Robertson H V Ross: General Debates 
Robertson H V Ross: General Debates 
[Volume:610;Page:7664] 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The debate in the Chamber is robust. It always has been and always will be and it is good that we have passionate and intelligent debate. But in the immortal words of Tana Umaga: “This isn’t tiddlywinks Ref!” However members should be careful and temperate in their language and not bring the House into disrepute impugn members or behave in a way that will incite disorder. 
DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: Clearly the one standard of membership that is supposed to apply in our community does not apply to the National Party’s own members including Mr English himself that rather benighted Mr Williamson and now Mr McCully. The only message that voters in this country are getting from National is that a party that struggles to manage its own problems and its own affairs would do more than struggle to manage the country. The community in this country certainly will not be supporting them. 
Also I go back to the extraordinary performance of the National Party last week in relation to the great post-conference suspension where the National Party caucus met behind the normal half-closed door that it has and in 10 seconds suspended Maurice Williamson. He was suspended for saying what people throughout New Zealand have been saying and saying out loud. What happened as a result of that suspension is telling. For 2 days in this Chamber the National Party voted 26 votes one vote down. But by Thursday it was voting 27 again because Maurice Williamson just like others before him had passed a proxy over to the party so it could vote its full vote again—the Clayton’s proxy; the imaginary suspension! Beside that behaviour ACT’s behaviour over Donna Awatere Huata looks almost principled. 
After that little shambles along came Murray McCully saying the same sorts of things about ineffectual performance from the so-called leadership of that party—comments not approved by its leadership. What happened to Mr McCully? Nothing happened. Why did he do it? Was it about the great new National-Act coalition the grand coalition of the right? No it was not. Like everything in the National Party it was about self-interest. We have to take only the briefest look at the electoral results to see why Murray McCully wants no ACT candidate to stand against him. 
Government member 
: Why? 
DAVID BENSON-POPE 
: The reason is that Murray McCully is on the slides. Unless he has ACT standing down in his electorate then there will be no Murray McCully in this House. Let me talk about another vulnerability in the form of Richard Worth who is sitting at the back of the Chamber. We know that Richard Worth is extremely worried about this grand new coalition. Richard Worth is the one who will be the sacrificial camel rider for Rodney Hide. Rodney Hide is the one who will be nominated by this great new deal of the right to stand in Epsom. How happy is he? 
I would now like to spend a little bit of time building on what my colleague Rick Barker said about the quality of the membership of this great new “Cabinet” that we have. Clearly we know about the leadership; the leader is Bill English. What portfolio would be given to the poor benighted Bill English? We think it would be Auckland issues. He has put up billboards in the cities while closing offices in his own electorate. Bill English the spokesperson on Auckland issues believes that if Aucklanders want more roading projects then Aucklanders should pay for them. What about Maori Affairs? I think John Carter the party’s current senior whip with a Maori name he is proud of clearly will be the member in charge of Maori Affairs—the one who rings up talkbacks.