Goff Phil: General Debate 
Goff Phil: General Debate 
[Volume:653;Page:2297] 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Leader of the Opposition) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. Yesterday we saw the extraordinary spectacle of the Prime Minister describing a Minister of the Crown as being “stupid” and “unwise”—stupid and unwise. Those are his words not mine. Today the country is asking the question as to why a person who is stupid and unwise continues to hold a ministerial portfolio. The answers given in the House yesterday by Dr Worth were at the very best ambiguous. There is a murkiness around that private business junket using the Minister’s title and the perks of office that has not yet been explained by Dr Worth and he should explain. 
Yesterday the Prime Minister was at pains to defend the Minister of Trade Tim Groser for failing to resign from the directorships of two commercial enterprises that were clearly a conflict of interest with the role of Minister of Trade. I have been the Minister of Trade. I know that one has inside information that one is privileged to hold. One cannot hold a commercial directorship and carry out the functions as Minister of Trade. Although Mr Key was at pains to defend Mr Groser for taking 3 months to resign from those directorships it took Dr Worth just 2 hours when he was caught out on his junket and conflict of interest. What Mr Key never told the House was that as he was answering the question Mr Groser continued to hold shares in the company the Indian Overseas Trade Group. Mr Groser continued to hold those shares which is something that was revealed only last night when the media put that question to him. I do not believe that the Prime Minister has matched the high standard that he promised he would set for his Ministers. Do members remember what it was? It was “one strike and you’re out”. There have been many strikes; no Minister has yet resigned. 
Very fortunately New Zealand has a strong reputation as a country that has a high level of integrity and as a country that is intolerant of corruption. One reason that is the case in Government is this manual. It is called the  
Cabinet Manual 
 and it works very clearly to prevent conflicts of interest. Every one of us on our appointments as Ministers was required to fill out a checklist against which we could judge whether there were conflicts of interest. If that was not enough we then had a personal and confidential interview with the Cabinet Office to make sure that there were no conflicts of interest. Mr Key must explain to this House how having had those checklists and confidential interviews two of his Ministers failed to recognise or disclose conflicts of interest and held those conflicts of interest in Dr Worth’s case until he was caught out and in the case of Mr Groser’s directorships for 3 months followed by his failure to disclose a shareholding. 
I accept from Mr Groser his word as an honourable member of this House that that was an oversight but an oversight is not acceptable. David Parker resigned from his portfolio because he could not remember the facts surrounding an allegation that was made against him. He had the integrity to say: “I don’t remember. I therefore resign because the demands of this office and the importance of this office are such that I should do so.” He was cleared entirely of any wrongdoing but he did the decent thing and one has to ask when Dr Worth and Mr Groser will do the decent thing in this House. 
Dr Worth went on a trip using his ministerial title and was facilitated through the airport. Mr Key said yesterday that that did not cost any money. That is rubbish. It did cost money and Mr Key knows that. Dr Worth took the whole delegation through. He went there on a private business junket to promote an enterprise in which a company of which he was a director was in joint venture. That is clearly a conflict of interest. He was asked whether he paid for his own trip. He said yes. When he was asked more closely and in more detail he gave a very ambiguous answer.