1. Todd Barclay—Southland Electorate Office Allegations Police Briefings to MinisterJACINDA ARDERN (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of PoliceORAL QUESTIONSQUESTIONS TO MINISTERSTodd Barclay—Southland Electorate Office Allegations Police Briefings to Minister1. JACINDA ARDERN (Deputy Leader—Labour) to the Minister of Police: Under what circumstances is she briefed by police under the long standing no surprises" policy?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (Minister of Immigration) on behalf of the Minister of Police: Any no-surprises briefing to the Minister of Police is entirely at the commissioner's discretion.Jacinda Ardern: Was the Minister of Police at the time informed of the investigation into Todd Barclay on a no-surprises basis; if so on what date?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I have spoken to immediate former Minister of Police and she advises she received no briefings by police on this subject.Jacinda Ardern: On what date was the then Minister of Police informed or did she become aware of the investigation of her colleague Todd Barclay; and by whom?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I am unable to answer the question because I do not have that information but what I can reassure the member of is that the method was not via a no-surprises briefing by the Commissioner of Police.Hon Judith Collins: Would the Minister be surprised to learn that the former Minister of Police would have found out about the investigation from the media?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: Not at all because that would have been the entirely appropriate way for a Minister of Police to find out whether the Commissioner of Police had determined that this was not a matter that should be raised with her. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! Less interjection on this occasion from both sides of the House.Jacinda Ardern: When did the police inform the Minister of Police that they had received an Official Information Act (OIA) request on the investigation into Todd Barclay as part of their OIA risk register?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I am unable to answer the question because I do not have that information but I am sure it could be answered if the member put that question down in writing. [Interruption] Mr SPEAKER: Order! Less interjection please otherwise I will have to deal with it more severely.Jacinda Ardern: Does the Minister seriously expect the public to believe that the Minister of Police had no idea her colleague was being investigated that her colleague never once raised it with her and that she was never briefed on the redacted OIA requests that the police released?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: I would have every expectation that the public would want to know that the statutory independence of the New Zealand Police from ministerial interference as set out in Part 2 of the Policing Act 2008 would be rigorously pursued by the commissioner and his senior staff.Jacinda Ardern: Is the Minister claiming that the police breached protocol when they briefed the Minister of Police on Mike Sabin?Hon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE: The no-surprises discretion is entirely the Commissioner of Police's who decides what is appropriate to raise with a Minister of Police and what is not.Jacinda Ardern: Has the Minister ever been told by the police that individuals who are interviewed by them are duty-bound to keep that confidential to the point of lying about it as the Prime Minister did?Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! The last part of that question is completely out of order and I refer the member to Speakers' Rulings page 48. You cannot accuse a member in this House of lying. It is not only offensive to the member; it is offensive to the House."