English Bill: General Debates 
English Bill: General Debates 
[Volume:608;Page:5185] 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. The state of the Government’s approach to energy policy can be summed up by the simple statements that have been made today. Pete Hodgson told us that his much-improved scenario modelling says the Government has known since before Christmas that this energy crisis was coming. Dr Cullen told us yesterday that the Government did not expect a dry year in 2003. Falling business confidence a severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) cover-up an electricity crisis and the revelation of the Government’s deeply ideological— 
Hon Annette King 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is not acceptable for that member to accuse anybody of a Sars cover-up. It is not acceptable. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have stopped the member’s time at this stage. That is a debatable point. 
Hon Annette King 
: No it is not. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will stand and apologise for disagreeing with me in that way. 
Hon Annette King 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: We having falling business confidence a Sars cover-up an electricity crisis and a revelation of the Government’s—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: As far as I am concerned I do not want to have to stop all interjection during general debate because we can have an interchange. However I think there have been too many interjections—a lot in the second person which is totally out of order. There will be a lot fewer interjections. I have not penalised the member any time. He may start again. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: We have falling business confidence a Sars cover-up an electricity crisis and the revelation of a deeply ideological treaty policy—and it is only Wednesday! It is only Wednesday and that is just this week. The Prime Minister is out of the country leaving Dr Cullen to drive this Government into a policy quagmire. 
I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Earlier on today we took a point of order with you because three times the Hon Trevor Mallard had defied your ruling from the Chair. You have now ruled twice about interjections. The Labour Party has taken no notice of the rulings and I am asking you this question: what are you going to do about it? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will tell the member what I am going to do about it. There were further interjections from members of his own party who shouted with an enormous amount of noise when he proceeded with his speech but I ignored that. As far as the member is concerned a couple of members did make interjections and I tell the Hon Trevor Mallard that he is not to interject again in this speech. 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The Prime Minister is out of the country leaving Dr Cullen to drive the Government into a policy quagmire. Its transport legislation is an unworkable political compromise and people who set out supporting it are now all opposing it. It will be interesting to see where United Future goes in that respect. The electricity policy of this Government is in a total shambles. No one knows what the rules are. No one knows whether it will be safe to invest in electricity in New Zealand as long as the Prime Minister says that she will intervene any time any place. There is a Resource Management Amendment Bill coming to this House that is one step forward and 10 steps backwards. We have the sense of an old-style Labour Party starting to flex its muscles—regulate control and politicise. 
And what is going on with Helen Clark overseas? Every New Zealand Prime Minister has the job of going to the European Union to defend our trade access; we expect her to do that. But members should listen to this statement: “What everyone’s looking at is whether there is going to be a Franco/German/Russia linkup with good links through to the Chinese against what we have which looks like a small Anglo/American group—it shifts the whole dynamic”.  
What is our very good friend John Howard to think of that? He came here just a couple of months ago and was smooched all up by the Prime Minister. When he left she effectively accused him of trading soldiers’ dead bodies for a trade agreement and then when she went to France she cuddled up to Jacques Chirac. Do members know who Jacques Chirac is? He is the man who said that he made the decision to repatriate Dominique Prieur. Members know who she was. She was the terrorist who carried out the bombing of the Greenpeace boat in Auckland Harbour. 
Did Helen Clark raise that with Jacques Chirac? Did she raise with him the billions of dollars he has made out of the oil-for-food trade in Iraq? Did she ask him about the allegations that France has leaked details of the coalition’s operational planning for the Iraqi war to the Iraqis? Did our principled Prime Minister do that? What does she mean when she says that we are part of a “small Anglo/American group—it shifts the whole dynamic”? Is she being a commentator or is she making policy?