2. Question No. 2—Prime MinisterHon NIKKI KAYE (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 2—Prime Minister2. Hon NIKKI KAYE (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she have confidence in her Minister of Health's management of the COVID-19 response given the implications it has on the health and finances of New Zealanders?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes. This Government is adamantly focused on addressing failures in the system and removing risk unlike those who are calling for international students to flow through our borders without adequate preparation and who have made all sorts of comments about the Government failing to make steps and protocols of safety available to 5 million New Zealanders. Their error was an unacceptable failure and for that reason we have appointed Air Commodore Darryn Webb to lead the quarantine efforts and we have halted compassionate leave for isolation until we can be certain that proper procedures will be followed in each and every case.Hon Nikki Kaye: If she has confidence in her Minister of Health why did she take the unprecedented step to send in the Defence Force instead of letting her own Minister manage the COVID-19 response?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Because for those who know the real world if you're looking for people to handle logistical matters then the Defence Force would be the most trained in this country.Hon Nikki Kaye: What about our own Minister?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well as I say again Minister Kaye—the Hon Kaye—if you've asked the question do you want an answer or not or are we going to have you chipping away telling us what you don't know? Hon Member: Answer it.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: My answer—well I'll answer the question. If anybody over there wants an answer keep quiet. [Interruption] Well you clearly don't then.Hon Nikki Kaye: Can she personally guarantee that David Clark has managed the COVID-19 response competently and therefore will she guarantee that we will see no further serious errors relating to quarantine management?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister the Minister of Health has laid out with his colleagues and the all-of-Government response the protocols to be followed. We said at the beginning there would be human error and mistakes. That's what life is like. But it surely is not the responsibility of a Minister who lays out the protocol for people in their thousands to follow when some person fails to follow that protocol. We want 5 million New Zealanders to be part of the front line in our defence and we're saying again it's an unacceptable failure and we're going to make sure that we eliminate that as much as possible. But remember at the very beginning as we were moving 130000-plus people in and out of this country we did say there would be some mistakes.Hon Chris Hipkins: Is it her expectation that the Minister of Health will personally supervise the admission to and exit from quarantine as seems to be suggested by the Opposition?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister that's a very very good question because it just demonstrates—[Interruption] No not being pedantic—it demonstrates a perverse mind that doesn't understand a thing called fairness or reasonableness. That's what it displays and that member from the Hamilton area that no one knows can keep on shouting at the back. That's why he's there—because he's not worth promoting. The reality is the Minister of Health cannot surely be responsible any more than the director-general for a human failure down the bottom. But our job is as I say to enlist the help of 5 million New Zealanders and ensure that the law and the protocols are followed. Can I just say I'm hearing members shouting out here like Judith Collins who said that it was appalling that the Government declined compassionate leave there is something very wrong in that decision making and we need to have it sorted. That's Judith Collins. I've got countless quotes from these people over here shouting for the very thing to happen that we have sought not to happen.Hon Nikki Kaye: Who will take responsibility for the quarantine management failures in this situation?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The reality is that there is a full-scale investigation as to how it happened and those people will take responsibility. Can I just say this is alongside a member of Parliament who got information knowing full well that the plea was to tell the authorities as soon as you get the information because every minute every hour counts and what did he do? Rather than tell the authorities he thought he'd wait till question time in Parliament and all those valuable hours were lost. Can I just quote another person who's now critical and shouting out as well. He said the absolute priority must be to get those students back for the second semester and yet we're fluffing around and not making much progress on that. Who said that?Hon Member: Test test test—accountability.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh it's accountability is it? I said: who said it? That's how much they talk to each other. Mr Goldsmith said that.Hon Chris Hipkins: Have there been instances where members of Parliament including Opposition members of Parliament have made personal representations urging for people to be released from quarantine early?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well I think this quote comes from somebody who fits that description and he said I think the symbolism of not being able to attend friends' relatives' and very very close loved ones' funerals is a big problem. I think it's heartless it's cold and it is nowhere near kind." Guess who said that? Gerry Brownlee.Hon Nikki Kaye: Why is she happy to front the world and receive the credit for New Zealand's—SPEAKER: Order! Order! Order! I'm going to allow the member to rephrase her question in a way that she knows is in order rather than as she knows is out of order.Hon Nikki Kaye: Why is she happy to take the credit—SPEAKER: Order! Order! The Prime Minister's happiness is not a matter for responsibility to the House. For goodness' sake!Hon Nikki Kaye: Why does she take the credit for the COVID-19 response and the accolades from the rest of the world but when things go wrong she is nowhere to be seen?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister like the previous Prime Ministers in this country I'm not usually here on a Thursday. However I've got full confidence in my colleagues who are here because it'll be like taking candy off a baby. Now can I just say this here: this is coming from a member of Parliament whose leader said this—that the Government should bring in people from China as a matter of urgency—and now is trying to claim he wants a stronger border. Make up their collective minds.Hon Nikki Kaye: Was her confidence in the Minister reduced the most when he personally broke New Zealand's lockdown three times or when he presided over the catalogue of failures around New Zealand's quarantine management?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister the Minister of Health has given an apology—and a very effusive one at that—and that has been accepted. As Prime Minister I do understand that human error sometimes happens and as long as it's a sincere error and can be corrected then that should be accepted as well. But here's the real point: we moved as a country and as a Government 130000-plus around the world 80000 back to New Zealand—against medical advice—and 60000-plus out of New Zealand to keep our international connections going and we minimised the risk as much as possible. But we did say there would be examples of failure. Now to stand up today and say there'll be no more failure is to be ridiculous. Our job is to as much as we can possibly and probably get the protocols properly put into place and ensure that we minimise the chance of failure.Hon Nikki Kaye: How many cases if any has she been briefed on where the Government's quarantine or testing processes have not been followed?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister all the cases that I was briefed on I was briefed on.Hon Dr Nick Smith: What a non-answer. How many?Hon Nikki Kaye: How many cases—Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There's somebody out there shouting out "How many?" Well if you say all the cases I was briefed on it means 100 percent.SPEAKER: I know but there's no responsibility on the part of the Prime Minister to respond to inane interjections.Hon Nikki Kaye: How many cases if any has she been briefed on where the Government's quarantine or testing procedures have not been followed?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister I had no idea I would come down in the House today and be asked that question. If that was of concern some notice—an hour's notice or two hours' notice—and we'd be down here with the precise number. But to expect the Prime Minister to come down here and to answer inane questions like that—"How many?"—when it could be hundreds it could be—Hon Member: It's not inane.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well given that there were 1500 cases the answer to that is more than 1500.Hon Nikki Kaye: At what time yesterday did David Clark inform her that a statement that the two COVID-19 cases had not come into contact with anyone since leaving managed isolation other than their parent as per their release plan was incorrect?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: The answer on behalf of the Prime Minister: when he discovered that the information was incorrect.Hon Michael Woodhouse: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister's answer there did not address the question. It didn't ask for the conditions; it asked for the time. If the Prime Minister isn't able to answer the question that's fine but that is not an answer to the question.SPEAKER: I think it was. Yeah.Hon Nikki Kaye: What would it take for her to lose confidence in David Clark and sack him given he's overseen failures around Avatar crew failures in testing people absconding from quarantine and the return of COVID-19 to New Zealand?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister it is very very sad that we are witnessing in the case of this nation's safety and health by way of analogy the behaviour of an African veld. When a lion comes out of the field and attacks one animal they are all running flat tack but the moment one gets taken they all stop and start eating and grazing again. We expect a higher standard of behaviour when our nation's health is of concern. To turn this round on a personal attack for some flimsy paltry political advantage is very very sad.Hon Nikki Kaye: Who will take responsibility for the serious errors in quarantine management and testing in New Zealand?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister the director-general already has. In the end though we will find—Hon Dr Nick Smith: Blame the official.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Beg your pardon?Hon Dr Nick Smith: Blame the official.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Ha ha! Well there'll be nobody who takes responsibility or blame for him. Can I just say Mr Smith that the fact is that we're going to find those people at the coalface who didn't follow the protocols. The only way we can eliminate this sort of irresponsible behaviour or failure to fulfil the protocol requirements is to identify those people and make sure it doesn't as much as possible happen again.Hon Grant Robertson: Can the Prime Minister confirm reports that the Leader of the Opposition when asked whether or not he would sack a Minister of Health—if he ever became the Prime Minister—because of an official's mistake said no?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister yes. I heard that. And given what his colleagues are screaming out for today there's a word for that. It starts with "h" and ends with "y" but I can't say it."