Henare Tau: General Debate 
Henare Tau: General Debate 
[Volume:633;Page:4640] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 Absolute corruption absolutely dirty and a cover-up as big as my blanket at home—in fact bigger. The lies the officials have told—absolute corruption. And that was just about the French Revolution back in 1789! The same situation exists here. It smells dirty it smells corrupt it looks corrupt—and by crikey it is corrupt. And the Government talks about bedrock principles of democracy. Well the bedrock principles of democracy are based on telling the truth—on elected officials fronting up and not using the system for their own benefit. That is not what has happened here. Not one of the Labour speakers today has supported Phillip Field. Out of a caucus of 50 members not one has got up and stated support for Phillip Field. Well we never know—maybe one Labour member supports him. 
There has been $450000 spent and 9 months of work—and do members know why the report contains nothing they can hang him on? It is because the terms of reference were decided by the Prime Minister. The outcome of this report was already worked out when the Prime Minister sat down with Michael Cullen and Phillip Field and worked out the terms of reference for the so-called Ingram report. Half a million dollars later we are none the wiser. Why? Because the matter has been covered up from start to finish. Government members know that full well so do my former colleagues in New Zealand First—they know as well—and not one of them will get up and support Phillip Field either. 
Yesterday we saw in this House the application of one rule for some and another rule for others. While others got away with disgusting behaviour two members from this side of the House were marched out of the House for absolutely no reason. I take this opportunity to say that I am totally against the Speaker. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member knows that it is not in order to bring the Speaker into the debate. Members may not use the general debate to do that. I refer the member to Speaker’s ruling 17/6—I want him to look at that—and I say to him that if he has any concerns at all about the Speaker then the only way to air them is by a notice of motion. I suggest that the member might like to take that course. I now ask the member to stand up and withdraw and apologise. He has his first yellow card. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: I withdraw and apologise. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank the member. 
Hon Murray McCully 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I ask you to consider your ruling again and to reflect on the matter I touched on in an earlier point of order. I have no dispute with your ruling as to what the Standing Orders say and they do correctly identify an approach members should take when they feel a lack of confidence in the presiding officer. I remind you that that course of action has been taken. Members on this side of the House have tried to comply with the Standing Order—have lodged a notice of motion—and it is through the actions of the Government that they are being denied the opportunity to debate the motion they have properly filed. Surely in those circumstances members on this side of the House must be granted some latitude. As members have been denied the vehicle the Standing Orders prescribe for their use in such circumstances surely they must have the ability to make a passing reference in the course of a general debate on a Wednesday afternoon because they have no other recourse. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank the member. That matter was dealt with previously when another National member spoke. There was general agreement as to how the member would conduct himself and he did so admirably. Mr Henare went a step too far. He has now withdrawn and apologised. I appreciate that he has done that and I ask him now to desist and come to order and to continue with his speech. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Some are born good some make good and some are caught with the goods. That member Phillip Field has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar—the big cookie jar not the little wee lolly jar. And not one of the members opposite has enough—no I will not say it—to stand up and support a colleague. They do not have enough gumption to support the former Minister—and this is not the first such occasion. 
I want to say also that in the beginning it was Phillip Field who was at fault. Then as the big snowball started rolling it collected Prime Minister Clark. It also collected Dr Cullen. And yesterday we saw it catch someone else: Jeanette Fitzsimons of the Greens. Let us not forget about her. They are all complicit in this dirty cover-up. No democracy in the world can get away with a little bit of corruption or a big bit of corruption. Wherever corruption raises its ugly head we must do everything in our power to make sure we root it out because we owe it to the institution of democracy and to the people of this country to do so. 
This matter should be before the Privileges Committee. But if it is not to go to the Privileges Committee why has the Serious Fraud Office not— 
Simon Power 
: I seek leave to have 10 minutes put aside at the conclusion of the general debate for Labour Party members present to express their support for Taito Phillip Field. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ann Hartley) 
: Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is.