Brash Don: General Debate 
Brash Don: General Debate 
[Volume:634;Page:5637] 
Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) 
: 
 I feel flattered that the first Government speaker could talk about nothing but the leader of the National Party. I clearly get under your skin. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I know that the member is relatively new but he cannot say that he is getting under “your” skin. 
Dr DON BRASH 
: On 16 February this year I called on Helen Clark and the Labour Party to repay the $446000 of taxpayers’ money that had been misappropriated—or stolen to use everyday language—by the Labour Party to fund its pledge card in the campaign last year. Eight months later I am still waiting. We are still calling on Helen Clark to pay it back. She should pay back the money she misappropriated—pay back the money she stole. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Is this the same point of order? 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: No it is actually a separate one. The member then indicated to the House that the Prime Minister had misappropriated money. That is unparliamentary. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Yes. The member must be careful around those sorts of imputations. 
Dr DON BRASH 
: As the last week of last year’s campaign began most polls had the National Party leading the Labour Party. Then the Labour Party unleashed a barrage of advertising—$416000 of advertising to be precise. The National Party was astonished—how could the Labour Party have that much money left within its legal limit and still remain legal? Of course we now know that the Labour Party did not have that amount of money left; it simply ignored the law. Labour members went right on spending and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars above what they were legally entitled to do. They broke the law. They engaged in what the Electoral Act called “a corrupt practice”. 
Not only that we now know that they not only spent hundreds of thousands of dollars above what they were legally entitled to do but also they used taxpayers’ money the money that rightly belongs to the New Zealand public to do so. When they were caught out Helen Clark used every kind of excuse every kind of diversionary tactic to avoid having to pay it back. “Everybody’s doing it.” she said. “If we have to pay it back hundreds of millions of dollars spent by all parties since the late 80s should be paid back.” she said. “This is just a beltway issue; it’s time to move on.” she said. “If we are found to have broken the law we’ll pass retrospective legislation to fix it.” she said. “The rules are unclear.” she said. “I am not responsible for what my chief of staff did.” she said. “The Auditor-General changed the rules.” she said. 
Well I tell the Prime Minister that that will not wash. Even Matt Robson has admitted that the rules were perfectly clear. The Progressive party understood them the Maori Party understood them my own office understood them. The rules were clear; there was no excuse for ignoring them. 
The Auditor-General warned political parties months before the election to be very careful. Helen Clark simply ignored the rules. She even tried to pretend in the House yesterday that somehow she had no responsibility for the issue—that even though she said: “My signature is on it I am accountable for it and Labour in Government will be held to it by me.” somehow she now pretends that somebody else is to blame for the predicament she finds herself in. Well I tell the Prime Minister that this is an outrage. The Prime Minister is responsible for the misappropriation of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars— 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: The member may not imply that the Prime Minister has misappropriated or is responsible for that. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. During points of order and during rulings it has been the tradition in this House for the speaker to resume his or her seat. Don Brash did not do that on either of those occasions. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: That is for me to deal with. I do not need that pointed out to me. 
Dr DON BRASH 
: I say to the Prime Minister that this is an outrage. It is alleged by the Auditor-General that the Prime Minister has misappropriated hundreds of thousands of taxpayers’ dollars—a misappropriation that ensured she personally gained financially to the extent of at least $130000 per year and $400000 over this parliamentary term. If the Labour Party cannot pay it back Helen Clark and her colleagues should do so. 
So what do we say to Helen Clark? We say: “Pay it back and pay it back quickly.” Of course even if she does pay it back reluctantly and in response to overwhelming public opinion her Government will still be guilty of a corrupt practice. The Auditor-General has confirmed what every other independent agency has found—that the pledge card was an election expense. Pete Hodgson agrees. It is absolutely clear that in that situation the Labour Party broke the law and spent nearly 20 percent more than it was allowed to do. No other party did that. Helen Clark is not fit to be the Prime Minister of this country. She has crossed a threshold and has lost her moral authority to govern.