Mallard Trevor: General Debate 
Mallard Trevor: General Debate 
[Volume:625;Page:20241] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Minister of Education) 
: 
 Let us get the facts right in this situation. Peter Doone then Commissioner of Police had been drinking. He had been drinking for 4 hours. He got out of his car and stopped the young constable who had the sniffer and was about to breath-test Mr Doone’s partner who had also been drinking for 4 hours. He interfered with the young constable who had the sniffer. Mr Doone’s partner Robyn Johnstone had been drinking for 4 hours and was driving in the city with her lights off. She was driving around town with her lights off after drinking for 4 hours. 
The Commissioner of Police claimed he and the constable exchanged pleasantries—that was his first reaction. We know now that that was not true. He was found by the Police Complaints Authority to have acted in a way that was undesirable. He was found by the Robinson report to have acted in a way that was inappropriate. Let us make this clear. The Robinson report made it clear that Main and Haldane the two constables had been on duty for 5 hours and they were sober. The report also makes it clear that Doone and Johnstone had been drinking for 4 hours and had both consumed alcohol—at least one of them a considerable amount. Johnstone drove around town with her lights off. 
The National Party criticised them; Jenny Shipley set up the inquiry. And now what is National doing? It is defending the driver who had been drinking and the Commissioner of Police who interfered with a constable in the course of his duty. That is the National Party’s approach. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I think it would help in this situation if I made it very clear that the National Party members are not defending any of that behaviour. We are simply asking why the Prime Minister engaged in dishonest discussion with the  
Sunday Star-Times. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Clem Simich) 
: It is not a matter of what you are asking. That is not a point of order. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I do want to make it clear as the Prime Minister has made it clear in this House and outside that it is absolutely undeniable that she said that what was said was contested. 
I frankly do not think it makes a helluva lot of difference when the Commissioner of Police wanders up to a young cop who is attempting to breath-test his partner and says: “We’ll be on our way then.” which he claimed he did in the end. First of all he said that they exchanged pleasantries and then he said: “We’ll be on our way then.” This is what the National Party is defending. It is defending a Commissioner of Police who intervened and stopped a young constable. National members are saying that the Prime Minister was wrong to say that there was a contest of views between the sober Main and Doone who had been drinking as to what was said. There was a contest. One thought one thing was said and one thought the other. We know that that is true. They had different views and the Prime Minister pointed that out. She pointed out that it was contested. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Get her evidence. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: She told the House. She said clearly and absolutely to everyone that there was a contest of views as to what was said. But even if we take the generous view—the Doone view—of the event the Commissioner of Police said: “We’ll be on our way then.” to the constable who was wandering up with the breath-testing device to test a former Land Transport Safety Authority official Ms Johnstone who had been drinking and was driving.