Peters Winston: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 17 February 2015. Volume:703;Page:1589. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]1.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Does he stand by his statement in regard to Skycity that “I would hate to see some sort of eyesore constructed downtown.”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Yes and the good news is that I do not think that will be the case.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Why did he choose to announce that taxpayer funds may be given to Skycity on 10 February just 1 day before Skycity announced its mid-year results?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I did not; what I did do is not take any options off the table because negotiations had not been completed. I answered questions from I think in the initial instance Corin Dann Television One’s chief political reporter. I guess the difference between my career and his is that I answer the questions and he does not.Mr SPEAKER: Order! That will not help the order of the House.Rt Hon Winston Peters: If that is the case my question is: why did he say “I would hate to see some sort of eyesore constructed downtown.” and make that statement on 10 February—and have full regard for the fact that he controls the press statements from his office not the media itself—when this information was known on 19 December?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Because I would and because I was asked on 10 February.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Has he seen the massive increase in the share price for Skycity as a consequence of his precipitate thoughtless comments and what is he doing as Prime Minister as the epicentre for market manipulation?Mr SPEAKER: The right honourable Prime Minister either of those supplementary questions.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: In answer to the first part of the question no.Rt Hon Winston Peters: How many times has he met with Skycity investors and management since they announced on 19 December that they would need more funds?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I would need to check formally with my office to be absolutely 100 percent sure but from memory the only person I have seen from Skycity whom I can recall in that period of time from 19 December 2014 to today was Chris Moller because I saw him in his capacity as head of the cricket.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Is it not a fact that a deal was struck with Skycity weeks ago and well before he made his comments and that part of that deal was to publicly keep all options open until after Skycity’s mid-year results were announced in order to increase Skycity’s share price?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I wish it were true that a deal was done a few weeks ago. It would have saved me last week’s little hassles.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Does the Prime Minister not understand how the market would be influenced by comments from his office and why did he make them having regard to the fact that they were likely to boot the price up as they did by a massive $76 million?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Last week I was asked questions about whether it would be possible in theory for the taxpayer to make some contributions to Skycity on the back of their request. As I said at the time I am not taking anything off the table. In reality a deal was agreed with Skycity on Friday and confirmed by its board over the weekend. That is the sequence of events and that is the way those things happened.Grant Robertson: The board often meets in the weekend.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Well they did on that particular occasion when they needed to get things settled down.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek leave to table a document prepared by FinData on the movement of this share price as a consequence of the Prime Minister’s statements.Mr SPEAKER: It is marginal whether I should even be putting the leave in that it is information that is available to the public but for the benefit of the House and it may be informative I will put the leave and the House can decide. Leave is sought to table those two documents. Is there any objection? There is none. They can be tabled.Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I notice this year you keep making exceptions to a rule that was pretty well established. Those documents are quite public. The point had been made I think during question time so the support of it with a public document is not necessary but the House is not going to decline someone tabling a public document. The purpose of having that come into effect as a sort of Speaker’s ruling was to stop taking the House’s time over stuff that is available to members.Mr SPEAKER: I appreciate the point the member has made. Perhaps at the start of this year I am being too generous with some members. I will have a look at it. The Minister is quite right to point out that information that is not generally available and will inform the House is the sort of information we expect to have tabled. But at the end of the day when I put the leave it is entirely over to any member of the House to object if they do not think the tabling is going to be relevant.Rt Hon John Key: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. For the good order of the House as I said to the House earlier in answer to Mr Peters I will need to check with my office absolutely about Skycity people but I do recall that Peter Treacy was at a function I was at about a week or so ago. I assume he would be included as part of the management. But I will get him the full list.