King Annette: General Debate 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
King Annette: General Debate 
[Sitting date: 27 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:8251. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Labour—Rongotai) 
: 
 “ 
It’s No Way to Run a Country 
” 
— 
“ 
It’s No Way to Run a Country 
”. Well that is the name of the latest big-budget closed-shop crony-ridden feature from this Government. It is being performed by a whole raft of second-rate B-grade actors starring first of all John Key. He is the leading man. He has made his name with performances involving brain fade and shonky deals. You know in Italy they have a comedian who wants to be a Prime Minister and in New Zealand we have a Prime Minister who wants to be a clown. Then we have Bill English. Well he is just a bit player really in this whole play. He takes any role that involves personal rorts. Then we have Steven Joyce. He is the main supporting actor who has his finger and his toes in every action and every deal. Then we have Tony Ryall. He has been chosen for his ability to play any role but he does specialise in pantomime—you know a sort of fairy godmother comes to mind when you think of him. Then we have Hekia Parata. She is a fading star whose career is really over but they are trying to revive her. I have to say that it is a mystery it is a thriller it is a horror it is a tragedy and it is a comedy in slapstick all rolled into one and it is playing right now in your town—and that is this Government. 
You know it is hard to remember a Government that has in such a short time sunk to arrogance cronyism cover-ups and intimidation. Arrogance because Ministers will not meet with people; arrogance because they will not answer their mail; and arrogance because they do not believe the public really matter. Cronyism because the jobs for their mates come thick and fast. And when we get to cover-up the doozies of the cover-up are seen day after day after day. It can be Skycity it can be Contact Energy it can be in any area like Solid Energy or it can be in  
The Hobbit. 
 You name it there are cover-ups. 
Let us just look at some of the dodgy dealing that this Government has been involved in. There have been a lot of terminological inexactitudes told some fabrications and quite a lot of porky-telling going on—you know Skycity. Let us take Skycity. The whole thing has been decided behind closed doors. There has been a case of “nod nod wink wink”. “Nothing to see here.” we are told. Is that not what you say Mr Borrows? A former police officer would know this. “Nothing to see here” they say at the site of an accident “move on move on nothing to see here.” while on the ground we have the bleeding bodies. 
Well of course because of the behaviour of the Prime Minister in this whole area the  
Dominion Post 
 made him the “wally of the week”. Well it was very deserved. Then we get to  
The Hobbit 
—deals deals and dirty deals. 
Then we get to the appointment of Nick Smith as Minister of Conservation. Well he has just announced that he is going to make the decision about the tunnel and the monorail at Milford. I want to know why he has decided to do that. Who is going to benefit from that decision? Why has he decided that the officials in Wellington cannot make that decision but that he as Minister can? Let us just watch this spot because I believe we are going to see more from this area. 
Then we have Mr Ryall the Minister of Health who I have to say really does need to man up and take some responsibility for some of those decisions he has been making for almost 5 years as the Minister of Health. The best he could do today was to say: “Well when they were the Government they did this and that and they should take responsibility.” You cannot have the salary the car and the seat and not take responsibility. 
I have to say I just happened to comment that I thought that under Tony Ryall the health sector had been intimidated into silence. Well you will not believe the number of emails that I have had pouring into my office saying: “You are spot on. You are spot on.” What they have said to me is that there has been pressure at a ministerial level not to release health data. Oh! I wonder why? Does the Government not want the true story out? Might it cast the Government in an unfavourable light? There have been officials hauled over the coals when data has been produced that has led to unfavourable headlines. 
This is a shonky Government that has got a lot to hide and it is hiding a lot.