2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government's statements policies and actions? And happy 74th birthday to her deputy.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes.Hon Paula Bennett: Does he support an inquiry into Pharmac?SPEAKER: Order! We're going to go back and we're going to say she" because we're remembering who's answering.Hon Paula Bennett: Does she support an inquiry into Pharmac?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister that was made very clear in today's New Zealand Herald where she said that she'd asked health Minister David Clark to look into the issue of early access to new drugs after the pleas made to her yesterday.Hon Paula Bennett: Does she have full support from her coalition partners for the members to vote down a select committee inquiry into Pharmac?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: First of all the select committee is independent of Cabinet as we well know. No instructions were given to those members. They made the same decision that those members made for nine years. If it was such a pressing issue for the last nine years why didn't they do something about it rather than finding a social conscience the moment they received the Opposition benches? Can I just say that the Prime Minister made it very clear that this is not the end of it; she's concerned about these drugs and she's asked her Minister of Health to look into it.Hon Paula Bennett: So does she agree with the Government members of the Health Committee voting yesterday to turn down a request for an inquiry into Pharmac?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I say on behalf of the Prime Minister that we have not had a chance to discuss that as a Cabinet so I can't really represent what Cabinet might think of that other than to say that this is a seriously complex issue. Of the two drugs that were present at the select committee inquiry so to speak yesterday the significant thing is that there are countless other drugs of similar magnitude of equal health and we have to consider the whole lot in tandem and then all together and its potential costs. But we remember the Keytruda argument. Do you remember that? The National Party did nothing about it at all until the last moment.Hon Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Just reflecting on the question that the member asked is it now acceptable for the Prime Minister to be questioned on the actions of members of Parliament who are not part of the executive?SPEAKER: And the answer to that is no and I should have stopped the question. My apologies.Hon Paula Bennett: Based on her answer does she believe it is fair and reasonable for New Zealanders to currently have to travel to Australia to get the care and the drugs and the access that they need?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister given that that's what they'd been doing for the nine years that the National Party was in Government the real issue is—[Interruption] For the nine years that the National Party was in Government they had to do all that and more with a substantially reduced health budget which is not the case for this Government. Let me say that because of that—this Government having a sense of conscience and fairness—it's going to be looking into the matter.Hon Paula Bennett: Is she aware that in a previous Labour-led Government New Zealanders were having to travel to Australia just to get access to the care they needed for cancer; now they have to travel to Australia to get access to the drugs?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Can I just say that this Government—as the Prime Minister has said and I'm speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister now she's going to ask her Minister of Health to look into it. But I want to say this on behalf of the Prime Minister as well: there's nothing so dreadful or turgid or despicable as to use people's illness and sickness for political points.Hon Paula Bennett: Does she not think that an inquiry into Pharmac through the select committee would actually mean that the issues that she is raising in her answers in this House today could be explored through that very inquiry?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Again on behalf of the Prime Minister if that was the case and it had merit why for nine long years didn't the National Party do something about it? It suggests that maybe an inquiry's not the best way to go about it. Maybe something of greater immediacy within the Minister of Health's office might be the way to go about it and that's what the Prime Minister has asked him to look at.Hon Paula Bennett: Why did her Government not reinvest the $200 million of savings made by Pharmac back into new medicines in last year's Budget?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well first of all—Hon Gerry Brownlee: Whoops!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No it's not a whoops case; it's a "let me remind you" case. Pharmac is independent of Government. That's the whoops Mr Brownlee. That member doesn't know that but we do. So they are budgeting internally themselves and we're taking that advice. It doesn't mean though that we don't keep alongside of them in terms of their future needs and the Minister of Health as he is will consciously go about that in a way that never happened with his predecessors.SPEAKER: Supplementary question the right honourable Rev. David Clark.Hon Dr David Clark: Is the—[Interruption]—thank you Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: Or maybe not right honourable; just ordinary honourable.Hon Dr David Clark: Is the Prime Minister aware that the combined pharmaceuticals budget was a record $985 million last year and that it will not be reduced as a consequence of any savings?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister not only is she aware of it she remembers the gruelling grinding pathway of success of that Minister of Health in a very difficult Minister of Finance's office environment to get that magnificent outcome.Hon Paula Bennett: Does she believe in a democratic process that sees all parties in Parliament involved in making a decision into an inquiry about a Government agency?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Again on behalf of the Prime Minister if an inquiry was the best way to go why for nine years under the National Party was there no inquiry? Why? Well it may be that there's a more immediate way to respond. [Interruption] No shouting and screaming in Parliament doesn't attend to this matter.Hon Gerry Brownlee: It wasn't a problem.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: It wasn't a problem? Well the Pharmac funds were far less then than they are now. It was a big problem back then—no inquiry. We think the way that the Minister of Health is going about it is the best way to go in responsible Government and that's what we're going to do.Hon Paula Bennett: Does she have any concerns about the decision-making process of Pharmac?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well on behalf of the Prime Minister the decision-making process of Pharmac has been there for decades now never required to be challenged. Never was there an inquiry in the 24 years since it was established. So why all of a sudden in 2019 does it become of a pressing interest other than that it is being used as a tool and the victims of health funding are used as a tool for nefarious malicious political purposes?SPEAKER: Order! Order! I just want to remind the Deputy Prime Minister speaking for the Prime Minister that he is speaking for the Prime Minister and to ask him to use the voice and language of the Prime Minister and I think he's getting a bit far away from it.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. If I could do that I'd be the Prime Minister!SPEAKER: Yes and some of us notice an improvement most of the time!Hon Paula Bennett: Does she believe that the process of decision making by Pharmac at this time is a good one?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister I think we'd all admit that every organisation needs to constantly review and examine its processes to see that they have best practice in the current time and I would believe that that's what Pharmac is doing for themselves right now.Hon Paula Bennett: As she has stated in the House today that she does not believe that there should be an inquiry does she stand by her reply to media in February? When asked whether she would block an inquiry into Pharmac she said "Absolutely not." and further said "I hope they would." And if so was she aware her Government members in the Health Committee were going to block an inquiry?SPEAKER: That's not an area she has responsibility for.Hon Paula Bennett: Why doesn't her Government put the money that is needed into Pharmac so these people can get the care they deserve in New Zealand?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister let me say that the Minister of Finance is dealing with a set of circumstances of an inherited economy that wasn't performing. We are seeking to turn it around—we are seeking to turn it around. We are seeking to grow the economy so that we can better afford First World drugs but we can't do it all overnight. Look at the last nine years of the National Party: they couldn't average even 1.5 percent for those nine years.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker I'd ask you to have a look at the question that was asked and the ruling that you made on the one supplementary prior to the last one. The supplementary as I heard it certainly was asking for the Prime Minister to comment on a statement that she had made and then asked her what her opinion was on actions of her colleagues in light of her public statements. It seems odd to say she has no responsibility for her own statements and then odd to say that the leader of the Labour Party has no responsibility for her members.SPEAKER: The member will resume his seat. The first thing to do is remind him of Speakers' ruling 20/3 as to the timeliness of interventions. He's too slow in this particular case; it has to be taken up immediately. The second point I'll make to him is that the core of the question went to a select committee proceeding for which the Prime Minister has no responsibility.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Three legs to a question.SPEAKER: Well if you get one wrong you lose it.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Oh—new rule.SPEAKER: Does the member want to withdraw and apologise voluntarily or—Hon Gerry Brownlee: I withdraw and apologise.I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker your reference to the timeliness of taking a point of order I think is somewhat unreasonable given that it's never something people want to do disrupting the flow of a question. I deliberately left it to the end and I didn't ask for anything turned back or anything else simply that you might have another look at it. I don't think that was unreasonable nor was it untimely.SPEAKER: Well we differ."