1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterRt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Mālō e lelei Mr Speaker. Does he stand by all his Government's statements and actions?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes particularly continuing Labour's work which began in September 2021 on AUKUS Pillar Two with the help of the honest Hon Andrew Little's endorsement.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Who is correct: Mark Mitchell who said on Newstalk ZB this morning that the Government would keep the firearms registry as it is or Nicole McKee who said The full category A licensing regime is not going to be effective it's going to be too costly and it's going to make people fearful of their safety."?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The reality is that the final product has yet to be produced and Ministers and the Cabinet are working on those. When that's complete we'll be delighted to answer you in full.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: So was Mark Mitchell incorrect when he said that the Government would be keeping the firearms registry as it is?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: One more time: the Cabinet alongside the Ministers in charge of this legislation is working on it at this point in time. We're hearing submissions; we're taking as wide as possible a look at this in the interests of New Zealand's long-term safety and not trying to make cheap political points out of it on the way through.Hon Mark Mitchell: Point of order Mr Speaker. If the Leader of the Opposition is going to come to the House and quote members then he has to have an accurate quote. He can't make things up and his last question was made up—quite simply I didn't say that.SPEAKER: No sorry I think the point has always been with supplementary questions that there might be—if he said it was a quote he simply asked if someone was right. The assertion is enough in a supplementary question. So we'll ask it again.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: I think we've already moved on from that question Mr Speaker. I was up to my next one but I'm happy to go back and repeat it again if you would like.SPEAKER: No no.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Why won't he say that the Government won't be changing the firearms register given every party in Parliament except the ACT Party voted in favour of it and his party the National Party—to the Prime Minister—indicated before the election it would keep the firearms register?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: One more time: it's been a longstanding habit of members of this side of the House to as Phil Collins said hear both sides of the story. We're finding out what that is and when we know what both sides of the story are in the interests of New Zealand's long-term safety we seek to make the right decision and not to cheaply politicise what was a disastrous event.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Does he agree with his soon to be Deputy Prime Minister's refusal to rule out leaving the coalition over the so-called Treaty Principles Bill and if so what measures will he take to avoid the coalition collapsing?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: It would be not respectful or democratic of me to seek to answer on behalf of the person the Minister he's talking about.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker. He is answering on behalf of the Prime Minister. He can't say that it wouldn't be respectful for him to answer on behalf of the Prime Minister when that is his job.SPEAKER: Well I would ask the Leader of the Opposition to think carefully about his question because what the Prime Minister just responded was that he wouldn't speak for the other party to the question. I'm sorry to be sort of slightly obtuse but I don't want to go into the details of your question. Why don't you have another crack at it?Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Well I'm being pretty generous.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Oh so you're happy for me to have another go without a penalty on supplementaries?SPEAKER: Yeah that's right.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Oh in that case excellent. Does he agree with the soon to be Deputy Prime Minister's refusal to rule out leaving the coalition over the so-called Treaty Principles Bill; if so what will he as Prime Minister do to avoid that?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: As I said before it would not be respectful or democratic for me to seek to answer on behalf of another party's leader. But I can say in comparison with a previous coalition I was in 2017 to 2020 at this present time what you see over this side of the House is the epitome of harmony.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Just another day in paradise is it? Supplementary Mr Speaker. [Interruption]SPEAKER: Just a minute—a little bit of order would be good.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Will he support a second reading of the Treaty Principles Bill immediately following the first given he has already said that he won't support the second reading meaning the select committee hearing would be a waste of time and money and in his own words be divisive?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I just say on behalf of the Prime Minister this is in a document called the coalition document of the last election's decision which has been out now for over seven months. I'd invite him and his ministerial colleagues babbling away now because they know he's in difficulty—he can't even ask questions properly—and I'd invite the people in the gallery up there to go and read the coalition agreement and stop wasting Parliament's time. [Interruption]SPEAKER: When you're ready.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Does he agree with Shane Jones who said "the Treaty of Waitangi principles bill will not be voted for by New Zealand First [after its] introduction [to] Parliament"; Christopher Luxon who said National will pursue a Treaty principles bill to select committee and that's as far as it will go; or David Seymour who said he won't believe the Prime Minister won't "change his mind if the public really wants it"?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: It's clearly in the coalition agreement but I think one is entitled to believe that despite all of the previous statements if there was prevailing compelling evidence to change one's mind as a famous economist once said: "When the facts change I change my mind. What do you do?" However in this case we take the view of the most learned Māori or dare I say it a lawyer to come to this Parliament who got a degree in two years flat and in 1922—102 years ago—he set out what Māori then believed and which we believe today unlike these new people who decide in their woke manner like Willie Jackson all over the place. He doesn't even stand up for the greatest leader Ngati Porou ever had and decides he knows better. No sir. We're going to stick with a man called Ngata Pōmare Buck and a famous guy who's Deputy Prime Minister in my position all those years ago—there's only two of us mind you—and he said the same. [Interruption]SPEAKER: That's enough. Hang on—just a minute. If we're going to have that sort of barrage when a question is being answered to a question that was asked then we'll revert to silence very very quickly.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: So is the Prime Minister indicating—as he seems to have in his last answer—that he's open to changing his mind on the second reading of the Treaty Principles Bill?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: What I was enunciating is what the Prime Minister said in the coalition agreement as did we. But I did offer the opinion that sometimes—and I don't think it will happen in this case of course obviously—you do have a faint hope that others might have it right. But in the examples that I've given that will not happen at this point in time. You know why? Because the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi according to Peter Buck and Pōmare and dare I say it Carroll and dare I say it the genius Ngata who got a law degree in two years flat—a record for any student in this country in law—there are no principles to the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1987 five judges wrestling over the Lands case—Chlöe Swarbrick: Ha ha!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I know why that member's laughing: because she knows nothing about the law. But in 1987 the basis on which this is given—the Lands case—those five judges couldn't agree either. So stop coming here with your unlearned humbug.Hon David Seymour: Is the Prime Minister aware of the Deputy Prime—SPEAKER: You might like to address your lapel.Hon David Seymour: Oh my apologies Mr Speaker. I'll now address you. Is the Prime Minister aware of the Deputy Prime Minister's favourite legal scholar in the Māori world?SPEAKER: Well it's a long way wide of the wicket so I could probably answer it for you.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I say I know what the member expects as an answer? But no it's not me. In this case it's a famous man who I would have thought that side there would admire called Ngata who gained a presence around all of Māoridom for his legal esteem and his knowledge about the history of this country.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: If David Seymour won't take him at his word that he won't support the second reading of the Treaty Principles Bill and the acting Prime Minister has indicated that he—the Prime Minister—is open to changing his mind on it why should New Zealanders believe what he's saying on the Treaty Principles Bill?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I can't answer that question other than say—and I'm probably speaking for Mr Seymour—it's in the Good Book: hope springs eternal.Rt Hon Chris Hipkins: Point of order Mr Speaker. The acting Prime Minister answering on behalf of the Prime Minister cannot stand up and say that he cannot speak on behalf of the Prime Minister. It is his job. That is why he is here.SPEAKER: He didn't say that. He said he can't answer the question which is a reasonable response and then offered the hopeful position that hope springs eternal. So work out from that what you want."