7. Foreign Affairs Minister—Statement on Russian Chemical Weapons Attack in SalisburyHon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of Foreign AffairsForeign Affairs Minister—Statement on Russian Chemical Weapons Attack in Salisbury7. Hon TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) to the Minister of Foreign Affairs: Why didn't he condemn the Russian Government for the nerve agent attack in Salisbury in his written statement issued on 6 September?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Minister of Foreign Affairs): Kia ora; tēnā koutou katoa. Sadly the member is mistaken. I did. The statement on 6 September was issued after my return from the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru as an immediate means of expressing support for the UK. The NZ Government's position is clear as emphasised in the subsequent comments to the media. We have consistently supported the United Kingdom in condemning the use of chemical weapons in Salisbury the moment there emerged clear evidence attributing the attack to Russia.Hon Todd McClay: Is it usual practice for the Government to release a holding statement on an area of important international significance then follow it up with a further statement but not proactively release that statement until after questions had been asked by the media almost 24 hours later as the Prime Minister said yesterday.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Alas that member is again mistaken. The reality is I was flying back overnight from Nauru awaiting an impending speech by Prime Minister May in the British House of Commons and we already had a clear idea what we thought it was going to be about but we didn't have her speech. And being like a well-trained lawyer we usually wait for the facts before we beat our gums off.Hon Todd McClay: Why then following his statement did it take an appeal from a British Minister for New Zealand to join other allies to actually condemn Russia for the nerve agent attacks in Salisbury before his Government did so?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Again I think the member is mistaken because I have here—Hon Dr Nick Smith: No he's not. He's exactly right.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No Nick. The member your colleague is mistaken and shouting out every day—SPEAKER: Order! Order! It's Dr Smith.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well he might be a doctor to you but he's a doctor that makes people sick.SPEAKER: No no no no. Be seated—be seated. Now the Deputy Prime Minister knows that that's disorderly—both the comment and the reply to me. He will withdraw and apologise.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I withdraw and apologise sir but there are some doctors that make you well and some make you sick.SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Prime Minister will withdraw—Hon Gerry Brownlee: We'll take five.SPEAKER: I was just about to award some bonus questions to the member's side and he just lost them. The Deputy Prime Minister with withdraw and apologise unreservedly.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I unreservedly withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: Order! Order! The member will resume his seat. The member has one last chance to withdraw in the appropriate form.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: Thank you.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: May I answer the question?SPEAKER: Yes.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Thank you very much; I am indebted to you. The member's mistaken because on this date—on 7 September—the British High Commissioner Laura Clarke was saying this in a tweet: welcome New Zealand's clear and unequivocal support for conclusions of UK investigation and condemnation of Russia's use of chemical weapons." It's all there.Hon Todd McClay: Does he realise that since becoming foreign Minister he's not once criticised Russia in the House before today for anything and why is that?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Sadly the member's getting more mistaken as the questions proceed—13 March: the foreign Minister's office has a mention of Russia in that press statement then—Hon Todd McClay: You had to change that press statement.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No no no no—16 March: the Prime Minister's and Deputy Prime Minister's joint statement also mentioned Russia. Now 22 March—again mention of Russia three times. Then on 29 March the whole press statement was a criticism of what had gone on and 29 March again the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister again mentioned Russia. And then on the 6th we put out the other statement which got the grateful acknowledgment from the British High Commissioner.Hon Todd McClay: Does he now accept that the Russian Government was responsible for the downing of Flight MH370 the hacking of emails from the US Democratic Party interference with the 2016 US presidential elections the poisoning of people on British soil and the funding of anti-establishment movements and some political parties around the world and will he condemn them for these actions? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I can answer the question—SPEAKER: No no the member can't answer the question. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well some of them I can. One of them I can. SPEAKER: No it very clearly does not flow from the original question. There's a whole list of other events unrelated to the primary question. Hon Todd McClay: Point of order. SPEAKER: Does the member want to have another go? Hon Todd McClay: No. I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Thank you Mr Speaker. You're right that the primary question was very clear. The Minister since then has spoken to a number of statements he believes the Government has made—that he is part of—that actually come to all of these issues. I believe it is within—SPEAKER: Can I seek an assurance from the Deputy Prime Minister that the statements that he was referring to do not relate or not all of them relate to the Salisbury attack. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Sir the statements that were in the question are pretty wide. Some of them would be within the ambit of a New Zealand foreign Minister and some are clearly not. For example—SPEAKER: Sorry I just want clarification that the Minister of Foreign Affairs ran through a list of statements that he had issued some of them with the Prime Minister. Were those related to the Salisbury matter or other matters? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Sir I believe they were related to Salisbury. Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Perhaps we could have those papers tabled because it's quite clear that some of those matters referred to occurred before Salisbury. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Speaking to the point of order these have been in the public domain since they were released on the very day. Hon Gerry Brownlee: Well put them on the Table. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No get off your backside and go to them yourself. SPEAKER: Right. Does the member have another supplementary? Question No. 8 Angie Warren-Clark. Angie Warren-Clark: Tēnā koe e Te Mana Whakawā. Kei te Minita o ngā take Energy and Resources: What recent announcements has she made with the review of electricity prices in New Zealand? Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker—sorry. It was a legitimate request before that the Minister referring to papers that he held in the House table those papers. For him to tell us to go and look in the public domain—that's not reasonable. SPEAKER: Well I—Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Speaking to the point of order—SPEAKER: No I'm going to make it absolutely clear. They're press statements. They are in the public domain and I am not going to put leave—as my predecessors have not put leave—for matters which have clearly already been in the public domain. Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister has claimed—and you have accepted—that they only relate to Salisbury. But we have a recollection of the list that he gave some of which refer to matters that occurred before the Salisbury poisoning. So it's not unreasonable that we ask the Minister to table the documents that he was relying on that ultimately led to his not being required to answer a perfectly legitimate question that we would see in the context of his answer using those papers. SPEAKER: And—Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Speaking to the point of order. The complaint is that the press statements refer to matters before Salisbury. I'm afraid sir they do not. I recited as my first evidence a press statement from 30 March. That was as a response to Salisbury and the member's misleading the House in other respects. Hon Gerry Brownlee: That admission sir surely brings the question that the Hon Todd McClay asked into the ambit of this afternoon's proceedings. SPEAKER: No I think it's quite the opposite."