Martin TraceyGENERAL DEBATETRACEY MARTIN (NZ First): I move That the House take note of miscellaneous business. Kia ora Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First in defence—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I can accept some interjection throughout a general debate but it is unreasonable this amount of interjection at the very start. The member can start her speech again.TRACEY MARTIN: Thank you Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First in defence of Alfred Ngaro because somebody has to. It is interesting—it is shocking—to see how Alfred Ngaro has been hung out to dry by his own political party.No senior member has been placed next to a new Minister to support him in a situation where Mr Ngaro has unfortunately a character flaw: he is too honest. Mr Ngaro should be given a vote of thanks by all members of this Parliament and by the people of New Zealand for telling the truth. Mr Ngaro has sat for 6 years in a caucus where there is this behaviour of threatening NGOs; of suggesting that people should not criticise the Government or Watch out."; of suggesting that if people want contracts with this Government there will be clauses that say you will be gagged. Mr Ngaro saw this on a daily basis for 6 years and all he did was articulate it because he is an honest man. But where are his colleagues now? Where are his colleagues now?Only a few months ago he was one of the "Three Amigos"; now he is on his own. Let us just go through some of the things that Mr Ngaro has already seen. For example health Minister Mr Coleman decided that if you criticised his health policy you were "a raving leftie". Conservation Minister Barry calls people who badmouth the Department of Conservation underfunding "nutters". A contractor who has drilled holes at Pike River has had a gagging order placed inside his contract so that if anybody contacts him with regard to what he is doing on site particularly the media he must alert Solid Energy.The Rt Hon Winston Peters and fellow MPs of mine went to Kaikōura 14 days ago because they had been contacted as elected members of this Parliament by constituents who were concerned about the slowness with regard to the reconstruction there. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) then calls up the helicopter company and wants to know who hired the helicopter. What on earth makes NZTA think it has the right to ring up a commercial operation which has been hired by a private organisation and ask who paid the bill? It believes it can because that is the sort of practice that this Government allows to happen.It goes on though. Last week New Zealand First emailed St John Ambulance to ask about the new crewing proposals that this Government had announced. St John Ambulance came back in an email and said: "What do you want to know for?". Well actually we want to know because we want to know. The Government has announced it so we are just looking for the finer detail of it. But when it replied to us it cc'd in the Ministry of Health. It cc'd in the Ministry of Health—Hon Louise Upston: They're the ones that are paying for it.TRACEY MARTIN: I find it very interesting. The Minister obviously agrees that it is normal practice for this Government because she is ranting on about it. It is like social providers. Social housing providers have been told that if they get approached by the media they need to contact the ministry immediately. They are not free to speak—they are not free to speak.In Northland 2 years ago Whangarei MP Shane Reti phoned up a resident and told her: "You'd better stop complaining about your dusty road or nothing will happen." Unfortunately for him—unfortunately for him—she actually recorded the phone call.What about the solo mothers who with Paula Bennett once they criticised her policy ended up with their private data all over the internet? What about when the human rights commissioner criticised John Key about increasing spy powers and he threatened to cut their funding? What about Salisbury School when Hekia Parata lost her court case and since then she has been starving it to death? Mr Ngaro merely did what he was taught to do. Mr Ngaro merely articulated what he has seen being done. Mr Ngaro should be supported by his colleagues. It is a shame. It is a shame that you do not stand by your colleagues. But let it be a lesson to all of you backbenchers: make one mistake and your party leaves you alone."