Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Shearer David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 12 February 2013. Volume:687;Page:7690. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
1. 
DAVID SHEARER (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he stand by all his statements? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes. 
David Shearer 
: Does he stand by his statement that “There have been cases where the Australians have considered whether they would help shepherd a boat across the Tasman …”; if so on how many occasions has this occurred? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes and one. 
David Shearer 
: From whom did he receive advice that Australia was considering shepherding boats containing asylum seekers to New Zealand? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: My intelligence agencies and given that the member is on the Intelligence and Security Committee if he would like to have a briefing at the next committee meeting and see the paperwork I would be more than happy to release that to him. 
David Shearer 
: Did he offer to take 150 of Australia’s boat people or was it requested by Australia? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I made the suggestion. I made the suggestion for the following reasons. In my opinion firstly Australia has much greater capacity to disinterrupt and ensure that boats actually do not leave—[ 
Interruption 
]—disrupt— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: —boats that would otherwise leave for our shores. Secondly in my opinion it would encourage Australia to keep boats that it might otherwise shepherd across the Tasman and thirdly it gives us the optionality to send mass arrivals that could come to New Zealand if we so chose to change the law to camps offshore. All three of those reasons are very sound reasons for the steps that we have taken. I would also add that these refugees that we will be taking are within the cap of 750 so frankly I am somewhat ambivalent about whether they would come from Australian territory or from Asia or Africa. 
David Shearer 
: When was the last time a boat containing asylum seekers actually arrived in New Zealand? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well I am sure the member is aware that we have not had a mass arrival in New Zealand but again I go back to the member and say to him that he is a member of the Intelligence and Security Committee. If he would like me to authorise for him to see some of the paperwork that I see he should feel free to read that paperwork. I say to this House that I have now read some comments from Mr Shearer that says he will not be reversing the National Government’s position if he ever gets anywhere near office. He will “ring the Aussies”. Well good luck! They will give you the same advice that we have had: there are lots of people who could potentially come. 
David Shearer 
: Has he seen any reports about a boat potentially preparing to depart Indonesia possibly bound for New Zealand in late 2012; if so does he stand by his statement yesterday about that boat: “Don’t know don’t know whether don’t know whether it actually actually happened. It fell over.”? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I cannot confirm the location that the boat might have left from because there are intelligence reasons why we would not want to do that. Secondly absolutely. I worked on that issue for a number of weeks before the end of last year. I go back to the member. If he wants to— 
David Shearer 
: Fantasy. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well it is interesting actually is it not? If the Leader of the Opposition wants to come to a briefing at the Intelligence and Security Committee if he wants to see the paperwork—hey he should feel free. I am more than happy for that to be the case but by the way the last time this country took refugees within the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cap under Helen Clark we did not see the Labour Party arguing about it. 
Brendan Horan 
: Why has Dame Jenny Shipley not been stood down from the board of State-owned enterprise Genesis Energy in the wake of her role in the commercial failure of Mainzeal Property and Construction? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I do not believe that question in any way relates to the theme of this question now being asked. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Although I am slightly reluctant to defend the member in the corner you could not get a broader primary question than: “Does he stand by all his statements?”. The member is clearly able to go to areas well beyond what the Leader of the Opposition has. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: My difficulty is—and perhaps the Prime Minister could assist—whether he has made any statements about the continuation of the Rt Hon Dame Jenny Shipley in that position and if so he might be quite comfortable to answer the question. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I do not recall making any statements about her continuation. I am happy to check the record—obviously a number of issues—but I do not recall any. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The easiest way to progress this matter is I invite Brendan Horan to repeat the question. 
Brendan Horan 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Prime Minister has made statements in the media about Mainzeal Property and Construction— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Yes and I am inviting the member to repeat his question. 
Brendan Horan 
: Thank you. Why has Dame Jenny Shipley not been stood down from the board of State-owned enterprise Genesis Energy in the wake of her role in the commercial failure of Mainzeal Property and Construction? 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. You will see the primary question. It requires the Prime Minister to have made a specific statement about Jenny Shipley’s position. The Prime Minister said he has not made one. The questioner must now point to the evidence that justifies him trying to get it within the ambit of the primary question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I thank the member for his assistance. On this occasion I am now accepting the question from Brendan Horan and I am inviting the Prime Minister to answer the question. He can answer it accordingly if he so wishes. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: I acknowledge that Dame Jenny Shipley is the current chair of Genesis Energy and I acknowledge that she was a director of one of the Mainzeal companies—I have not got that exactly off the top of my head. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Two of them. 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Two—if the member says two that would be right. That would be about a hundred times fewer than the number of twitters he has made about Russel Norman. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Sorry. To go back to the point the situation is that we have not seen any particular reason—although we as the Government very much regret what has happened with Mainzeal because that will have an impact on subcontractors and employers in New Zealand—at this point that would suggest that she should no longer chair a State-owned enterprise. 
David Shearer 
: Is it correct that he went down to Queenstown last week to fight for the welfare rights of Kiwis in Australia and came back with 150 of Australia’s boat people? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: No that is not correct. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Interestingly enough I did go to Queenstown last weekend to discuss the deal that the Labour Government did in 2001 to stop New Zealanders getting entitlements. Phil Goff was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade and he stitched New Zealanders up. So I came back with the knowledge and I pointed that out to Julia Gillard. 
Dr Russel Norman 
: Does he stand by his statement: “We are likely to create 170000 jobs in the next 4 years” given that a year and a half later there are 22000 fewer New Zealanders in jobs? 
Rt Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes I stand by that statement. Secondly there are a number of different measures at the moment to look at it. The member is quoting from the household labour force survey. But just to quote from the quarterly employment survey which the Opposition was just a few weeks ago claiming as the gold standard for looking at employment under that measure 54000 new jobs were created over the last 2 years.