1. Charter Schools—Ministers' Conflicts of InterestHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSCharter Schools—Ministers' Conflicts of Interest1. Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government's policies? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes. Hon Paula Bennett: Can she verify that the first project to be funded under its regional development fund—reported to be announced this Friday—has gone through the right cost-benefit analysis and probity checks given that no funding approval process has been published yet? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Obviously we'll be making those announcements on Friday. I know the member will be as eager as particularly members of our local government community are and I can assure the member an appropriate process has been applied. Hon Paula Bennett: In light of her answer to oral question No. 1 yesterday regarding whether her Ministers have appropriately declared any conflicts of interest with the Cabinet Office in relation to charter schools that Certainly on every occasion that it's been raised with me—a specific case—I've been assured by Ministers that the meetings they've undertaken have been specific to their portfolio" what have been those instances and what declarations were made? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: The instances in which they've been raised have predominantly been in this House and in those cases the Ministers have talked about the subject matter that pertained to those meetings or in the case of Mr Davis he spoke about representing the Northland region as an MP at the time of the meetings that he had. Hon Paula Bennett: Is she then satisfied that all of her Ministers have appropriately declared all conflicts of interest with the Cabinet Office in relation to charter schools and that there have been no other conflicts that have not been declared? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Certainly that is my expectation of Ministers—as it will have been for every past Government—because of course we are all obliged to follow the Cabinet Manual. Hon Paula Bennett: Given the Cabinet Manual makes it clear that perceived conflicts of interest should be managed in the same way as actual conflicts is she satisfied that all of her Ministers have declared any perceived conflicts of interest to the Cabinet Office in relation to charter schools? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Our Ministers in question have spoken openly about the meetings they've had the basis on which those meetings have been had and the content of those meetings. They've made it public here let alone being required to declare that with the Cabinet Office. They've made it public here in this House which is incredibly important as well. I will point out that these are also Ministers who have been accused of not engaging with those schools and then on the flip side have been accused for then engaging with them. Hon Paula Bennett: Has she checked in the last two weeks around conflicts of interest with the Cabinet Office about her Ministers? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: My expectation is that every conflict of interest is advised. The very question implies that I don't have confidence in my Ministers and I do. Hon Paula Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It's the third question in a row that I've asked that hasn't been answered. I did—very precise there. SPEAKER: Yes and I've been listening very carefully to the questions. I've been looking very carefully at the primary question and thinking very carefully about the answer to that and the second supplementary and I think I've been quite liberal in allowing any of them. They have been addressed. Hon Paula Bennett: So does that mean that you'll allow me to ask the questions but the Prime Minister doesn't actually have to answer them? SPEAKER: What it does mean is that the Prime Minister has more latitude in addressing the questions if they're at the margins of being in order or not and—in this case I think—slightly outside. I have been kind to the member in letting her ask them but I'm not going to be tight on the Prime Minister when she clearly did address them even if she did not supply an answer that satisfies that member. Hon Paula Bennett: Has the Prime Minister checked with the Cabinet Office about conflicts of interest about her Ministers in the last two weeks? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: As I've said I've seen no need because they have spoken openly about the status in which they have engaged with those schools. None of the Ministers that they've questioned on the other side of the House have any responsibility for charter schools. Hon Paula Bennett: In light of paragraph 2.60 of the Cabinet Manual which states "Ministers should avoid situations in which they or those close to them gain remuneration or other advantage from information acquired only by reason of their office." why has she allowed her Associate Minister of Education to continue to meet with partnership schools in their electorate? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: That is an accusation that I would defend my Minister against. He has no direct responsibility for charter schools. He is not involved in the negotiation of charter schools and the documents that have been asked about here are public.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can the Prime Minister—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! Order! There were four interjections from the Opposition after I called the Deputy Prime Minister. They lose two supplementaries. They're lucky to only lose two.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can the Prime Minister assure the country that she takes these questions of conflict of interest very seriously seeing their origins come from a party that has conflicted offshore onshore in the boardroom and outside?SPEAKER: No. No that's—Rt Hon Winston Peters: What's wrong with that?Hon Gerry Brownlee: Point of order.SPEAKER: No the member will resume his seat. The Deputy Prime Minister's asked what's wrong with it. It involves an area that has no responsibility. The questions from the Opposition are not the responsibility of the Prime Minister.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You took two supplementaries off us for some response that you observed from us the moment the Rt Hon Winston Peters stood up to ask a question of the Prime Minister.SPEAKER: No when he started asking it.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I beg your pardon?SPEAKER: When he started asking it.Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well I'm not sure that that was the timing but I'm not disputing the decision you made. I'm simply asking you to accept that that type of reaction is likely when it's easy to anticipate that the Deputy Prime Minister is going to offer some complete irrelevance trying to distract from the situation the Prime Minister's in. SPEAKER: Well I just ask the member to try and control himself and his team.David Seymour: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You know and the Deputy Prime Minister well knows that under Standing Order 120 it's unparliamentary to make an improper reflection on the motives of a member which he clearly did in that question. I ask that he be required to withdraw and apologise for that question. SPEAKER: And that's a matter of judgment for me and my judgment is he did not.Hon Tim Macindoe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Given that the barracking from the New Zealand First benches was louder when the Rt Hon Winston Peters asked his question did you take that into account when you made your decision about the National Party's supplementary allocation?SPEAKER: Well as the member knows my hearing is much better in my right ear than my left ear and I heard a lot of barracking from the left and saw at least four members barracking from my left. As I indicated I thought the National Party were relatively lucky to lose only two supplementaries. And I did not hear the noise from my right. David Seymour: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I accept your ruling that Standing Order 120 was not engaged. However I do take offence at the inference and on that basis ask that the Deputy Prime Minister be required to withdraw and apologise. SPEAKER: Order! Order! No. The member cannot take offence on behalf of others. And I do want to remind David Seymour that his points of order in the last couple of weeks—or this week and last week—have come very close to trifling with the Chair. He's suffered some punishment for it. I just hope that he could learn from his lessons. David Seymour: I'm sorry but I have to be clear that I'm taking personal offence not on behalf of anybody else. SPEAKER: Well to take personal offence the member has to be mentioned and he wasn't."