Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 27 September 2012. Volume:684;Page:5749. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
5. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Did MediaWorks have discussions with him in relation to their application for a deferment of their radio broadcasting licence fees; if so what was the outcome? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Economic Development) 
 on behalf of the Prime Minister: The Prime Minister has had no formal meetings with the board senior management or representatives of MediaWorks to discuss their radio broadcasting licence fee. On one occasion in 2009 he ran into a Mr Brent Impey at a social event in Auckland where he briefly raised the issue with the Prime Minister. He passed his comments on to the responsible Minister. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Did one Steven Joyce present a paper to Cabinet on 12 October 2009 proposing the deferred payment scheme given that both the Ministry of Economic Development and Treasury had advised that the Joyce scheme would expose the Government to unnecessary financial risk? In short why did the deal go ahead? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I am sure the member is aware that Cabinet makes its decisions on a weekly basis. I would point out that the matter he refers to was the subject of a Government announcement on 22 October 2009. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I asked whether the Prime Minister was aware of one Steven Joyce presenting a Cabinet paper to Cabinet on 12 October 2009. Could we have an answer to that? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: No well sadly the member did not finish his question there. He then asked: “Why did the proposal go ahead?” and that is the bit the Minister answered. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Well if that is the case he answered neither question then. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Could I have an answer to at least one question? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! He answered the last part of the question. The member asked why it went ahead and if I heard the Minister correctly he said it was because Cabinet decided it should. That is a perfectly proper answer to the question. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I put the rider on it: given that both the Ministry of Economic Development and Treasury had advised against it then why? We have had an answer to neither question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Well forgive me; in my view the Minister answered it. He said it was because Cabinet decided—and Cabinets often in my experience decide on matters contrary to advice from all sorts of departments—and that was the Minister’s answer. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Has he received any reports regarding the financial trouble of GR Media Holdings the parent company of MediaWorks which recently posted a $305 million loss; and is he concerned about how this will impact on MediaWorks’ ability to pay back tens of millions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayers’ dollars? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: No and I suggest that if he wants the specifics in this matter he might put the question down to the responsible Minister. But I am aware that this particular payment is completely up to date. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Well what responsibility does he intend to take—or what responsibility does Steven Joyce intend to take as the Prime Minister extracted from him—if this company goes belly up as the market says it is and tens of millions of dollars are lost to the New Zealand taxpayer despite his mates’ rates arrangements? 
Hon STEVEN JOYCE 
: I have tried to draw the member’s attention to the Government announcement on 22 October 2009 and perhaps if I could quote a couple of things from it in relation to the matter that the member raises. Firstly it was made clear that this is a commercial arrangement that was entered into at the time to allow the whole radio industry some short-term flexibility of payment terms. Given the very prominent at that stage global financial crisis it was available to all companies that had renewals falling at the time of the height of the global financial crisis. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I seek leave to table a paper that sets out that the whole of the industry about which Mr Joyce speaks is $300000 to the rest of the industry and the rest— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Could the member identify the document? 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Well I will get it from the library shortly. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! We do not— 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I will get it from the library shortly. I have got time. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! No we no longer seek leave to table documents that do not exist. 
Hon David Parker 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I thought that the point the Rt Hon Winston Peters was making was that the document exists. I thought that under the Standing Orders we had until the end of play to table documents that we could seek leave— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! We are not going to play around with the Standing Orders at all. In this House it used to happen that leave was sought to table documents that did not exist and we are not going to have members seeking leave to table documents that do not exist and then going to the library to try to assemble a document that might match that. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With respect I have seen the document—that is why I know the figures—but I have not got it with me. I thought it would be in my papers today and it is a bit remiss of me in not having it here. All I am saying is I know the document exists. [ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! A point of order has been sought. As Speaker I must take the member at his word. The member says he has seen this document and therefore he is telling the House that the document exists. Leave is sought for the tabling of that document. Is there any objection? 
Hon Member 
: What is the document? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The document is a document from the library. The member needs to be able to tell the House what the document is. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I am at liberty to say my research unit got the information I believe I am certain from the library. That is why I have got the figures already. I mean these are not hidden; they are known. The Government actually made the report on the given day. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! Now the member is debating. Seeking leave to table documents is now a very precise operation. I think we do not know enough about this document for me to seriously seek leave from the House.