Macindoe TimHon TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West): Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. Well here we are back after a fortnight's adjournment and when I reflect back on that last fortnight what a terrible period it has been for the current Government. We've had Shane Jones with his attacks on Christopher Luxon his attacks on Fonterra at an event that I attended and all sorts of other things. We've had Willie Jackson with his tongue running away with him in an interview for which he was fundamentally ill prepared. And we have had two Ministers who have fallen on their swords either because one has been demoted or because the other has been forced to stand aside. As the last Minister of Customs I have to say I am watching with particular interest what happens with that inquiry.But today of course we are focusing on the other Minister who's in trouble and as the Hon Dr Nick Smith noted a short time ago this is an issue that goes to the very heart and character of the current Government. And so much as the Hon Dr Megan Woods might like to trivialise the importance of this particular issue it is very important. There is a very high threshold that is required for the Speaker to set aside the business of this House and grant an urgent debate. This issue met that threshold and so it behoves the members opposite the members of the Government to engage in the debate and to come up with substantive reasons to defend what their Prime Minister has done. What we've seen though is members either being reluctant to take calls at all or taking very short calls and in some cases speaking totally off the subject.It isn't just once that the Hon Clare Curran has committed a significant indiscretion that is unbecoming of a Minister; she's done it twice. She's done it twice in one calendar year—and as Brett Hudson's mentioned at least twice. This debate highlights the weakness of the current Prime Minister in being able to run a ministry and set and demand the standards that are required of Ministers—well-paid Ministers who must meet a very high standard of public service.In the current Prime Minister's desire to minimise the damage that these incidents have done to her ministry she has failed in her duty to New Zealanders. She has failed to set and enforce high standards. She has failed to insist that the earlier mistake over the Carol Hirschfeld secret appointment that got Clare Curran into trouble in the first instance was unacceptable and must never be repeated.And yet what sort of responses have we had from members opposite? I thought the member for Ōhāriu would take his chance today to really hammer home his audition for a place in Cabinet but instead he produced his best Uriah Heep impression. He wrung his hands he rocked from side to side and he alternately grimaced and chortled but he said absolutely nothing about the Hon Clare Curran and her conduct or her indiscretions.As the member who's looking down knows that Minister has now offended twice in the same year. So why is it that that Minister is still a Minister of the Crown—albeit now outside Cabinet? She's now being paid a lower salary as a Minister outside Cabinet but she's only got half the workload. And I'm here thinking well surely if you've only got half the workload your pay would go down by half as well wouldn't it? But oh no there she still is because the current Prime Minister won't rock the boat any more than she feels is absolutely necessary. I'm left wondering: is the current Labour Party caucus so bereft of talent so bereft of potential that there is nobody else who could do a better job particularly in the role of Minister for open government. I mean it is absolutely bizarre that somebody who held that portfolio should have committed these indiscretions.And as I say we've had the Hon Dr Megan Woods seeking to trivialise the issue and suggesting that the Prime Minister's response was proportionate. Well it was not. This is not good enough. This Government needs to sharpen up quickly tidy up its act set much higher standards show the public that they are focused on dealing with the important issues that they have been charged with as they lead the Government of this country and not lurch from crisis to crisis sideshow to sideshow in a way that totally undermines the confidence that the New Zealand public have in their Government.The debate having concluded the motion lapsed.