Jones Shane: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeJones Shane: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 06 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14396. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]4.Hon SHANE JONES (Labour) to thePrime Minister: Does he have confidence in his Ministers?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Hon Shane Jones: Has he advised Minister Joyce to inform Chorus that it has taken its own financial risk and parking up dividends to its owners and managing its own debt is a better option than fabricating to the market a possible insolvency thus hoping to get corporate welfare from the Minister for Economic Development?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am not aware of any conversations that Minister Joyce has had with Chorus. In fact I am now very recently advised that he has not had any conversations with Chorus. But what I can say for the benefit of the member if he is interested is that the Government is now assessing the situation. It is not a matter of whether there is corporate welfare or otherwise. The Government is committed to the long-term build of ultra-fast broadband and in the course of time the Government will assess all of the options available to it and decide what the next course of action is.Clare Curran: Why is he his former Minister Steven Joyce and his current Minister for Communications and Information Technology Amy Adams so surprised at the Commerce Commission’s decision to drop the copper price given that Steven Joyce’s 2011 telecommunications company legislation clearly stated that there would be a 3-year moratorium before the move to a cost-plus model for wholesale copper pricing which the Commerce Commission is now implementing and that Chorus’ first prospectus clearly stated this as a risk as did the regulatory impact statement for the Government’s only 2011 law?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Gosh the member is a long way back these days.Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Point of order—[Interruption] Order! This is a point of order and it will be heard in silence.Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was a very direct question about policy. You ruled the Prime Minister out of order in an earlier answer today and he has now repeated the very thing you had ruled him out of order for in an answer that followed. I ask you to make sure that the Prime Minister adheres to the Standing Orders.Mr SPEAKER: And I will certainly do my best to make sure that the Prime Minister adheres to the Standing Orders. His start of the answer was unsatisfactory. I told the Prime Minister so. The question has now been asked and I invite the Prime Minister to answer it.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly I think it is very fair to say that no one back in 2011 actually predicted that there would be such a dramatic fall in copper prices. In fact my understanding is that the member believed that copper prices would go up not actually go down. So that fall has certainly caught the market by surprise. There were many many analysts who looked at the situation as a result of the legislation that was brought in and in fact at the contract that Chorus signed and not one analyst actually noted that there was a significant likelihood that there would be such a dramatic decrease in the copper price.Clare Curran: I seek leave to table page 204 of Chorus’s first prospectus which clearly sets out its awareness of—Mr SPEAKER: Order! We do not need any more description. I just want to clarify whether that document is clearly available if members want it.Clare Curran: It is an old document. It is difficult to access.Mr SPEAKER: On the basis—[Interruption] I think that members have the ability to access that if they want it.Clare Curran: Can he assure this House that neither Steven Joyce nor his ministry provided any kind of guarantee at the demerger of Telecom that has led Chorus to believe that its profitability would not be adversely affected by the legislated move to cost-plus unbundled bitstream access pricing?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: My advice is that the Minister made no such assurance.Clare Curran: In light of the statement by Chorus yesterday that it would “discuss with the Crown whether Chorus was still a credible UFB partner in the way intended at demerger …” does he believe that all parties—all parties—tendering on the ultra-fast broadband contract did so on an equal footing; if they did not will he sack Steven Joyce as the Minister responsible for that debacle?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: This will come as a huge disappointment to the member but no I will not be sacking Steven Joyce any time soon. It is very important to understand—[Interruption]—any time soon. I am feeling good about it. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Prime Minister now has a right to answer the question.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What the member is clearly demonstrating is that she is not committed to the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband. I really look forward—Clare Curran: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That was a very precise question.Mr SPEAKER: Order! It was not a very precise question. It was quite a long question that included a comment around whether a Minister would retain his job or not.Hon Shane Jones: When Minister Joyce told Parliament: “These new broadband networks will provide an economic step change as we leapfrog many of our competitors …” did he add: “We will probably need to bail out a sharemarket company and twist the regulatory framework of the Commerce Commission.”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think that firstly it is very important to understand that there is no bailout taking place. The Government has a strong commitment to ultra-fast broadband. The Government now has to look at the implications for the ultra-fast broadband programme as a result of the Commerce Commission’s ruling. If the member is basically telling New Zealanders that he does not support the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband that is going to be a great discussion to have in 2014.Hon Shane Jones: Can the Prime Minister assure this House that neither he nor “Mr Fix-it” will—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Can I ask the member to rephrase his question.Hon Shane Jones: Can the Prime Minister and multi-millionaire former businessman—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I now invite the member to ask a question in line with the Standing Orders and if he does not do so this time we will be moving on.Hon Shane Jones: Can the Prime Minister and the Minister for Economic Development assure or guarantee this House that his Government will not bail out this share market company but rather will enforce the contract and not give in to their protestations for corporate welfare?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What I can say is that it is highly likely that the Minister of Communications and Information Technology will have a little more to say about this tomorrow. She is likely to be able to give an indication of how the Government will now try to understand fully the ruling from the Commerce Commission and the possible alternatives and options available. But the Government is committed to ultra-fast broadband. The interesting thing with ultra-fast broadband is that it is going to be rolledout—both through the Rural Broadband Initiative and with fibre—up in that member’s part of the world which happens to be one of the few parts of New Zealand that is actually not going ahead economically at the rate that the Government wants. Actually I just wonder whether next year that member will be strutting his stuff telling the good people of Northland that they do not deserve ultra-fast broadband. If they vote Labour they will be on old technology.Hon Shane Jones: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My area is not actually in the grid that is going to get this broadband outreach.Mr SPEAKER: That is not even remotely accurate as a point of order.