Yates Dianne: Estimates Debate —  
Yates Dianne: Estimates Debate —  
[Volume:610;Page:7152] 
DIANNE YATES (Chairperson of the Government Administration Committee) 
: 
 What a ridiculous speech and what a lot of puff and whistle about nothing! I am the chair of the Government Administration Committee and I would like to read out the report back to the House: “The committee has considered the appropriations within its area of responsibility. It has no matters to raise in regard to … Prime Minister and Cabinet”. I say to Mr English and to the members of his team who are on that select committee that we reported back that we had no matters to raise. Mr English who purports to be a member of a political party has not even bothered to read the committee’s report which says there were no matters to raise. Nor did his members on the committee at that stage raise any matters when we reviewed this department and reported back that there were no matters to raise with the House. 
So the speech made by Mr English which went on for 10 minutes was made up of just his imagination. That is what his political party is—a matter of imagination. The only member of that party who faces reality is Mr Maurice Williamson who actually does look at some of the realities. But I am absolutely surprised that Bill English given that he is supposed to be a mature politician— 
Darren Hughes 
: “Supposed” to be. 
DIANNE YATES 
: —I said “supposed to be”—and given that he has been a member of this House for a considerable time can speak such puffery for 10 minutes about a report that stated there were no matters to raise. 
Darren Hughes 
: What about the National members on that committee? 
DIANNE YATES 
: Well we had Pansy Wong on the committee and then the membership seemed to move about because various people replaced other people at that time. 
Darren Hughes 
: What did they say? 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Come back to the subject. 
DIANNE YATES 
: I am talking about the report and the process of the select committee that produced this report and that stated there were no matters to raise. It is very hard to talk about a report that states there were no matters to raise—unless as Mr English did one creates a whole lot of things out of one’s own imagination. 
I can say however and I have looked at the Audit report how very frugal the Prime Minister and Cabinet are. It has been reported by Audit that it is a very frugal very canny and very careful Prime Minister who runs the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. If anything the department can be said to be a bit mean—the Prime Minister is so frugal in expenditure. We have noticed over a period of time that that expenditure and the appropriations have gone down that the Prime Minister runs a very very tight ship and that she is very very careful with the money for this department. I think Mr English has got the wrong department or is reading the wrong report or is making something up. 
This is not the first time that the Government Administration Committee has looked at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet looked at the frugality of the Prime Minister and seen that she has been very very careful about what is spent by this department. I would like to congratulate the Prime Minister on running a very tight ship and to congratulate the department on being very careful. As I have said and Pansy Wong will verify this because Pansy Wong is an accountant and I believe a very careful person with money the Opposition members on that committee had no matters to raise. So I congratulate the Prime Minister on the estimates and on continuing in her usual fashion to run the country in the same way that she runs the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet—that is in a very frugal and careful way.