Key John: General Debate 
Key John: General Debate 
[Volume:644;Page:13517] 
JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. At 2 o’clock today Hugh Logan dropped the bombshell the Government did not want to hear but knew was coming: Trevor Mallard was wrong. You see Trevor Mallard had used parliamentary privilege to defame Erin Leigh. Trevor Mallard would not make those statements outside the House and the Prime Minister would not make those statements outside the House because they knew they would be sued. They knew they were wrong and it was all part of a strategy dreamt up by the Labour Government to nail Erin Leigh. 
We are here debating the Electoral Finance Bill but that is part of the Labour Government’s wider agenda to turn Government departments into an extension of itself and in an election year to use the resources of those departments to curry favour for Labour. So having Labour Party lackeys working for Government departments in the communications area was all part of the strategy for Labour. That is why Madeleine Setchell’s face did not fit and that is why Erin Leigh’s face did not fit. Trevor Mallard Michael Cullen Helen Clark and the “party of the workers” did not care if Trevor Mallard came down to this House defamed Erin Leigh and wrecked her career because they are bigger than the people of New Zealand. 
That is the answer from Labour—it is bigger than the people of New Zealand and to hell with any New Zealander who gets in front of it or who challenges this Labour Government. It is no wonder people are scared to stand up to Labour because the bully-boy tactics have been going on for 8 years. Trevor Mallard the little puppy who looked down the camera and said to New Zealanders “Forgive me forgive me because I punched Tau Henare. I was under stress and all was not going well.” is now pleading not guilty. This is the same guy who at the very first opportunity he had came to this House and defamed Erin Leigh to the point that she cannot get a job now. Yesterday this is what the Prime Minister of New Zealand had to say about that behaviour: “It was rather mild by Trevor’s standards.” You see it was— 
Hon Member 
: He didn’t beat her up. 
JOHN KEY 
: That is right; he did not actually punch her physically. That is what he normally does. He just punched her verbally. He punched her verbally so that she could not get a job. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: What does Gerry do to pensioners? 
JOHN KEY 
: Oh that is the outgoing member for Otaki—the son Helen Clark never had according to Helen Clark. That is how that member described himself in the  
Independent 
. Will he be the son Helen Clark never had looking for a job in Otaki in about 12 months’ time? 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: Cut that stuff out. You’re a coward and a braggart. 
JOHN KEY 
: But this is the situation. Michael Cullen stands for a Government that wants to bully people and defame them. Its members will not make those comments outside and he knows it. He came into this House and he was better than that. Michael Cullen was better than that when he came into this House. He stood up for the rights of workers. He stood up for the right of people to go out there and talk against the Government. He stood up for the right to be better but he has lost the plot. You see he is so consumed with power that he does not care who gets in the way. Those members are all quiet except for Michael Cullen. He is the last man standing and trying to defend the Government and the rest of them are in shame because they cannot believe that they are treating their own workers this way. They cannot believe that Michael Cullen is the only one talking. 
He is the only one who is prepared to try to defend Trevor Mallard. That is the situation. Trevor Mallard came to this House he defamed Erin Leigh and he was wrong. He was wrong and he will not make those comments outside the House because we know that. 
What a disastrous end for a Labour Government this is. We are here going out there passing electoral finance legislation from a Labour Government that its own members do not understand that officials do not understand and that the country does not want but Labour members are bigger than the ordinary New Zealander! They are doing this on the basis that they do not care that thousands and thousands of New Zealanders are feeling the way that Erin Leigh feels today. She has been monstered by Trevor Mallard and it is wrong.