Chauvel Charles: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Chauvel Charles: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Sitting date: 04 April 2012. Volume:679;Page:1644. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
8. 
CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) 
 to the  
Minister of Justice 
: Does she stand by all the answers she has given to questions asked of her to date? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 Yes so long as they are in context and I am not being misquoted.  
Charles Chauvel 
: Why did she tell the House on 21 March that the current rate of breaches of police safety orders is “not anywhere near what anyone else would expect” only to tell the  
Waikato Times 
 today that legislation was needed this year to increase the penalty for such breaches and should the House believe that there is a problem as she told a newspaper today or that there is not a problem as she told the House last month?  
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: Well of course I have been misquoted by the  
Waikato Times 
. What I have here is in fact an email from my office to the  
Waikato Times 
 yesterday advising it what the correct information was. It misquoted it; it has now retracted it and corrected it. 
Charles Chauvel 
: Why did she tell the House yesterday that the inquiry by the Privacy Commissioner relates to “privacy matters in ACC and what has happened to particular emails and other documents. It is not specifically about my office.” yet when Andrew Little asked her directly last Thursday questions about her office such as “When was the email she received … from Michelle Boag concerning Bronwyn Pullar … first printed by … her office?” she declined to answer on the ground that the matter was before the Privacy Commissioner and should the House believe what she said yesterday or last Thursday or both or neither?  
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: Obviously I am right on this matter because Mr Little’s question was regarding a breach of privacy that has been claimed in relation to something in March. That is part of the terms of reference of the Privacy Commissioner’s review so I do not know what is wrong with that.  
Charles Chauvel 
: Why did she tell the House yesterday that as Minister of Justice she has no ministerial authority or responsibility for threatening news media and members of this House with meritless defamation proceedings when she wrote to threaten just such proceedings last Thursday on her official letterhead which describes her as Minister of Justice?  
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: This is too easy: because they are not meritless.  
Charles Chauvel 
: How long will this Minister continue to give inconsistent answers to questions put to her to give spurious excuses to avoid answering inconvenient questions and to try to bully the media and members of this House via threats of meritless defamation proceedings and does she not think that the public expects better from the Minister of Justice?  
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: There are four questions there and most of them insulting. However what I do know is that the public expects members of Parliament to have integrity and courage and it is something that member should think about. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Will the Minister resign if it is found that either she or someone whom she has had authority over was responsible for the leak in question? 
Hon JUDITH COLLINS 
: Of course I would because I have integrity—something that is lacking for some people. I seek the leave of the House to table the email from my office to the  
Waikato Times 
 yesterday with the correct information. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.