Mark RonHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Thank you Mr Speaker. Well it is an absolute pleasure to be able to stand in the House today and before I actually engage in the general debate I want to put a bit of a shout-out out to the team down at Scott Base and McMurdo: those who work out at Williams Field on the airstrip; those who're at Phoenix; people like Peter Beggs CEO of Antarctica New Zealand; Matt Johnson; Simon Trotter; Peter Smith; Trudie Baker; Fiona Shanhun; Rebecca Roper-Gee; Megan Smith; Kylie Wood; Lieutenant Commander Ross Hickey; Dai Seto who was my climbing instructor down there; and everybody else particularly New Zealand Defence Force personnel who do such a tremendous job supporting New Zealand's science community and doing that important work that'll help us redress hopefully the climate change issues that this Government has decided it will bravely tackle.I'm very proud of the fact that the New Zealand Defence Force is playing a very strong part in fighting climate change through the commitment of massive resources. In fact it's our largest deployment we have globally and most people don't know that. So a big shout-out to them.But what an interesting time in this House. I've sat here and I've listened to the speeches and I want to start with the Hon Paula Bennett. I feel sorry for her. Paula Bennett is trying hard but she's finding it hard to try. She tries humour but it just doesn't come through. And in this general debate the one thing that I noticed is Paula's furious. She's furious with the pale male and—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order!Hon RON MARK: Paula Bennett—the Hon Paula Bennett—is furious with the pale male stale elements to her left who cost her her ministerial job. She's not the only one though. The Rt Hon David Carter—what a bitter bitter bitter man. And he's right. He did try hard to earn the respect of this House in his time as the Speaker. He tried very hard and most of us found his trying very hard as well. And all I'll say is Mr Carter—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I know it's somewhat dated but I think reflections on the Speaker—even of this sort—are going a bit far.Hon RON MARK: Well I—Mr SPEAKER: No.Hon RON MARK: Thank you Mr Speaker. I apologise for that. But I've got to say the attack on the Rt Hon Winston Peters by the Rt Hon David Carter revealed something that those of us who were in a coalition Government in 1998 knew. Mr Carter made it clear in the speech today that he was happy—happy—that he's consigned along with all of his National Party MPs to Opposition. Why? Because he has a personal issue with being in Government with the Rt Hon Mr Peters.Well one of the things that went through my mind when I was deliberating and when I amongst my New Zealand First colleagues voted for this coalition Government and voted to make the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern the Prime Minister was whether or not we could trust—whether we had confidence in the coalition partner. The Rt Hon Mr Carter as he said was a junior whip when I was a whip in coalition Government. I was the senior whip of New Zealand First and a junior whip for the Government. He was the junior whip of the National Party and a whip in the Government. But what Mr Carter didn't say is that he also joined the plotters and helped overthrow his Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jim Bolger. I leave it right there.So in my mind when I'm considering who would I go to war with who would I be in coalition with who could I trust who could I absolutely have confidence in who would not put their personal vendettas above the best interests of the nation and who would not put their own personal issues with another member of Parliament against the best wishes of his entire caucus—Mr Carter gave that answer here today. And I thank him for his honesty and I hope the rest of his caucus colleagues appreciate it as well.Mr Brownlee summed it up today when he said this: in reply to questions and answers in an interjection he said 7.2 percent wins? That's democracy?" I'm sorry Mr Brownlee. Get over it. Get over it. Move on.My message really is this: to all of the National MPs who are going into the Christmas break who're going to be pondering what they're going to do now who're going to ponder what they're going to do next over those BBQs and on the beaches—if one is angry or bitter like Mr Carter that one is on the Opposition benches look no further than your front bench and for you decide what you're going to do after Christmas."