Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 16 October 2013. Volume:694;Page:13928. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Leader of the Opposition) to thePrime Minister: Does he now accept that his statement that Chorus “will go broke” is incorrect; if not why not?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): I stand by my full statement which is: “Basically if the Commerce Commission ruling stands there’s a chance Chorus will go broke.” I do not accept that this statement is incorrect.Hon David Cunliffe: In light of the Prime Minister’s comments that “It’s not a view that’s come off the top of my head.” that he received a phone call from the chair of Chorus New Zealand that probably informed him of the matter and that officials briefed him with “commercial-in-confidence” information upon what information has he based his view that it “could go broke”?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: It is based on both the public statement made by Chorus and the “in-confidence” advice received by Cabinet which aligns with the public statement made by Chorus.Hon David Cunliffe: Given that the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges have said that there is no reason to be concerned that Chorus New Zealand Ltd has breached its continuous disclosure requirements and that the market must therefore have been fully informed what information has he based his statement on that is not otherwise available to the market?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Firstly I think that the member himself misrepresents what the NZX actually says. Secondly I based it on the information that was received in confidence which aligns with the public statement made. If you go back to the statement I made I said “if the Commerce Commission ruling stands there’s a chance …” and the Commerce Commission ruling has not stood yet; it is a draft determination.Rt Hon Winston Peters: Will the Prime Minister consult with the Minister for Small Business and the Associate Minister of Commerce on the financial health of Chorus or is that irrelevant now that he has been sent to trial for fraud?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Nice try—no.Hon David Cunliffe: How can he as Prime Minister have made statements about Chorus New Zealand Ltd based on “commercial-in-confidence” information not generally available to the market without breaching the Securities Markets Act?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Because they are in line with the public statements made by Chorus. If anyone knows about breaching those I think it is Mr—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That answer is sufficient.Hon David Cunliffe: Which of the following three options is true: either a Chorus New Zealand Ltd misled the Prime Minister; or b Chorus New Zealand Ltd failed to disclose the same information to the market provided to his Government; or c he has displayed “ineptitude and commercial naivety by his ham-fisted comments” about Chorus New Zealand’s financial liability?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I am going with “d”—that my caucus sings in chorus with me unlike his caucus.Hon David Cunliffe: Supplementary question—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! Your own colleagues are not supporting you today with the level of interjection.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister accept that he is dancing on the head of a pin to justify one of the largest handouts of corporate welfare in New Zealand history violating a statutory process at a cost of around $150 a year to every Kiwi family?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No.