4. Foreign Affairs Minister—RussiaHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of Foreign AffairsForeign Affairs Minister—Russia4. Hon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Minister of Foreign Affairs): Yes in their context.Hon Todd McClay: Does he stand by his statement on The Nation that there is no evidence Russia was involved in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 and that there was no Russian interference in the US presidential election in 2016?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Both those statements are palpably and demonstrably false and I'm asking the member to read the transcript with accuracy.Hon Todd McClay: Why has he not joined almost every other Western Foreign Minister and publicly criticised Russia for their involvement in the nerve agent attack on British soil?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: We have done that on countless occasions so much that the Prime Minister of the UK Theresa May contacted us to thank us for our support—and other members of her Cabinet as well.Hon Todd McClay: I seek leave to table a statement from Friday of last week that has only quotations from the Prime Minister in it not the Minister of Foreign Affairs criticising the Russian Government.SPEAKER: Is the member seriously suggesting that he wants to table a Government press statement?Hon Todd McClay: Speaking to the point of order—SPEAKER: No the member will—[Interruption] No the member will resume his seat. The member knows that that's out of order and unacceptable to the House and if he tries it again I'll regard him as trifling with the Chair.Hon Todd McClay: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is a new point of order. I seek leave to table a statement that's on the Government website that has been changed since the Prime Minister released it on Friday of last week.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Point of order. [Interruption]SPEAKER: There is objection.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The difficulty with the proposition being put by Mr McClay is that the press statement was a joint press statement between the Prime Minister and myself.SPEAKER: Any further supplementaries?Hon Todd McClay: Yes.Hon Member: Wait on. What about the leave?Hon Todd McClay: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You're not putting leave.SPEAKER: No it was turned down.Hon Todd McClay: It was turned down—thank you. Does he stand by his public statement that Russia and Australia are the same?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Ha ha! Again words do matter and again if that member reads the transcript and strives to at least get to form 6 English language he'll understand I said nothing of the sort. What I said was that we have differences and a range of differences with countries all over the world and if we would take them to the extremes we would not be trading with anyone and our people would be so much poorer off. All I ask to be by others is to be quoted properly.Hon Todd McClay: Can he explain to the House his preoccupation—in fact his infatuation—with Russia?SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member—Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I'm happy to do that.SPEAKER: No the question is out of order.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I just say Mr Speaker—SPEAKER: No—well is it a point of order?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: It is a point of order. Well if you want me to protest about those statements I want to just say this: on 27 March last year—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! Sorry I'm going to interrupt the Deputy Prime Minister for a minute to remind members on my left that points of order are heard in silence. If they think that they aren't points of order when they are completed they can say so but not during them.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: When this was said last year in March: Do we want to do a deal with Russia? Yes we do." or "National will push for greater access for Kiwi business to Russia"—that's 22 August just before the election. That is hardly being in love with any country but trade itself.Hon Todd McClay: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: I've got a point of order to rule on first I think and I am going to rule that there's not a point of order there. The member might have put—Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Point of clarification.SPEAKER: There's no such thing as the right honourable gentleman knows well.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Ms Bennett would you like to stand up and say that out loud?Hon Paula Bennett: If you'd like me to Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Well I'm just trying to make clear whether the member has a point she'd like to make or whether she'll just sort of contribute by interjection in front of the shadow Leader of the House.Hon Paula Bennett: My point would have been that we're shut down pretty quickly if you think it's not a point of order—in fact very quickly—on this side of this House.SPEAKER: Well I thank the member for her advice and if she'd been quieter to start with it would have been shut down earlier. The Rt—the Hon Gerry Brownlee. Sorry I promoted the member.Hon Gerry Brownlee: That's all right. Well it's an unusual thing for me these days so I thank you. Now look you've just ruled out the question by the Hon Todd McClay and said that it was out of order but how can it be out of order to ask a Minister of Foreign Affairs about the emphasis that they put on a particular nation—SPEAKER: The member— Hon Gerry Brownlee: You haven't heard—SPEAKER: No. Well—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well this is a perfect example of what Ms Bennett was just talking about; the deputy leader. It would seem to me that when it is a subject that is particularly written into a coalition agreement that has a certain amount of obligation on the collective Government to deal with this country then it's not unreasonable to question the Minister of Foreign Affairs about one lack of statements and two what appears to be quite a preoccupation in changing New Zealand's position with regard to Russia.SPEAKER: I'm going to remind the member of Standing Order 380 and suggest that he have a good look at it and I—[Interruption] The National Party will have an additional two supplementaries now because of the interjection from my right. But I think Mr Brownlee knows as well as Mr McClay that that supplementary question was out of order. Are there any further supplementaries Mr McClay? Right."