Hipkins Chris: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Hipkins Chris: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:654;Page:3069] 
12.  
CHRIS HIPKINS (Labour—Rimutaka) 
 to the  
Minister of Internal Affairs 
: Does he believe he has adequately fulfilled all of his responsibilities as Minister of Internal Affairs since accepting the role; if so why? 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH (Minister of Internal Affairs) 
: 
 Yes I believe I have carried out my responsibilities as required. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Why has he refused to answer basic written parliamentary questions and Official Information Act requests regarding his activities as a Minister including refusing to release any information about reports he has received from his department or whom he has met with? Is it because he is embarrassed to admit that he has not done anything or is it that he has something to hide? 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH 
: That member has asked 1483 questions of various members since December 2008. He has also asked similar fishing-expedition questions of other Ministers and has received similar responses. There is a real double standard in place here; there were at least 142 written questions during the last Parliament to which a Minister responded that an answer would not be provided on the basis of the time and/or the resources that that would have required. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I ask you to consider whether the line of questioning from Mr Hipkins is appropriate. He is asking questions that relate to written questions and I have to say that we have been somewhat surprised by the quality of the written questions coming from the Opposition. You know Mr Speaker that you— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: Well it is a reasonable point— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No no. The member cannot use the point of order process to criticise the Opposition. Commenting on the quality of questions is an implied criticism; there is another process for dealing with that. The member’s primary question related to the Minister’s responsibilities as Minister of Internal Affairs; answering questions is part of a Minister’s responsibilities. The nature of the question enabled the Minister I believe to say almost anything he liked because the question went all over the place. I am sure the Minister is perfectly capable of responding to that kind of question. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not wanting to question your ruling but the fact is that a number of written questions have been submitted to you that ask whether certain matters are a reasonable use of a Minister’s time. A small example would be one from the member for Hutt South who asked me whether I had visited Hutt South recently. You— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will resume his seat. The member is the Leader of the House but when I am on my feet he will resume his seat. This is not a matter for the order of the House and he knows that. I accept that there are issues around at the moment about the nature of written questions being asked and that they need to be sorted out but there is a process for dealing with that— 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: And answered. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: —and answered—and we will deal with it in the appropriate way. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am sorry but I have been brought into this. I want to say that the Minister— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will take his seat right now! Senior members are setting a wonderful example to newer members of the House of how not to behave. Senior members should know the point of order process and not abuse it. That is something I take a dim view of because it wastes the time of the House— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Have a coffee! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am on my feet and the member will not interject. Let us allow this matter to lie here because I have made my position very clear. 
John Hayes 
: What is the Minister doing to address concerns in the community regarding the gambling— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise to the member asking the question. There was such an exchange going on up the front of the House here that I could not hear the member. I invite him to repeat his question. 
John Hayes 
: What is the Minister doing to address concerns in the community regarding the gambling sector? 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH 
: My two key priorities in the gambling arena are first of all to maximise community funding from non-casino gambling machines in commercial venues and second to resolve dubious grant-funding practices in the sector. I am keen to see gambling trusts address real community needs and provide long-term benefits through their funding decisions. In the current economic downturn when gaming-machine revenue is declining just as demand for community funding is rising I believe that this is a critical issue. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Is the Minister aware that during the term of the last Parliament the Minister of Internal Affairs the Hon Rick Barker answered 892— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I fail to see the responsibility that this Minister has for what a Minister during the last Parliament did. I will not cut the member’s supplementary question but I invite him to— 
Hon Members 
: Sit down! 
Mr SPEAKER 
: To the National members or any members who were interjecting I say that that is not appropriate. I was going to deal with the member who must resume his seat. I invite him to ask a question that is in order. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Why is the Minister refusing to answer the 140 written parliamentary questions that have been put to him when Ministers in previous Parliaments have answered exactly the same questions without any trouble? 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH 
: I do not accept the statement of assumptions and fact in the question. I have in fact answered the questions; it is just that the member does not like the answers. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Tena koe Mr Speaker. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I want to hear the question. 
Te Ururoa Flavell 
: Has the Minister received numerous written questions from that member Mr Hipkins that ask the same question asked by other backbenchers and Ministers; and would the Minister in his view agree that that is wasting a huge amount of Ministers’ resources and time? 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH 
: It is—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I want to hear the answer. 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH 
: It is right to say that the member is on an open fishing expedition. Ministers have to decide whether it is appropriate for significant departmental resources and time to be spent on preparing answers to such open questions. 
Chris Hipkins 
: Has the Minister instructed the Department of Internal Affairs to change its output plan which currently estimates between 550 and 650 written parliamentary replies per year; if he has not why is he refusing to answer questions on the basis that it would take too many resources to do so? 
Hon Dr RICHARD WORTH 
: I have already answered that question. The member has been receiving answers; it is just that he does not like them. 
Chris Hipkins 
: I seek leave to table several documents. The first is the reply from the Minister to an Official Information Act request in which he refuses to provide information on all stakeholder and lobby groups he has met since becoming a Minister. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is none. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Chris Hipkins 
: The second is a reply from the Minister to another Official Information Act request in which he refuses to provide information regarding all reports briefings and submissions he has received since becoming a Minister. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is none. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Chris Hipkins 
: The third is a compilation of answers to written parliamentary questions to the Minister in which he refuses to provide any information on who— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I apologise I missed—[ 
Interruption 
] There must be no interjections. This is a point of order process. I missed the description of that document. I apologise. 
Chris Hipkins 
: I seek leave to table a summary of answers the Minister has provided to written parliamentary questions in which he refuses to reveal any information about— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table answers to questions— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think it is important that the leave is put accurately. It is a summary of those answers. The member did not— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I accept the member’s point. Could I just seek guidance on who wrote the summary? 
Chris Hipkins 
: I wrote the summary. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that summary of answers to questions. Is there any objection? There is objection.