Hodgson Pete: General Debate 
Hodgson Pete: General Debate 
[Volume:650;Page:18706] 
Hon PETE HODGSON (Minister for Economic Development) 
: 
 There is no particular news that the National Party has been leaking right left and centre. In fact the Opposition resembles a colander. What happens is that if one looks a little more carefully one sees the leaks come in two types. There are the unplanned leaks and the planned leaks. The unplanned leaks are the ones that are the result of the Opposition having something of a secret agenda and those leaks began about a year ago. The planned leaks have a very different origin altogether. They are due to the splits and divisions that are within the National Party and I want to briefly explore both of them. 
The unplanned leaks began when Tony Ryall said about a year ago that National would ensure that the fees control system for general practitioners would be knocked on the head. That was repeated today if we look at the fine print of the leaked health policy that Jim Anderton offered the House. The unplanned leaks continue. The leaking of the accident compensation policy originated in Australia when one of the people who thought he or she would make a lot of money out of it started talking about it. The leak of about $50 a week for road tolls had its origin when Maurice Williamson got himself too excited on  
Agenda 
. The leak about Kiwibank being sold eventually had its origins in the secret tape-recording. The leak about employer contributions to KiwiSaver being ditched had its origins in a couple of backbenchers telling the truth for a change—and on it goes. 
These are unplanned leaks that occur because a party sets out to try to ensure it has a secret agenda underneath the given agenda. That is why as Annette King said New Zealanders now believe to the tune of about 50 percent versus 30 percent that National has a secret agenda. In fact a quarter of National’s own supporters believe the party is not telling the truth. That figure is from a Television One poll. 
But it is the unplanned leaks that I think are the most interesting. I am referring of course to the National Party policy documents that have ended up in our hands. Someone or some group has planned for that to happen. Policy documents in their final form are not circulated widely before release especially in the National Party and the party’s leader John Key has said as much but still the leaks have occurred. National says the documents arrived on our side of the complex all at once. They did not. Trevor Mallard said that if Mr Key knows which policies were in the bundle then Mr Key would be able to list them. Mr Key has declined to list them and he has declined because he does not know. He does not know because there is not one big batch. 
So I ask members why there is a serial leak. Well I do not know why and I certainly do not know who from but it seems to me that one or more people at the centre of the National Party do not want to win this time. Presumably they do not want to win this time and presumably that means they do want to win next time and presumably that means there needs to be a change of leadership in the meantime. That may or may not be the motive of that person or those persons. I said that I do not know. 
I do not know why Nicky Hager is able to say long after the release of his book  
The Hollow Men 
 that he is still receiving emails from within the National Party. I do not know why those leaks or the leaks of policy continue. I do not know why but I cannot come to a more logical conclusion than the one that I have given. One or more people at the centre of the National Party would prefer to win next time not this time and the only reason for that would be to change the leader in the interim. I ask members why that might be. 
I ask why there might be such a strong feeling amongst one or more people at the centre of the National Party. Well again I do not know but I ask members to remember that Bill English lost the leadership by one vote. I ask members whether they remember that and that Bill English was surprised by his loss and that Bill English’s colleagues went out and celebrated his victory the night before he was defeated. I ask members whether they remember that therefore someone in the National Party swapped his or her support overnight and whether members remember the rumours as to who that person was—John Key. That may be what the leaks are all about. Maybe the National Party is more deeply riven and divided and ill at ease with itself than is first apparent.