Peters Winston: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to MembersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members[Sitting date: 23 October 2014. Volume:701;Page:202. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First)to the Prime Minister: Does he believe he is Prime Minister all of the time or just some of the time?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House)on behalf of thePrime Minister: I am Prime Minister all of the time by virtue of my ministerial warrant. I am also a member of Parliament a party leader and a private individual all of the time. Like any Minister I act in a different capacity at different times. I am responsible to this House for actions taken in my prime ministerial capacity but not for actions taken as an MP party leader or private individual.Rt Hon Winston Peters: How can he be a private individual all of the time and in what capacity does he speak to Cameron Slater: as “BFF” or best friend forever lifestyle coach speech therapist counsellor currency adviser dietician or puppet master?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: None of those.Rt Hon Winston Peters: What makes it wrong for Judith Collins to be improperly associated with Cameron Slater and not for the Prime Minister?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: The question is based on a series of suppositions that the member himself wishes to make and that bear no relevance to any ministerial responsibility or prime ministerial responsibility held by the Prime Minister.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Which of these statements from the Prime Minister is correct: “I speak to him regularly.” or “Every so often.”? Which one of those two statements is true?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: If the member provided the dates on which those statements were made he would be able to understand that in both circumstances they could be true.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I seek the House’s leave to table the two dates and the two statements to the media with respect to the comments that he has asked now for evidence of.Mr SPEAKER: I will put the leave. Leave is sought to table those particular dates of those two comments. Leave is sought. Is there any objection? There is none. It can be tabled.Documents by leave laid on the Table of the House.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Does he believe it is dignified for someone who occupies the office of Prime Minister to regularly be in discussions with a scumbag focused on character assassination and deceit like Cameron Slater?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: I have no intention of agreeing with the various personal assassination points raised by that member.Dr Russel Norman: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In Mr Brownlee’s answers replying to Mr Peters he said that both of those statements can be true. The statements were about when the Prime Minister speaks with Mr Slater. The Prime Minister has previously said that he as Prime Minister—and Mr Brownlee is answering on behalf of the Prime Minister—does not speak to Mr Slater. How can those answers be consistent because he has just said that he does speak to Mr Slater as Prime Minister?Mr SPEAKER: Does the member want to respond?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: No.Mr SPEAKER: If I can understand the point the member is raising he is asking now whether the answers given were in order or out of order for the questions that were raised. I see no difficulty with those answers that were given by the Hon Gerry Brownlee to the questions that were raised. If the member has supplementary questions he can ask them.Chris Hipkins: Is it the Prime Minister’s expectation that when Ministers use information obtained in their ministerial capacity whilst in a private capacity they will be accountable for those actions to Parliament; if not why not?Hon GERRY BROWNLEE: It would depend entirely on what the circumstances were. If they were for example to pay a parking fine which is information they would have perhaps as a Minister of Transport or something else then you would expect them to pay that but not to be accountable to Parliament for it.