Carter David: General Debate 
Carter David: General Debate 
[Volume:621;Page:16329] 
Hon DAVID CARTER (National) 
: 
 I want to thank the member who has just resumed his seat—David Parker the member for Otago—for his valedictory contribution to the House today. I wish the member well in his next career move. While he wasted 5 minutes of the House’s time today Jacqui Deans was out there door-knocking in Oamaru. She will take that seat. 
Today I want to talk about the comment made by the Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark in 1999: “This Labour Government will set new standards both in terms of behaviour and performance.” The public of New Zealand are appalled by the new standards that Helen Clark and her administration are setting for this country. We have the largest executive we have ever seen in the New Zealand Parliament; just about anybody who is anybody within the Labour Party caucus is now a member of the executive. What we have seen is a progression of Ministers disgracing themselves and disgracing the New Zealand Parliament. [ 
Interruption 
] 
I am certainly going to talk about John Tamihere but I want to remind the public of some earlier contributions from the likes of the Hon Marian Hobbs. She came into Parliament became a Minister then found herself embroiled in a dispute. She claimed the expenses associated with her living outside Wellington but happened to live in another area for the purposes of voting. She was fired but only temporarily. We then had the case of the Hon Dover Samuels. He was accused of having sexual relations with under-age New Zealanders. Helen Clark did not even wait for the investigation before firing him. Interestingly the police investigated those allegations and they found no substance to them. Next was the Hon Ruth Dyson who working late at night on all her papers happened to have three glasses of white wine then drove home and on blowing in the bag was found to have twice the legal limit. She was temporarily put to one side. 
But compared with them the Hon John Tamihere takes the cake. John Tamihere when he campaigned in 1999 said he would not take a golden handshake. Now there is no dispute that he did exactly the opposite. Michael Cullen came to the House and announced the terms of reference for an investigation but there is no need for an investigation. The facts are clear. Mr Tamihere has no credibility. He said he would not accept a golden handshake but he did. He is sitting in Henderson—he is not prepared to come back here and answer questions—collecting a full ministerial salary without having any ministerial responsibilities. That is the new standard of performance and behaviour that has been set by Helen Clark and her Government. 
Although the media devote quite a lot of time to the issue of whether Mr Tamihere paid tax on the golden handshake that is not the primary issue. The primary issue is far simpler than that. This man said during an election campaign when golden handshakes were an issue that he would not accept a golden handshake. That member then did so. There can be no doubt about his receiving the golden handshake; he has made no attempt to deny it. Yet Helen Clark is not prepared to act. She acted quickly on poor Dover Samuels when he was wrongly accused but she will not act when John Tamihere is correctly accused of accepting a golden handshake and he admits that he did so. That is the issue that Helen Clark should be held to account for and she will be. New Zealanders will vote in the next 12 months and I rest my case: they will be absolutely appalled at the new standards that have been set by this Labour Government.