Martin Tracey; Williams Poto; Bennett DavidHon TRACEY MARTIN (Minister for Children): I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. I realise it's late and that member is tired [Interruption] but that has absolutely nothing to do with—[Interruption] CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Thank you. I thank the member—[Interruption] No—thank you. Everybody just sit down please. No no just sit down. I'm going to rule on that point of order. I'm just going to say I was actually letting the member's time run out and then just bringing the committee back to order. I think you're right; it is late and it is also important that we have a little bit of levity. We've been at this all day today so I was allowing for that to happen. Now we're going to bring the committee back to order. I'm sorry Mr Bennett your time has actually expired.Hon DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East): I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. It's a common theme of the New Zealand First Party that when they feel attacked they breach a speech with a point of order.CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Is this a point of order?Hon DAVID BENNETT: Yes it is a point of order. And they constantly do that when they feel that they're being attacked. They use the point of order process to break a speech and especially a fine speech that was going along well. So that member over there needs to withdraw and apologise. Now I don't normally ask for that.CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Order! Order! Order! Mr Bennett that is not for you to determine. [Interruption] Please Mr Bennett will you resume your seat. I am on my feet. Now you will stand withdraw and apologise for that gross disrespect of my position in the Chair.Hon David Bennett: I withdraw and apologise.CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Thank you very much.Hon Todd McClay: I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson.CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): No just a moment. You made a point of order Mr Bennett and actually what you ended up doing was creating disorder. You cast aspersions on what is actually a very useful process in this Chamber. Everyone has the opportunity and the right to make a point of order. When you make frivolous points of order that brings the House into disrepute. Now I allowed you some levity because it is late and it's a good way for the committee to express and actually let off a bit of steam but it will stop.Hon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua): I raise a point of order Madam Chairperson. In defence of my colleague it's not that he did that purposely; it's just that he's from Hamilton! But my actual point of order goes to the heart of what just happened there. When we have a committee stage it is free ranging.CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): It is not free ranging.Hon TODD McCLAY: Sorry it is free ranging in as far as seeking information from the Government firstly. Secondly in this committee stage it is the only opportunity we have to question the Minister and indeed we can't question officials because it is not the full parliamentary process; we're in urgency. The point that David Bennett was making was absolutely correct. He had posed questions and was still giving examples as to why they were important and was about to bring it back to that question. We do need an answer to that. The point of order is that when a member comes into the Chamber towards the end of an intervention like that and takes a point of order and accuses the member of being tired because it's late—CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Now I've already ruled on all of these matters Mr McClay.Hon TODD McCLAY: Well that is correct; you have on that one. But the point that I'm making is we may well be here seeking questions and answers from these Ministers for an extended period of time this evening because this is our only opportunity. I would ask you to perhaps tell the committee if it is appropriate for a member to come to disrupt the flow of another member particularly so late at night when one's breath smells of mouthwash.CHAIRPERSON (Poto Williams): Thank you Mr McClay. Thank you Mr McClay. Now I'll make myself very clear. I am the arbiter of these decisions. What you have done is you've also called into order my ability to manage the committee. Now what I'm saying very clearly what I said very clearly to the Hon Tracey Martin was that I was allowing that member's time to run out so I did not continue to rule on that point of order. So we are now going to get back to the matter at hand and I'm going to call the Hon Iain Lees-Galloway.