Power Simon: General Debate 
Power Simon: General Debate 
[Volume:623;Page:18487] 
SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) 
: 
 One thing that has become clear since the House met last week for the first time this year and in subsequent question times since then is that the Prime Minister is very very unhappy. She is very unhappy about the level of competency in her Cabinet. 
National members had a major dilemma at our procedures meeting this morning. We were absolutely spoilt for choice. Our party was struggling with all the material this Government has provided to us in question time since this House met for the first time this year—and what a smorgasbord it is! 
George Hawkins has become a joke. New Zealand now has two screenings of  
The Simpsons 
 every day: one at 7 o’clock on TV3 and one at 2 o’clock at question time when George Hawkins gets to his feet. He is only in Cabinet because a Labour Party caucus faction is keeping him there. That is the only reason. I have noticed how busy Ministers are around George Hawkins when he has to answer a question. Suddenly very important papers need to be looked at when George Hawkins is on his feet. Even his bench mate Paul Swain has given up chirpily sticking his head above his desk and saying: “That’s right Minister. That’s right.” Now even Paul Swain is looking for papers to mark and signatures to apply to avoid being associated with George Hawkins. The Prime Minister finds her invisible lemon to suck on every time George Hawkins gets to his feet. 
As I said yesterday Ministers know they are in trouble when Michael Cullen asks them two supplementary questions in the House. That means they are in serious trouble and George Hawkins is on the ropes and in serious trouble. This morning on radio George Hawkins’ own police commissioner distanced himself from that hapless Minister. The Prime Minister will hang George Hawkins out to dry. That is my prediction and I will tell the House why. It is because the Prime Minister does not want George Hawkins in Cabinet. If it were up to the Prime Minister George Hawkins would be out of that Cabinet but a small group of the Labour Party caucus is keeping him there. My prediction is that the Prime Minister will hang him out to dry to show that faction in the Labour Party that she gets what she wants in the end. 
It is not so for David Benson-Pope. 
Hon David Carter 
: The next Prime Minister! 
SIMON POWER 
: He was the Prime Minister’s choice to be brought into Cabinet and to be made Minister for schools. In fact rumours reliably come to the whips’ ears that she sees Mr Benson-Pope as her successor in the leader’s role of the Labour Party. I say to members opposite: “Good luck with that.” because if it ever occurs by gee we really will have the most unpopular Labour leader this country has ever seen. That has to rankle with Harry Duynhoven and Damien O’Connor and Clayton Cosgrove have to be sitting in that block of seats asking: “Why is it that David Benson-Pope got promoted?”. But this time there is no “hanging him out to dry” because the Prime Minister’s fingerprints are all over his promotion. John Tamihere knows it. Janet Mackey knows it. 
This man David Benson-Pope who has already messed up scholarship exams and the National Certificate of Educational Achievement is the Prime Minister’s choice and she will have to wear some of the responsibility. In fact she alone is responsible for his elevation. The sad thing about all of this of course is that backbench Labour MPs are just loving it. They love watching David Benson-Pope being put on the rack every day in question time. My prediction is that David Benson-Pope’s failure will be the Prime Minister’s failure. 
Poor old Mark Burton. Just when he thought things were coming right it has all gone to custard with the Auditor-General’s report. All he ever wanted was the Speaker’s Chair.