Parker David: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParker David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 02 April 2015. Volume:704;Page:2880. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]9.Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour)to the Minister of Trade: What monetary and other assistance was provided by the New Zealand Government in support of his bid for appointment as Director-General of the World Trade Organization?Hon TIM GROSER (Minister of Trade):As the Prime Minister announced to your colleague in the House just the other day exactly the same type of assistance as we provided to other candidates in the past including most recently Helen Clark.Hon David Parker: Does the Minister know whether the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) hacked or monitored emails of his rivals either itself directly or through other agencies?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there is ministerial responsibility the Hon Tim Groser.Hon TIM GROSER: Well making the point that of course this question should be directed to the Minister responsible for the GCSB I can quite happily answer the question—Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My question was not who directed it or whether it was appropriate to direct it; I asked him whether he knew whether—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I think the member is very lucky that the question has actually been allowed to stay in. I invited the Minister to answer in regard to his own ministerial responsibility. Of course he is not the Minister responsible for the GCSB but I—[Interruption] Order! I have not ruled the question out. I would like to hear the answer from the Minister.Hon TIM GROSER: As this House knows although we accept that there is a foreign intelligence-gathering agency which does the surprising thing of gathering foreign intelligence we do not comment on specific operations.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have two points of order. The first is to clarify whether the Minister is claiming that there is a public interest in not answering the question.Mr SPEAKER: The way to do that is a further supplementary question. I invite the member—Hon David Parker: No point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: What point of order is the member making?Hon David Parker: I do not know whether the question is being addressed. He is either declining—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The way forward is to ask exactly the supplementary question that the member is now asking as a point of order. It is not my job to answer on behalf of the Minister. It is the member’s job to ask questions.Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With respect the Minister is being asked whether he had personal knowledge. That is not a question that he can evade. His answer has got to be “Yes I did.” or “I didn’t.” He cannot dodge around on the basis that some other Minister should tell this House whether he personally as Minister had personal knowledge. It is a clean question; make him answer it.Mr SPEAKER: Order! But in my opinion the Minister did answer it. He addressed the question. [Interruption] Order! The way forward now is to ask additional supplementary questions and I will grant the member an additional supplementary question.Hon David Parker: Is he claiming a public interest in not answering the question as to whether or not he knew that the GCSB hacked or monitored emails of his rivals?Hon TIM GROSER: My answer is fully consistent with longstanding policy not only of this Government but of the Government of which he was a member and of which I was an official adviser. To answer it any other way would break longstanding Government policy.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I still do not know whether the Minister is claiming a public interest in not answering—and that was my question.Mr SPEAKER: I invite the member to ask a supplementary question. I accept the point the member is making. I could interpret the answer but that is not my job. It is the member’s job so I will grant him another question.Hon David Parker: Is the Minister claiming a public interest in not answering the question as to whether he knew whether the GCSB hacked or monitored emails of his rivals?Hon TIM GROSER: Let me put it another way to the member. We accept that the member has not yet had—he may have in the future—any political responsibility for an externally facing portfolio. But he has the great advantage of having members in his caucus who have so I suggest he ask them discreetly what the answers to the further questions might be.Hon David Parker: How does he reconcile the Prime Minister’s statement that South Korea “wouldn’t give a monkey’s” about spying on his South Korean rival with the Brazilian Government having subsequently called on the New Zealand authorities to explain this same outrage?Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. We all appreciate that as questions move along the focus of the questions may change. But it cannot move so far from this Minister’s responsibility to stand as a question that can be directed to this Minister.Mr SPEAKER: I am going to allow the question to stand. It simply starts “How does he reconcile” those two statements. The Minister then has the ability to answer it and if he does not consider it is within his ministerial responsibility that is the answer a Minister can give and I would find that that has addressed the question.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With all due respect to your ruling there are set ministerial responsibilities. The question asked by Mr Parker does not go to the ministerial responsibility of the Minister of Trade. Whether or not he can reconcile the Prime Minister’s statements with those of foreign leaders is not something in his purview and it should not stand.Mr SPEAKER: I could have ruled that way but I have decided not to. In light of the very first question that was asked the first supplementary question again moved it away from a trade issue. I invited the Minister to answer. I used the words “in as far as it relates to ministerial responsibility”. In the answer then given I think the Minister has now allowed a further breadth to the question that has been asked. A question has been asked; it is not a difficult one for the Minister to answer and I would like him to do so.Hon TIM GROSER: I can reconcile the question very easily. We have had discussions with the Brazilian Government at ambassadorial level. We are ready to clarify our operations with any friendly Government that seeks our attention and that offer remains open. It was not taken up by the Korean Government.Hon David Parker: Why did his Government let the GCSB put our trade and diplomatic relationship with Indonesia at risk by spying on his Indonesian rival for the World Trade Organisation (WTO) job given Australia’s recent hacking of communications of the Indonesian Government caused such a public deterioration of their relationship?Mr SPEAKER: Order! On this occasion it is a question now that relates entirely to the operation of the GCSB. If the member can rephrase his question and link it to a ministerial responsibility I will allow it.Hon David Parker: Why did the Government put our trade and diplomatic relationship with Indonesia at risk by spying on his Indonesian rival for the WTO job given that Australia’s hacking of communications of the Indonesian Government caused such a public deterioration of their relationship?Hon TIM GROSER: As the trade negotiator who came in from the cold I would answer that I have not done any spying on anyone and we are in a very interesting situation right now with Indonesia. If the member continues in this he can ask a thousand supplementary questions and he will get the same response phrased in different ways which is that this Government—as well as his previous Government—does not comment on operational matters.Hon David Parker: Does he think spying on our friends to help his job application at the WTO was proper use of GCSB powers?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as the Minister considers there is ministerial responsibility the Hon Tim Groser.Hon TIM GROSER: The same answer as I have given on previous occasions.Hon David Parker: I seek leave to—and I have obtained this including the translation of the Portuguese—Mr SPEAKER: Order! You are seeking leave to table something—Hon David Parker: I am seeking leave to table the release from the Brazilian Government which is in Portuguese and the Google translation that has been provided by the public library—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I do not need any further assistance from the member or any further description. If it may inform the House it will be the House’s decision. Leave is sought to table this particular document. Is there any objection? Yes.