Bennett PaulaDEBATE ON PRIME MINISTER'S STATEMENTDebate resumed from 7 February.Hon PAULA BENNETT (Deputy Prime Minister): What a contrasting start to the year for New Zealand's major political parties. We have the fabulous Prime Minister Bill English making policy announcements a state of the nation speech and having a clear plan for New Zealand's continued success. We look over at the other side of the Chamber and we have gloom and doom despair and an absolute shambolic start to the year.To be clear the Labour-Green Opposition has gone very quickly from good vibe to clear divide yes? Good vibe to clear divide. It is a classic case of the commentator's curse really as in the past week Labour has disintegrated. The vibe is well and truly gone and Labour is all over the show. Even the Greens must be questioning how they could possibly be associated with Angry Andy" and the new candidates who are coming out now given the principled stance that the Green Party takes.Rt Hon Bill English: New? They're not new.Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well they are. I am sorry Prime Minister but we are told that they are the fresh new faces of the Labour Party—the fresh new faces of the Labour Party.It is interesting that after everything that Laila Harré has gone through Labour is now to the left enough that she will join it again. Yes that fresh new face! Labour has finally gone so far left that she feels comfortable to step up and be a fresh new face Prime Minister of the Labour Party.Then of course there is another little fresh new face that is sneaking in—and you know I am getting to the big one—but Greg O'Connor is another good fresh new face. He is a young up-and-coming inspirational young person who less than 1 month ago said he had no plan for politics. But at least he is on the same no-plan pathway as his leader quite frankly.Maybe Andrew Little is the fresh new face. I mean he has gotten rid of the glasses. He has shined himself up a bit. He has done that so maybe he is the fresh new face. But then you heard him just yesterday and you have seen him this week and he has been as angry and negative towards New Zealanders and talking New Zealand down as you have ever seen.Of course you cannot go past the latest Alliance Party reboot: the great Willie Jackson where the ultimate—ultimate—captain's call has gone wrong. "There is no revolt!" shouts Andy. "Labour is totally united!" he hollers to us continually. "There is no open revolt!" There is no open revolt—well quite frankly tell that to Willie's partnership schools which Chris Hipkins wants to shut down. Tell that to the kids who are learning and getting ahead on a policy that actually works and is successful. Now of course Willie says he will stand by Labour—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Refer to members correctly.Hon PAULA BENNETT: Certainly Mr Speaker.Jami-Lee Ross: But he's not a member.Hon PAULA BENNETT: He is not a member but there you go.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Can I just clarify that we refer to people by their surnames; we do not use Christian names.Hon PAULA BENNETT: I will do that Mr Speaker. So then we get to Willie Jackson. "We need people like Willie Jackson" says "Angry Andy". I mean that is "Angry Andrew"—oh my God—Little. So there we go.Hon Member: "Angry Andy"—she did it again.Hon PAULA BENNETT: No Andrew Little is what I said at the end of that.Dr Megan Woods: No you didn't. You said: "Angry Andy".Hon PAULA BENNETT: I did so. Do not argue with me. Get a debate call.Let us tell it to Poto Williams who actually had to hire a PR firm and put that out—pay the 100 bucks an hour. This was not a moment when she felt she might get her point across on Facebook. We have all done it at times—when we have just thought: "Actually I want to make a point." This is someone who put enough consideration into it that she went to a PR firm which then went to the media and put it there and when it did not get enough pick-up put it on an open Facebook page where she would—but there is no open revolt remember from Andy—"Angry Andrew" angry "Angry Andrew Little".Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon PAULA BENNETT: There is none of that from Andrew Little; none of that at all. There is no support from Poto Williams' leader and no support from the Labour comms team obviously because they did not think it was a good idea. So she spoke out actually on something she felt principled enough on. She stood up and said what she saw.What about Peeni Henare? How is he feeling? He was asked whether he would consider going on the list but was not told who might actually take his seat. "There is no open revolt by the way." says Andrew Little. It is all resolved now! It is fine! There is no actual revolt there! Andrew Little says that it is all rumour. "Trust me Peeni." he says. "That rumour was started by the Māori Party members. They were the ones who were saying that your seat was at risk." says Andrew Little. He says "Don't worry." and then all of a sudden we have got Andrew Little literally shoulder-tapping Willie Jackson and saying: "You don't want to go for this seat. We'd better not upset a member but here's a list place for him."Let us tell that to Nanaia Mahuta who has actually just had her job in Government promised to Willie Jackson. Willie Jackson is the one who will be the Minister for Māori Development. Nanaia Mahuta has been a loyal servant to that party—and to Māoridom actually in many cases—for 18 years and now she is told in the media that her job will be going to Willie Jackson. Tell that to the future leadership of Labour Young Labour which openly put a letter out there. We hear from Andrew Little that there is no open revolt; however there is and Young Labour the leaders of the future put out an open letter. I do not even want to go to commenting on what Willie Jackson might think about Grant Robertson because I think that it is personal it is ugly and it is just somewhere I do not want to go. But let us say that there is no open revolt. I mean Annette King—how is your list-ranking place? You were not mentioned with the ones that Andrew Little said would be ahead of Willie Jackson. I am worried about you Annette. I am worried about you.Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon PAULA BENNETT: Annette King—I am worried about Annette King and the list ranking because she was not mentioned. Right?Sue Moroney—you are here. Sue Moroney do you have to stand aside for Willie? Are you standing aside for Willie Jackson? That is just dreadful Sue Moroney—not to mention that it is another woman cut out. No list ranking there. No list ranking there.This is the one that does get me: David Parker can be in the list ranking. David Parker is ahead of Willie Jackson now.Hon Steven Joyce: And Sue Moroney.Hon PAULA BENNETT: No I am not sure Sue Moroney is ahead of Willie Jackson. I have heard that Trevor Mallard is ahead of Willie Jackson. Trevor Mallard is.Is it not the death knell though that your leader does not think you will win your seat if you are Kelvin Davis and you are put before Willie Jackson? Actually now Andrew Little does not think Kelvin Davis will win his seat so he has had to put him up ahead in the rankings.By the way we all keep hearing about the democracy of the Labour Party—how it ranks candidates and how it selects them and how open and transparent and wonderful its process is—and yet we have a captain's call from Andrew Little that quite frankly is now ranking people via the media and putting them ahead of anyone else whom we are seeing. Let us just quickly recap. We have got no women up there even though Labour has its quota system—remember? We have got a quota system for women and there are no women now who are in the top.I presume that Andrew Little is putting himself as No. 1 because by the way he is too scared to run against our Jonathan Young again—he is too scared to run against our Jonathan Young again. I do not blame him actually. I do not blame him for that. But he is far too scared to actually step up and run in a seat again because he will lose by—what was it? It was 12000 votes we were just hearing. That is where Jonathan Young has taken a Labour seat and now well and truly made it. I must say I think that is a little—well it is about how angry Andrew Little—Mr SPEAKER: Order!Hon PAULA BENNETT: —might get but it is equally of course about how good Jonathan Young is. Let us be honest there.But there we have that call. So we have got Andrew Little one presumes and then in no particular—Hon Steven Joyce: What are you sure?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well I am not totally sure. But then we have got David Parker and then we have got Trevor Mallard and then we have got Willie Jackson. A few women might be further down the pecking order by the way if we are lucky. We have got Raymond Huo by the way whom I have not seen hide nor hair of but of course Labour does like the Chinese vote when it matters for it and that is where it really does go.Rt Hon Bill English: What about Laila?Hon PAULA BENNETT: Well Laila is up there somewhere but then we are not really—Hon Steven Joyce: Is she ahead of Trevor?Hon PAULA BENNETT: She could be ahead of Trevor but they are not really sure exactly where they are going.Ladies and gentlemen this just proves what an absolute shambles the Labour Party is. It cannot even run itself let alone think about running this country and looking after New Zealanders and putting their interests first. The National-led Government is a Government that will continue to see the success of New Zealand will put New Zealanders first will look at what their needs are and will work harder than anyone else in this country. I am really proud to be a part of the team that is doing that. Thank you."