7. Ministers—Cabinet ManualRt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to the Prime MinisterMinisters—Cabinet Manual7. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Has he required all his Ministers to read the Cabinet Manual; if not why not?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH (Prime Minister): I expect Ministers to be familiar with the Cabinet Manual even if they cannot recite it word for word.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can he confirm that Minister McCully had full Cabinet approval when he co-sponsored United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 denouncing Israel?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: As I have said previously he did not require a specific Cabinet approval for policy that was longstanding New Zealand Government policy.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked for confirmation of Cabinet approval and that answer says he did not require it. I still have not had the answer as to whether he did—whether he required it or not—Mr SPEAKER: No no—[Interruption] Order! On this occasion the question has been addressed with the answer that was given.Rt Hon Winston Peters: No no—can I ask you for a point of clarification? Does that mean that he got approval or he did not?Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Prime Minister addressed the question by saying approval was not required. The way forward now is with further supplementary questions. If the member does not wish to I am happy to move immediately to the next question.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Could the Prime Minister confirm that Mr McCully got approval on that resolution and did the Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage the Hon Maggie Barry nominate Dame Jenny Shipley to chair the committee for the James Cook 250th commemoration in accordance with Cabinet and State services guidelines?Mr SPEAKER: There are two supplementary questions there. The right honourable Prime Minister can address one of them or both.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: The connection between the two seems to me to be tenuous at best but I am happy to go and check up on the matters related to the Hon Maggie Barry's nomination of Jenny Shipley.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Why did this Minister Maggie Barry not advise the Cabinet appointments and honours committee that 6 months before the nomination of Jenny Shipley going before the committee she had already—in writing—promised Dame Jenny Shipley the job?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: As the member may be aware Mrs Shipley was an experienced member of Parliament who would know as well as anyone else that no appointment is confirmed until or unless the Cabinet appointments and honours committee confirms it and then Cabinet confirms it.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is the Prime Minister also unaware that there is a declaration to be made about such a conflict of interest and what is the propriety of this Minister Maggie Barry and the Minister of State Services Paula Bennett giving—and I quote them—exceptional increase" above the daily maximum for this role?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I would be surprised if Mrs Shipley has raised this with the member to speak on her behalf so I am not sure just whose cause he is advocating here. But I am quite happy to check whether all procedures were correctly followed.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek leave to table seven sets of documents and I am happy to outline what they are—it is the evidence.Mr SPEAKER: We will have just a brief description of the seven.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Very brief. The first is a letter and job description dated 13 May 2016 where Maggie Barry makes the offer. The second shows emails between Dame Jenny and the CEO of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage dated 26 May 2016 confirming that the role is subject to the Cabinet appointments and honours committee and would require a declaration from that Minister. The third is a memo to the Minister for Arts Culture and Heritage dated 10 November outlining the appointment process for the "independent chair" including Dame Jenny who was listed at the top not alphabetically—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I just want very brief descriptions.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Fourth is a memo from Minister Barry dated 24 November 2016 to that committee stating specifically that no conflicts of interest on that appointment existed.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Move on very quickly.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Fifth—it gets worse—is from 5 December 2016 and 6 December 2016 between that Minister in contact with Dame Jenny and involving Paula Bennett asking for the per diem to be changed. Sixth is a document dated 7 December from Minister Barry to Paula Bennett lobbying for as I say the exceptional per diem and outlining the gruelling indicative workload she would be forced to endure—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Move to the last one quickly.Rt Hon Winston Peters: No. 7—last but not least—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! I do need some assistance from my right-hand side. Points of order should be heard in silence. Can we have the seventh document please?Rt Hon Winston Peters: Thank you Mr Speaker. They do not like it I know. The seventh and final document is from Minister Bennett to Minister Barry dated 9 December 2016 backing both the exceptional fee and for this fee to be paid on an annual basis like a salary. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Leave is sought to table those seven documents which have been very adequately described. I do not intend to summarise them again for the benefit of the House. Is there any objection to all of those seven documents being tabled? There is not; they can be tabled.Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.David Seymour: How does any of that conduct compare with being sacked from Cabinet three times by three different Prime Ministers?Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is no ministerial responsibility.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! No I will call the member when I am ready.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Mr Speaker—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I will call the member when I have silence on my right-hand side. Point of order—the Rt Hon Winston Peters.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Not only is that statement utterly false but worse still we are not going to take it from a cuckolded puppet.Mr SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat. That is not a point of order. If he wants to take the matter further he is welcome to do it. [Interruption] Order! I will hear—it had better be a point of order—from David Seymour.David Seymour: I take offence at being referred to as a cuck by someone who smoked for 60 years.Mr SPEAKER: I am not going to move on that."