Robertson Grant: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Robertson Grant: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:677;Page:399] 
3. 
GRANT ROBERTSON (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he stand by all the answers he gave to oral question No. 6 yesterday? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes. 
Grant Robertson 
: When did he first learn that his communications manager had drafted an email for Radio Live to send to the Electoral Commission and had rewritten the brief for the Prime Minister’s hour show drafted by Radio Live?  
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I answered the first part of the question at question No. 6 in question time yesterday and in answer to the second part of the question he did not rewrite it. He made a minor technical tweak. 
Grant Robertson 
: When did he first learn that his communications manager had said after receiving the Electoral Commission opinion on the show that “… they have been pretty clear about putting the responsibility on the broadcaster which is useful.”? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: At question No. 6 in question time yesterday. 
Grant Robertson 
: Is he seriously asking New Zealanders to believe that he undertook the Prime Minister’s hour show without any knowledge of whether he might break the law? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: The member is missing the point—that is the purpose of the broadcaster getting an opinion from the Electoral Commission on whether it broke the law. I am not in any doubt that I have not broken the law. 
Grant Robertson 
: Does he still think this is “a matter between the Electoral Commission and the broadcaster” given the extent of involvement of he and his office in selecting the guests for the show rewriting the brief for the show and drafting an email for Radio Live to send to the Electoral Commission or is he just hoping New Zealanders might not know these facts? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Absolutely I am convinced it is a matter between the broadcaster. There was a tweak to the application to the Electoral Commission primarily because when Radio Live wrote it it actually stated the Electoral Finance Act which you may know the previous Government repealed on 29 September. With all of the emails that the member got yesterday he forgot to mention it sent my office all the scripts I was meant to read out. The facts of life are that this was a gig for Radio Live it asked me to go on and the reason the Labour Party is so grumpy is not that it thinks it is a breach but that Radio Live would not give its former guy a go. If Labour thought it was so illegal why was it begging on hands and knees for Radio Live to give Phil Goff a show? 
Grant Robertson 
: Why did the Prime Minister not come to the House and correct the answers he gave yesterday as soon as he found out that they were not correct in line with Speaker’s Ruling 179/3? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: My answers were absolutely correct yesterday— 
Chris Hipkins 
: Just say sorry! 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: What would be nicer would be if they said sorry for 9 years of economic mismanagement. [ 
Interruption 
] If they want to say sorry they could add to that the fact that the country has had negative exports for years. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I would ask the Prime Minister to come to the point he is trying to make in response to questioning. I think we have had enough of the other stuff. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: In answer to the questions I was asked yesterday by the member I said “Not to the best of my knowledge.” That is absolutely correct. I was not even aware these emails existed until I heard about them yesterday.