Connell Brian: General Debate 
Connell Brian: General Debate 
[Volume:620;Page:15481] 
BRIAN CONNELL (National—Rakaia) 
: 
 If ever we wanted a better example of what a bunch of wallies the members opposite are David Cunliffe gave it to us this afternoon. He got up and took a crack at my colleague Maurice Williamson asserting that he left papers on an aeroplane when he was the Minister of Transport. I have done some research and the person who did that was Bill Jeffries the Labour Minister of Transport. That member came down to the House and apologised. Mr Cunliffe got it wrong. I can only explain it thus. I think that when he put his head in an oven and turned his hair blonde his brain was curdled. The man is absolutely stupid. 
 Talking of stupid let us talk about George Hawkins. There is nothing sadder than seeing a Minister stabbed in the back by his own colleagues or left to hang by his own devices as the members around him desert him like rats from a ship. How cruel and heartless Helen Clark is! It is apparent to everybody in this House that George Hawkins is the village idiot of the Labour Party but is it not— 
Hon Mark Burton 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. There is the matter of some decorum in this House. I have ignored the first three references made by that member and I will not put them on the record. His opening sentence used a word—and you may have been distracted at the time—that was utterly inappropriate. That sort of language is just inappropriate. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: That is a debating issue Madam Speaker. You already ruled on this when Mr Mallard was on his feet insulting people left right and centre. You said that was robust debate. The member may not like it but I ask you to at least be consistent. 
Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Yes. Please continue. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: That member might want to come down to the House a bit sooner and listen to what is being said. It is clear that George Hawkins is not on top of his portfolios and that fact was ruthlessly exposed yesterday by Katherine Rich. Katherine Rich exposed him because he did not know what he was responsible for. How humiliating it must be for George Hawkins to read in the paper that he will be fired. Even this Minister I assume has the intellect and the feelings to understand the impact of what he reads in the newspaper. It is a cold and black heart that can treat any member like that let alone a colleague. I say to members in this House that if George Hawkins were a dog then the SPCA would be banging on the Prime Minister’s door and charging her with cruelty to dumb animals. That is how bad it is. I would not treat my dog the way that George Hawkins is being treated by our Prime Minister at the moment. Yes he should be fired because he is incompetent but he deserves to be treated with some dignity and he needs to be put out of his misery as soon as possible. 
Yesterday the Prime Minister all but confirmed that Mr Hawkins is about to get the chop. Members will remember these words: “He is a conscientious and hard-working Minister.” They were the very words that the Prime Minister said about Lianne Dalziel just before she got the chop. 
Ron Mark 
: And he’s loyal. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: That is the real reason that he will get the chop. That is how a loyal member is treated. Mr Hawkins came to the Law and Order Committee—Mr Mark will recall this—and he said: “I understand there is a problem in the Southern Communications Centre. The people down there are stressed and understaffed and critical response times will be missed.” When he was quizzed as to whether he would do anything about it he said yes. I asked whether he had budgeted for any more staff and he said: “Ah ah—no.” How many times do Dr Cullen and Trevor Mallard have to get up and try to protect this member? It is a hard job. Can they really see themselves supporting a member who is prepared to get dressed up and put a police cap on and be seen on national television playing with his toy police cars? And the Labour Party wants us to take him seriously! Not even the members opposite are trying to defend the guy because they know that the whiff and smell of death for George Hawkins is all but nigh. But of course the problem for the Prime Minister relates to who she can replace him with. Who else is operating at such a low level? Trevor Mallard is one candidate.