6. Question No. 6—TransportHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of TransportQuestion No. 6—Transport6. Hon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National) to the Minister of Transport: Did Hon Shane Jones discuss with him the potential appointment of Mr Stan Semenoff to the New Zealand Transport Agency board; if so when?Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Transport): Talofa lava Mr Speaker. Last June at an event in Whangarei Minister Jones introduced me to Mr Semenoff and suggested that Mr Semenoff was interested in being on the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) board. I had a brief informal chat with the NZTA chair about it and the matter wasn't taken any further or given any more consideration.Hon Paul Goldsmith: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There were two parts to that question: if so when?SPEAKER: He said in June.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Oh sorry. Fair enough—OK. I got too excited. Can he give the House categorical assurance that this was the only time he or someone from his office discussed the potential appointment of Stan Semenoff with either the Hon Shane Jones or someone from his office?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Yes.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does the fact that he went on to discuss the potential appointment with the chair of NZTA indicate that he thought it was an appropriate suggestion from the Hon Shane Jones and an option worth investigating?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: No.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Then why did he raise the matter with the chair of the NZTA?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: I think it's always prudent to pass on information like that to the chair of the board when there are members who've expressed interest in joining the board.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can I ask the Minister: is Mr Semenoff on the New Zealand Transport Agency board?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: No.Hon Paul Goldsmith: On what date did he discuss the potential appointment with the chair of the NZTA board?Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well there was no potential appointment. I don't have that date to hand but if the member wants to put down a written question I'll try and find it.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he think it's appropriate for a Minister to involve himself in an active NZTA investigation either by questioning the prosecution methods with the CEO or by seeking to have someone under investigation—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Point of order Mr Speaker.SPEAKER: No. We'll wait till the question's finished. If it's a question of whether a question's in order or not—it's a ruling I've made a number of times—I want to hear the question first. So starting again please Mr Goldsmith.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Does he think it appropriate for a Minister to involve himself in an active NZTA investigation either by questioning the prosecution methods with the CEO or by seeking to have someone under investigation put on to the board?SPEAKER: I just want a level of assurance that the member has authentication—I don't want it now—of the fact that the individual was under investigation and the Minister knew it at the time.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Well we don't have any clarity on that. That's what I'm trying to get.SPEAKER: Well the trouble is that the member has made an assumption in his question. I'll give him a chance to reword it.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Would he think it appropriate for a Minister to involve himself in an active NZTA investigation either by questioning the prosecution methods with the CEO or by seeking to have someone under investigation put on to the NZTA board?SPEAKER: The member can answer the first and last bit of the question but not the intermediate bit.Hon PHIL TWYFORD: It's entirely hypothetical.