Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Mallard Trevor: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:653;Page:2150] 
3. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
 to the  
Chairperson of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee 
: Did he invite the Minister for ACC to attend the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee on the 2007/08 ACC financial review; if so when? 
DAVID BENNETT (Chairperson of the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee): 
 I agreed that the Minister should attend the committee meeting and Labour members would have got much value out of his attendance. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I need to be able to hear the member’s question. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The key part of the question was “when” and it was not addressed. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think in reasonableness the member has a supplementary to pursue that matter if he wants to pursue it. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. This is a primary question. It has been submitted through the Clerk’s Office and it has been approved. It asks the question in two parts: was the Minister invited and if so when? These are the standard questions that are asked all the time so to have only half the question answered and for you to say that that is all right means there is no point lodging questions in the first place. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: As Speaker I have to be seen to be reasonable and fair. I allowed two supplementaries from the member asking questions that strictly did not comply. I allowed them in the interests of enabling the Opposition to pursue the issue of accountability of the chair of the select committee. On this one I think there is the opportunity to pursue the issue further with a supplementary and I invite the member to do so. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. We are on question to member No. 3 now; the decisions you made about question to member No. 2 should not impact on question to member No. 3 in any way whatsoever. Mr Mallard has lodged question No. 3— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member is questioning my ruling. Look if I applied the Standing Orders rigidly during question time we would not get very far. I allow latitude to try to keep it flowing. As I say on the previous two questions to the member I could have ruled out both supplementaries. The answer I heard from David Bennett I thought was reasonable. The member if he was not happy with that answer has the chance to pursue it; he has a further supplementary. I invite the member to ask it so that he can pursue the issues concerning him. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It goes back to the point before the one that my colleague was making and it goes to the responsibility of the select committee chair. You made it clear Mr Speaker that the process around the select committee is the responsibility of the select committee chair. Part of that process is ensuring that the proper person is invited to the committee and that when a response comes it is properly made available to the committee. Mr Speaker you have indicated your prejudice around this third— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will resume his seat right now and if the member wishes to pursue this issue—I see that he has a real keen interest in it; that is fair enough—he will now ask his supplementary. He can make it as tight and sharp as he likes and I will listen carefully to the answer. But if he wishes to ask it he should ask it now. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Point of order— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If the member is going to— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Point of order— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I just warn the member that if he is going to relitigate my ruling he will be leaving the Chamber and will not be asking a supplementary. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Well Mr Speaker I want to make it clear that you indicated that you had taken into account responses to questions to member No. 1 and No. 2— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will resume his seat now! I indicated that I had taken into account the fact that the member’s questions did not strictly comply with the Standing Orders. That is what I took into account. I allowed them because I wanted the flow and I wanted the member to have the chance to question the chair of the committee. I have invited the member to ask his question. If he does not ask his question he will be leaving the Chamber and will not be back for the rest of the day. Either he asks his question or that is it. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: It is a close call Mr Speaker and I will; the whips do not quite agree with you Mr Speaker. Going back to the member’s original answer I ask how he reconciles that answer with the comments that Dr Smith made which were reported in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 and the  
Press 
 and on Radio New Zealand that he was invited to that—I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Is the chairman of the committee allowed to get advice from the whip while I am asking the question? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will resume his seat. Look I invited the member to ask his question; I believe that he is trifling with the procedures. Of course the chair can talk to whomever he likes in this Chamber and that is not a matter of order. I am very tempted to say that the member has lost his chance to ask this question because I consider it is trifling. I am very serious; I say to the honourable member that he has tested me as absolutely far as it is possible to go. He will ask his question now clearly with no preface—dead simple dead clear—or he is going. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: How does the chair reconcile his answer with the comments of Dr Smith reported in the  
New Zealand Herald 
 and the  
Press 
 and on Radio New Zealand that he Mr Bennett invited Dr Smith to the meeting? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: It was agreed that the Minister should attend the meeting and I think that the Labour members got a lot of value out of his attendance at that meeting especially with the accident compensation scheme being such a political issue at the time.