1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterHon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her statements and actions?Hon KELVIN DAVIS (Minister for Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti) on behalf of the Prime Minister: E kōrero ana ahau mō Te Pirimia. Āe ka whakapūmau i tana whakaatutanga i te ata nei. Ā te tau 2022 ka whakaakongia te hītori o Aotearoa kei roto i ngā kura katoa. E pēnei ana tana korero: i whakarongo mātou ki ngā karanga o te motu; he mea tika kia whakamōhio ai tātou i tō tātou hītori me ō tātou tuakiri. Nō reira he mea tika kia mōhiotia whānuitia kei roto i Te Marautanga o Aotearoa me whakaakongia aua hītori hei wāhanga o te marau ā-rohe me te marau ā-kura kei roto i ia kura puta noa i te motu.[I am speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister. Yes she stands by her announcement this morning. By the year 2022 the history of New Zealand will be taught in all schools. Her statement is: we listened to the call of the country; it is appropriate that we are made aware of our history and our identity. So it is right that it should be widely known in the New Zealand Curriculum those histories should be taught as a part of the local curriculum and school curriculum in every school all across the country.]Hon Paula Bennett: Does she still stand by her statement that the first she knew of the sexual assault allegations against her staff member was when The Spinoff ran an article on it on Monday despite the fact that she was asked about those allegations by the media five weeks ago?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ka tū pūmau Te Pirimia ki āna kōrero katoa.[The Prime Minister stands by all her statements.]Hon Paula Bennett: Does she believe in a victim-led response involving specialists in dealing with sexual abuse to help with the sorts of situations involving her staff member?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Āe.Hon Paula Bennett: Will she be calling in specialist services to help with the process that's been handled so badly so far?SPEAKER: Order! The member has just reflected on me. She will ask the question without the reflection.Hon Paula Bennett: Will she be calling in specialist services to help with the situations that are currently happening and making sure that the process is better than it has been previously?Hon Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has no responsibility for the question that Paula Bennett has just asked.SPEAKER: Well there's no responsibility for the answer I think the member means. Paula Bennett further question.Hon Paula Bennett: I'm not sure what that means. Can she state in the House today that she will ensure that a victim-led response will happen when there are incidences of sexual assault?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ko te hiahia a Te Pirimia kia tautokongia rātou kua tūkino ai kua whakapae kua tūkino āe i ngā wā katoa.[The Prime Minister's desire is that all those who have been assaulted or allege that they have been assaulted be supported always.]SPEAKER: Order! Order! I'm going to ask the Minister to start his answer again for I don't think any of the members are I think—I do want to make it clear to the House that because of the late night and the fact that some of us didn't get home last night there's one set of hearing aids that never got their charge. But I think all members are suffering from a hearing problem at the moment through the lack of interpretation so I'm therefore going to ask the Hon Kelvin Davis to start the answer on behalf of the Prime Minister again.Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ko te hiahia a Te Pirimia kia tautokongia rātou e whakapae ana kua tūkinohia rātou.[The Prime Minister's desire is that those who allege they have been assaulted be supported.]Hon Paula Bennett: Has she asked senior staff in her office why they did not inform her of the various serious allegations around her staff member?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ko tēnei kaupapa he kaupapa mō te pāti hei whakatikatikangia.[This matter is for the party to address.]Hon Paula Bennett: Does she agree with the statement of the deputy leader of the Labour Party the Hon Kelvin Davis who stated in the House yesterday that these allegations were all based on rumour?Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ko aua whakapākehātanga o aua kōrero e āhua rangirua ana i te mea ngā kupu Māori horekau he tikanga kotahi mō wētahi o ngā kupu pērā i te kupu whakapae" pērā i te kupu "kōhimuhimu".[Those translations of those words are somewhat confused because Māori words don't have one single meaning for some of those words for example the word "whakapae" and the word "kōhimuhimu".]Hon Paula Bennett: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I'm sorry I think maybe the translation then as well was quite unclear and I just ask if we could perhaps even have the translation again so that I just understand for a follow-up question.Hon Shane Jones: Speaking to the point of order so I can provide some direction just because you hear rumours—Hon Gerry Brownlee: No that's not a point of order.SPEAKER: Order! Who interjected then?Hon Gerry Brownlee: I did.SPEAKER: Stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I withdraw and apologise. Point of order.SPEAKER: No. I'm hearing one.Hon Shane Jones: Sir this is the week of Te Reo Māori and just because you hear the word "accusation" and "rumour" doesn't mean it's a fact.SPEAKER: Well that was Mr Jones most unhelpful and I think almost certainly designed to cause disruption. He will stand withdraw and apologise. It was not a point of order and the member has—I know he doesn't pay close attention to these things but he's been here long enough to know that that was not a point of order. He will stand withdraw and apologise.Hon Shane Jones: I withdraw and apologise.SPEAKER: I'm going to ask Paula Bennett to ask her question again.Hon Paula Bennett: My question was: does she agree with the statement of the deputy leader of the Labour Party the Hon Kelvin Davis who stated in the House yesterday that these allegations were all based on rumour?SPEAKER: No. Before the member answers that question the problem that I have is that I have the translation of what Mr Davis said and—well I have a translation of what Mr Davis said and he did use what has been translated for me as the word "rumour" but it did not—it applied to the member's party and not to the comments that the member made about the issue which this member is now asking about.Hon Paula Bennett: Sorry sir but—point of order—I too have looked very carefully at the transcript or else wouldn't be making this statement and I'm sorry I interpret it quite differently: that it is quite clear that he was stating that I was making allegations in the speech previous to him that were based on rumour.SPEAKER: Well it's clear that we have a translation issue and I am going to let the Prime Minister answer but with the advantage of probably some extra ability to translate. But I do want to make it clear to the Hon Paula Bennett that in the translation that I have the only time the word "rumour" occurs in it it does not relate to—it relates to matters of last year. Hon KELVIN DAVIS: E Te Māngai koia te raruraru o te rerekētanga i waenganui i te "translation" me te "interpretation" o te kaiwhakapākehātia.[Mr Speaker that is the problem of the disparity between the "translation" and the "interpretation" of the translator.]Hon Paula Bennett: Can the Prime Minister ask Kelvin Davis then what he meant when he made statements in this House in Māori yesterday that quite clearly were objectifying and saying that it was allegations of rumour? Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ka kite ana ahau i a Kelvin Davis māku e pātai atu ki a ia.[When I see Kelvin Davis I'll ask him.]Hon Paula Bennett: Does she think that it's appropriate to make fun of the fact that there are such serious allegations going on at the moment and such chaos and disarray by senior members of this House? SPEAKER: No. No the member will ask a question that's within—if she wants to—the Standing Orders. Hon Paula Bennett: Does she still stand by her statement that victims should go to one of their line managers and that no senior people in her office had received a complaint? Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Āe. Hon Paula Bennett: Is she stating then that the victims are not telling the truth? Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Kāo. Hon Paula Bennett: Then how does the answer to both those questions add up when the victims have absolutely stated that they made a complaint to one of her senior managers? Hon KELVIN DAVIS: I te mea e tika ana aku whakautu.[Because my answers are true.]Hon Paula Bennett: Does she still stand by her statement that no victims have gone to any senior staff within the Prime Minister's office or the leader's office to make complaints around an alleged offender? Hon KELVIN DAVIS: Ka tū pūmau ka tautokongia e Te Pirimia āna kōrero katoa.[The Prime Minister stands by and supports all her statements.]Hon Anne Tolley: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I'm sorry I don't have hearing aids but I got no translation. Is that just me? SPEAKER: I think it's just you in this case. I did. Well I'll tell you what the interpreter said: the Prime Minister will stand by all her words."