Hide Rodney: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Hide Rodney: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:620;Page:15966] 
2.  
RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) 
 to the  
Chairperson of the Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation Committee 
: Did he consult with the committee’s independent specialist adviser outside of the committee meeting over which submitters would appear; if not was the decision on whether Nanaia Mahuta would appear left to the specialist adviser? 
RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER (Chairperson of the Fisheries and Other Sea-related Legislation Committee) 
: 
 Yes. 
Rodney Hide 
: Did the chairperson of the committee advise the committee that he was consulting the specialist independent adviser over whether Nanaia Mahuta would appear? 
RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER 
: No. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Was it the chairperson who decided whether Nanaia Mahuta would appear or was it the specialist adviser? Which? 
RUSSELL FAIRBROTHER 
: The specialist adviser made the decision. The committee first of all selected submitters on the basis of a set of criteria agreed upon then committee members were asked from time to time to forward any additional names. That was done including some from Dr Wayne Mapp. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: If the specialist adviser is making decisions of this magnitude why does the member not just resign from the chairmanship and indeed from Parliament as the people of Napier would have him do? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No that is not relevant to the question. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I raise a difficulty that we have from yesterday concerning today’s answers. Mr Fairbrother was asked by Dr Wayne Mapp whether he had consulted with a specialist adviser. The answer from Mr Russell Fairbrother was: “As much as he consulted with Dr Wayne Mapp.” We have just had an answer that is inconsistent with the answer given yesterday and I suggest through you that the appropriate thing for Mr Fairbrother to do is to immediately take a point of order to explain his answer and to correct it. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: This is a debating matter and not a point for me. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With all due respect to your call that Mr Peters’ question was inappropriate the second part of it may well have been inappropriate but the first part was very relevant. The question asked why this man is staying in the chair of the select committee when clearly he is not the person making decisions about procedures that the select committee follows. It seems that for the chairman of a select committee to say that the decision to hear a particular submitter was made by the adviser and presumably after some plea being made by the adviser to the chair suggests that he is not in control of that committee and it is a fair question to ask why he is still in the chair. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If the member had stopped halfway through the question it would have been in order. He rendered it out of order by what he said after that. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: That being the case I seek leave to re-put the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: All right. The member seeks leave to re-put his question. Is there any objection? There is.