Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:645;Page:14733] 
1. JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Minister of Finance; if so why? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes; because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
John Key 
: Does the Prime Minister agree that the clause drafted by the Minister of Finance last week in relation to strategic assets may in fact not stop the Canada Pension Plan from acquiring 40 percent of Auckland International Airport’s shares despite the impression to the contrary that she may have portrayed to the public last week? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I would be interested to know whether the member thought that was good or bad because he has held every position on this issue. 
John Key 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. I asked the Prime Minister a pretty straightforward question; although she might want to indulge herself I ask you to ask her to answer the question. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Would the Prime Minister like to add anything more to the answer? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The Order in Council last week which amended regulation 28 of the Overseas Investment Regulations 2005 added the following words: “whether the overseas investment will or is likely to assist New Zealand to maintain New Zealand control of strategically important infrastructure on sensitive land”. That is the criterion that Ministers will apply to the application which they will receive advice on. Unlike Mr Key I do not intend to comment on a specific application. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Is the Prime Minister confident that the Minister of Finance has adequately protected our key strategic assets given that it would be all to easy for a future Government to quietly remove the regulations the Minister of Finance recently introduced to tighten the Overseas Investment Act; and does she therefore agree that it would be wise to entrench this regulation in law? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I would have no confidence about New Zealand holding on to its State-owned assets or on to strategically important infrastructure under any National Government. Why are we trying to buy back rail now? Because the National Government sold it lock stock and barrel including the track. 
Sue Kedgley 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The question was specific—whether the regulations should be entrenched in law—and I would appreciate an answer to that question. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: Yes I call the right honourable Prime Minister. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I am happy to address that part of the question because my understanding is that what Mr Key now proposes—his policy after eight goes on what he thought about strategic assets—involves a change in the law. I think it is time he consulted Mr Groser on what that might mean for New Zealand’s international obligations. 
John Key 
: If the Prime Minister as she stated before is not prepared to comment on the Canadian pension plan bid can she just answer why in fact she did comment last week when she said she had no personal enthusiasm for it? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I said I had no enthusiasm for New Zealand losing control of that very important piece of strategic infrastructure and further I am not so economically illiterate as the member to think that one has to get 51 percent in order to get control. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Is she confident of her Minister of Finance’s commitment to protect New Zealand’s strategic assets given his reluctance to state what those assets actually are and does she agree that what we need is a clear list of strategic assets that should be kept in New Zealand control set out in an appendix to the Overseas Investment Act as I had outlined in a member’s bill which the National Party did not allow me to introduce last year? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I am sure any foreign investors would make themselves conversant with the schedule of the Act and it is schedule 1 which outlines precisely what falls into the sensitive land category. 
John Key 
: Does the Prime Minister agree with the statement from Michael Cullen made today when he said: “It’s now for the two Ministers to make a decision and obviously other Ministers should not be commenting or it might be seen to be influencing that decision.” and if she does agree with that comment made by Michael Cullen why did she comment last week and potentially influence the decision? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: My comment last week was about my view not Mr Key’s view that foreign control by a single company is not desirable. Mr Key cannot work out where he stands; he has had at least eight positions. 
John Key 
: Can the Prime Minister confirm that in fact her office has received advice suggesting that the Prime Minister may well have breached with her comments last week the securities legislation and in fear of making the situation even more compounding given her track record with Air New Zealand she is now taking the Minister of Finance’s advice to shut up? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: All I can confirm is that no such advice has been received because no such infringement has occurred. If anyone ought to be worried about what he or she said it is that member with his eight different positions. 
John Key 
: If the Prime Minister is not concerned that she may have breached the securities legislation why has she changed her position this week from that of last week; is it not a fact of life that she did not actually know she was in breach of the legislation last week and now she is worried about it? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: No comment of any detail has been made by me about this application; nor will it be. 
John Key 
: Why did her Government seek to change the criteria in relation to the bid for Auckland airport by the Canadian pension plan a minority bid with lower voting rights when 8 months earlier Dubai Aerospace Enterprise came in with a controlling majority bid—is the reason she did not act 8 months ago but her Government is trying to act now that 8 months ago it was not so far behind in the polls and that the attitude now is to hell with the confidence in the New Zealand markets and to hell with the savings of New Zealanders; it is whatever it takes to try to prop up what we now know is a dying Labour Government? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: My understanding is that no application to the Government was received from the Dubai company. What I do know is that the Leader of the Opposition does not give a damn who has control of Auckland International Airport. 
Sue Kedgley 
: I seek leave to table my member’s bill which sets up an appendix to the Overseas Investment Act— 
Document not tabled.