Pettis Jill: General Debate 
Pettis Jill: General Debate 
[Volume:635;Page:6515] 
JILL PETTIS (Labour) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to join in the Wednesday debate this afternoon because on the Labour side of the House we sure have plenty to talk about and using a further analogy I can say that it is not just one or two members opposite who are headed for the knacker’s yard it is the whole National Party. I have never seen so many press releases about a National leadership challenge as I did when we were putting our files together this afternoon. What it means for the National Party is that it is paralysed. We are seeing no example of policy at all. National members have had many years in Opposition in which to put policy together. Being in Opposition is a good opportunity for a party to put policy together but we have not seen any emanating from National members. It is a waste of time on their part as nobody is listening to them because of their preoccupation with leadership changes. The impression that the public has about National members is that they just cannot get their act together and they are clearly headed for the knacker’s yard whereas members on this side of the House are like the great horse Kiwi from Waverley. We won the political equivalent of the Melbourne Cup and we have a very proud history in that regard. 
One of the other issues on which the National Party has got itself into a real quandary— 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I’ll tell you what that member would be rejected by the glue factory. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I say to Mr Brownlee that he has had his turn and he should hush down a little. One of the other issues on which National has got itself into a real quandary— 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. There is no Minister in the House. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Yes there is a Minister in the House. The member will please continue. The clock has been stopped. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Oh my apologies David Cunliffe is here. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member will continue. 
Hon Murray McCully 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I just want you to rule on this matter. Clearly there is a Minister in the House but we could not see him because he was slumped down over his seat asleep. Is there a requirement that the Minister should be awake in the House? 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: That is not a point of order Mr McCully. It is a frivolous point of order and the member knows that it is. The Minister had his head down and was working. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I wonder whether you could enlighten the House as to why there has to be a Minister in the House and what that Minister does while in the House. If there is a purpose to the Minister being in the House I would be interested to know whether that purpose can be fulfilled by someone who is sound asleep. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank Mr Brownlee for that. There have now been two frivolous interventions. I ask the member for Whanganui to restart her speech. 
JILL PETTIS 
: They are sharp are they not? They are so pathetic. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You referred to the member as the member for Whanganui. She is a list member and is not the member for Whanganui. You called the member for Whanganui; I think you should refer to her by her proper title. She is a list member not the member for Whanganui. She actually lost her seat to a very good member from the National Party. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Thank you. That was an indiscretion on my part. I call the honourable member Jill Pettis. 
JILL PETTIS 
: Here we are proudly calling ourselves Kiwis and proud to be New Zealanders yet National Opposition members opposite worry themselves about things of no consequence at all in the greater scheme of things. That shows the huge difference between members of that party and Government members sitting on this side of the House. We are concerned about leadership; we are concerned about vision; we are concerned about New Zealand and the things that really matter. That is the difference between leadership on this side and the National Opposition on the other side which is riven with division. National is riven with division but we are leading the country and will continue to lead. 
We are leading on things like climate change—an issue that the whole world is talking about. Climate change is being talked about by the developed world by the whole progressive world. But the National caucus is filled with division about whether climate change is a reality and about how they can avoid talking about the issue and revealing those members within the National Party who are sceptical about climate change. They are too scared to lose what little backing they have from the business community and from the agricultural community. 
Which party made all the fuss about the methane tax or more commonly known in New Zealand as the “fart tax”? Which party led the charge? It was the National Party that decried the impact on climate change of methane and all of those emissions from farm animals. It is now catching up with the fact that it made a huge mistake. Credible scientists and credible people—like Al Gore who is respected internationally—are leading the debate on this issue and prominent countries in the world are listening to Al Gore’s words. National knows that it made a grave error back then. It has no policy because it has no leadership. 
John Key is a climate change sceptic. He is a doubter. John Key is the man who is more concerned about what his shares did overnight. When asked what is the first thing he thinks about each morning—I do not know whether Mrs Key knows this—he says: “My shares. I wonder how they fared overnight.” He is not the man who says: “My first thoughts— 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is bad enough that Ministers go to sleep in the Chamber; it is not acceptable that you do. We want that woman pulled up; we want an apology; and if you were a halfway decent Speaker you would send her out of here. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I did not see that as a need to pull her up. All she said was that the first thing Mr Key thought about in the morning was his shares. That is a debatable issue. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: That’s not what was said and you know it and the  
Hansard 
 record will show it. If you let it go it is a disgrace. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: If the member has caused any offence the member will please withdraw. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I do not know what I am withdrawing for but I withdraw. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: You used to be a junior whip. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I withdraw. Well that just shows how sensitive those members are. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member will withdraw. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I said that I will withdraw. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: And apologise thank you. 
JILL PETTIS 
: Absolutely. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. It is not acceptable that you allow that member to qualify her withdrawal in the way she has. On past occasions when the Speaker has asked someone to withdraw and it has been done in an insincere manner as that member has just shown the Speaker has required the person to leave the House. That should be exactly how it is played out in this circumstance. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Can I just say Mr Brownlee that what I heard the member say was that the first thing Mr Key thought of in the morning was the value of his shares. I did not personally see anything wrong with that. That is what I heard. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. My point is that when you are asleep you do not hear the whole story. That is what has just happened and the  
Hansard 
 record— 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member will be seated. I did not hear anything about what the member might be insinuating. I have asked the member on my right that if she has offended she will withdraw and apologise and recommence her speech. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I did without qualification. 
Hon Murray McCully 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I have dealt with the issue. The member has withdrawn and apologised. 
Hon Murray McCully 
: I want to draw your attention to the fact that the member having withdrawn and apologised then qualified that withdrawal. That is unacceptable inside the Standing Orders and the Speaker always takes a course of action when there is such a qualification. I invite you to take it. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I did not hear the member make a qualification but she knows that she cannot make a qualification. The member must stand withdraw and apologise. I ask the member to do that right now. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I did. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No please do it. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I withdraw. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: And apologise. 
JILL PETTIS 
: And apologise. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Thank you. 
Pita Paraone 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have taken offence that a member of this House should accuse the Speaker of being asleep during this debate. I seek a withdrawal and an apology for that accusation. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Thank you very much for that. 
Pita Paraone 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Can you call the member back so that he can do that? 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Order please! Look guys; just calm down just relax. This is the Wednesday debate. I did not take any offence at the comment and certainly was not asleep. But I thank the member for rising to support the Speaker’s position. I understand the situation and I have dealt with it. I now want to call— 
Pita Paraone 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I accept that you did not take offence but I certainly did and on that basis I was asking for a withdrawal and an apology. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: You cannot take offence on behalf of another member. I am going to move on. I call the honourable member Jill Pettis. 
JILL PETTIS 
: It is absolutely delicious that members opposite can become so preoccupied about issues of no real importance at all. Getting slagged off a bit is just politics. That is what politics is about. It just shows how thin their skins are when they cannot take anything. 
Hon Murray McCully 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have already drawn to your attention the requirement under the Standing Orders for apologies and withdrawals to be made without qualification. I suggest to you that the member on her feet is now referring to the fact that members on this side who raised objections for which she was required to withdraw and apologise are “thin-skinned” to use her term for raising objection. I put it to you that that is not only a qualification of the apology and withdrawal but also it comes dangerously close to challenging the ruling that required her to make that withdrawal and apology. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I ask the member to desist. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member also used a very unparliamentary term. She talked about National members who were “slagged off”—[ 
Interruption 
] 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Can I just say that points of order are heard in silence. If they are not then someone is going to get a yellow card. I call the honourable member Lindsay Tisch. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: Following on from the point raised by my colleague Murray McCully he brought to your attention that a member cannot qualify a withdrawal and an apology which the member did do and then used a very unparliamentary term when she referred to National members as getting “slagged off”. We take offence and those words should not be used in this House. I ask that the member be asked to withdraw and apologise. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: A member has taken offence. The member will withdraw. 
JILL PETTIS 
: I withdraw. I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I have dealt with the situation. 
JILL PETTIS 
: This is a new point of order. I seek clarification. In the interests of a continuation of a smooth debate would you clarify whether the word “misogyny” is unparliamentary. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: Well one can do anything in context so it depends on the way in which it is used in the House. 
JILL PETTIS 
: In context I suggest a bit of misogyny is rife here this afternoon because three male speakers from our side of the House spoke before me and there was not one interjection from the National Party. But when I got up on my haunches members opposite did nothing but interject and interject. I think a little bit of misogyny— 
Russell Fairbrother 
: Picking on the girls. 
JILL PETTIS 
: Yes they are picking on a poor woman. I say: “Shame on you!”. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member’s time has expired.