Clark Helen: Urgent Debates — Ministerial Resignation—Member for TamakiMakaurau 
Clark Helen: Urgent Debates — Ministerial Resignation—Member for TamakiMakaurau 
[Volume:621;Page:16531] 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Obviously that speech was not a leadership bid! I was looking for the fast-forward button actually. The reports of the count in the American election were somewhat more exciting; I thank the Labour junior whip for continually forwarding them to me. 
Truly that speech was an embarrassment and one scanned the Opposition ranks to see who looked the most embarrassed. Was it Bill English? At least Bill English would have put some energy into it. Was it John Key who looked the most embarrassed? John Key is thinking that if Don Brash can get the leadership of the National Party in 1 year maybe he can do it in 2. I think he has hope. Was it Murray McCully who looked the most embarrassed? No one could see Murray McCully because he was crouching behind with the knife. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I note that this is a special debate on the resignation of John Tamihere as a Minister of the Crown. I have been listening to the somewhat boring speech from the Prime Minister for 2½ minutes and the subject has not been mentioned. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order and the member knows it. Please be seated. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The verdict on this side is to sack the speechwriter but we also recommend considering sacking the Leader of the Opposition. We are so happy that this urgent debate was accepted today. 
Earlier today I received a letter of resignation from John Tamihere and I have advised the Governor-General to accept the resignation. Almost 3 weeks ago a process was put in place by me and the Acting Prime Minister Dr Cullen and I believe that that approach has been widely supported by all fair-minded people. That approach saw the Minister asked to stand aside from portfolios and saw an inquiry set up to look at a wide range of allegations that had been made so that we could get to the bottom of them. Fair-minded people accepted that as due process. In the meantime I like fair-minded people—and there are fair-minded people in many parts of this House but not directly opposite—suspended judgment on a range of allegations because I like to know the facts. 
I would expect Douglas White QC to report reasonably expeditiously but I do know that the Serious Fraud Office tends to report in slower time. I say that not as a criticism of the Serious Fraud Office; it is important that it does its work properly and deliberately. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: It took 18 months for McCully. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Eighteen months for one member was mentioned; another member of this House from an Opposition party is currently before the courts where rather a long time was taken—I will not dwell on that point. 
It has become clear to John Tamihere as it is clear to any observer that obviously if the Serious Fraud Office is to investigate a matter then Mr White QC’s report cannot settle the matter definitively. I might say that John Tamihere himself last Friday took the step of forwarding the Paragon Risk report to the Serious Fraud Office and I commend him for that. Mr Tamihere’s position is that he does not want to sit in limbo-land while a long process of inquiry goes on because there is work to do. 
And is there ever work to do! This Government has a very strong story to tell in Maoridom—a very strong story. I expect that Mr Tamihere now released from ministerial duties will be out there pointing out that when this Government came into office Maori unemployment was 18.8 percent and in the June quarter this year it was 8.8 percent. That is a success and he can take credit for that being part of the Government and that will be one of many reasons why he is out on the stump campaigning for the return of a Labour Government. He will have many other things to say. Not only will he point to the fact that more than 40000 more Maori are in work than when this Government came into office; he will point to the number of Maori succeeding in business. He will talk about 17 percent of our industry trainees being Maori—getting back to the kaupapa of the Maori Battalion and the schemes put in place after the war. He will talk about language strategies Maori Television health initiatives housing success in education the numbers of Maori in tertiary education and the numbers coming into early childhood education. He has a great story to tell. Now that he is released from ministerial duties while those inquiries go on he can go out and campaign fully for that. 
I have said that the course Mr Tamihere took today is a very honourable course. I repeat to the House what I told the media conference—that I have always seen great potential in John Tamihere and I continue to see great potential in John Tamihere. I know because I worked with him as closely as with any colleague how much hard work he put into those portfolios how much energy he put in and it is my hope that he will be able to contribute at ministerial level again. I am not making a new appointment to Cabinet at this time. There is an old saying: “To err is human to forgive divine.” Mr Tamihere is human. I am certainly not divine but I believe that notwithstanding that he is human he has a big contribution to make to New Zealand politics and he will continue to make that contribution. 
In Mr Tamihere’s statement today he said he had accepted an ex gratia payment although he had said he would not. He said he regretted not advising me of that and as I have told the House today I regret that too because my advice would have been not to take that payment. Indeed I can go further and say my requirement would have been not to take it because I do believe in saying one thing before an election and saying the same thing afterwards. I accept the action he has taken today as an honourable one. 
I would say that there is only one crowd that is disappointed by what has happened today—and it is the Opposition. When those members sat in Government they had Ministers sit here and deny they had done anything wrong at all. I am trying to think when I saw an honourable resignation from a Minister in a National Government. I am trying to think of such an example. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Winston. 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Well it is true; I cannot remember whether he resigned or was sacked but there was an issue of principle involved and I acknowledge that Mr Peters as Minister of Maori Affairs with  
Ka Awatea 
 actually was endeavouring to do something for his people in that portfolio. I acknowledge that—absolutely. 
But I sat in this House and watched a Minister of Conservation in the National Government never take responsibility. I saw all sorts of allegations fly around about Ministers and flak-jacket contracts and I saw no proper inquiries made and no one taking responsibility. I saw over three-quarters of a million dollars paid out to get rid of people from the Tourism Board because Mr McCully had fallen out with them. I never saw a resignation. We could go on. 
The same party now wants an execution before an investigation has been made. The same party’s deputy leader was found by a court in this country to have used excessive and unnecessary force against a man—a pensioner—who said he had feared for his life. That deputy leader of the National Party was fined $8500. Another member still sitting on that front bench courtesy of Don Brash was fined for contempt of court. So let us not have it said that there is no honour on this side of the House. There is a great deal of honour on this side of the House. 
Earlier today in question time Dr Brash asked me a question about Mr Tamihere and he quoted from Mr Tamihere’s book—I am so pleased he stays awake at night reading it. He asked whether I had taken any notice of a part in the book where Mr Tamihere said: “One thing I was good at was telling stories some of them less than truthful.” What Dr Brash did not tell the House was that this was something Mr Tamihere said of the time when he was 5 years old. 
Government Members 
: Ha ha! 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Five years old! Who of us wants to be convicted in our mid-40s as Mr Tamihere is of something we thought when we were 5 years old? That kind of pathetic bleating is what we are used to from that Opposition. I say that today Mr Tamihere acted with honour and that I have sat in the past on Opposition benches and I have seen one Minister after another of a National Government act with dishonour. I rest my case.