we can believe anything that Labour Government Ministers say. In this example John Tamihere was caught out. How many times did we hear members opposite say when questions were asked about the Waipareira Trust that we were being grossly unfair we were muckraking and that anything that had happened was completely kosher. Now we find out that $195000 of public money intended to help our most disadvantaged citizens was taken to line the pockets of a Labour Minister who was drawing a salary of nearly $250000 a year. 
Judith Collins 
: How much? 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: Nearly $250000 a year was being drawn as salary and John Tamihere and this Government think it is OK for him to take $195000 in a golden handshake. 
I do ask the question as to what is the standard that is acceptable to this Government. In the speeches we have heard this afternoon one Government member after another has defended—believe it or not—the “integrity” of John Tamihere given what he has now admitted and knowing that he was caught out for saying one thing and doing quite the opposite. Whether it is Official Information Act requests the dishonesty of Lianne Dalziel—who it is a matter of fact lied to the public and had to resign her portfolio—now John Tamihere and after Dover Samuels and so many other Ministers how can we believe anything this Government says?