Dunne Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Dunne Peter: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:622;Page:17382] 
10.  
Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in her Associate Minister of Justice the Hon David Benson-Pope; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Acting Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes because he is a hard-working and conscientious Minister. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: How can the Prime Minister continue to have confidence in that Minister when last week he erroneously claimed with regard to the Civil Union Bill that “the only party in Parliament who have not made this issue a conscience vote was United Future.” was corrected on that assertion yesterday by the Acting Prime Minister in the House then repeated the same claim on  
Morning Report 
 this morning and when challenged by the interviewer said: “I’m not aware of any inaccuracies in what I’ve said.”? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: My understanding is that in the interview this morning Mr Benson-Pope acknowledged that in fact the United Future party did have a conscience vote on the issue and as the member rightly says he corrected that statement in the House—on Tuesday I think it was. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Why would the Prime Minister have confidence in Mr David Benson-Pope when he publicly made erroneous statements about the Civil Union Bill and United Future’s position and when he also told the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand that he had no list of projects suitable for a non-local decision-making process when he did; and if that is how the Government treats its friends how will it treat its enemies? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I would have thought that that member would know by now how we treat our enemies. 
Dail Jones 
: Why does the Prime Minister have any confidence in the Hon David Benson-Pope when that Minister expresses utter confidence in public support for the Civil Union Bill yet refuses to have a citizens initiated referendum on the issue as requested by New Zealand First so that all New Zealanders can have their say on it—not just members in this House? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think the member made a slip. I do not think he meant a citizens initiated referendum; I think he meant the proposals to have a referendum on the bill—a binding referendum as a result of the bill should it pass. It has not been the practice in New Zealand at all to have binding referenda on any matters other than those— 
Brian Connell 
: Just change it. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Oh is that the National Party’s flip-flop now? I am sure that that member would like to suggest to his leader that binding referenda should be held on State asset sales in the future—if there is ever a National Government again. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: Does the Prime Minister consider that Mr Benson-Pope’s continued misrepresentation of United Future’s position on the Civil Union Bill is in accord with the principles of the agreement between United Future and the Labour Party to operate on a good-faith basis? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I understand that the Deputy Prime Minister has already indicated to Mr Benson-Pope that there is a need to be careful in these relationships and in fact that the Government’s position is that the United Future party is operating a conscience vote. Of course I remember in this House previously a party that claimed to be operating a conscience vote. Its members all operated in the same way once they were sure the numbers were safely there to make sure the bill passed. That concerned the Homosexual Law Reform Bill in 1986.