Parker DavidHon DAVID PARKER (Minister for Economic Development): The Leader of the Opposition started with his weak attempt to justify the latest evacuation from the National Party. I heard my colleague the Hon Kris Faafoi say Women and children first." Can I pass my congratulations on to all of those in the Opposition who got new jobs yesterday. Of course some didn't get the job they wanted but that's because Simon's not ready to give it up yet. This is a trend that we're seeing in right wing parties all around the world. I think one of the best satirical political writers at the moment around the world is a lady Marina Hyde from The Guardian. Her articles are very entertaining reading. One of her recent columns was headed: "Heavyweight Tory fantasists up the pace on the road to nowhere" and that's what's happening in the National Party at the moment.They've got more aspiring leadership candidates than they've got backbenchers. Who have we had in recent times? We've had Steven Joyce. He wanted the top job didn't get it—Mark Patterson: Remember him—packed a sad. Hon DAVID PARKER: —packed a sad and left. Jonathan Coleman—he got out early. Amy Adams—well she hung around. She didn't get the top job but you know she's throwing in the towel because she's seen the writing's on the wall—a decade in Opposition a fruitless waste of a talented life—and so she said "I'm out of here. I'm gone. I'm gone." Who are we left with? We've still quite a few. We've got Todd Muller—Todd Muller. We've got Mark Mitchell sitting there in the front. Hon Peeni Henare: Dark horse. Hon DAVID PARKER: Dark horse. You know I heard he was coming in from the airport recently and inquired of the person who he was in the cab with "Do you think Simon Bridges is up to it?" He knows this is true. Who else? Who else? Well what did Chris Finlayson think? Remember that speech a little while ago? He was giving his valedictory. He didn't make mention of Simon Bridges or Paula Bennett once—not once. He gave the ups to Nikki Kaye—that was his candidate. She's playing a slow game. So really what's happening here? It's the old ABC of politics and we've been through it before on this side of the House—the ABC of politics. So who's gone? Who's gone? Well we've had the As: Alastair Scott Amy Adams. What's going to happen with the Bs? Who—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Yeah Bridges.Barbara Kuriger: I'm still here. Hon DAVID PARKER: Bridges possibly. Is he going to be in there? Hon Members: Barb—Barb. Hon DAVID PARKER: Oh I don't know. Normally you sacrifice a pawn first before the king is sacrificed on the chessboard so it'll probably be Paula Bennett that goes after A—B for Bennett—before you get—Hon Members: David Bennett. Hon DAVID PARKER: No I don't think it'd be David Bennett—no. Now the C—well maybe I've got it wrong. Maybe it's not an alphabet. Maybe it's a mathematical equation because you've got to be good at maths in politics. So you've got A for Adams minus B for Bridges equals C which is? Hon Members: Collins. Hon DAVID PARKER: Oh maybe that is the answer: A minus B equals C. Maybe it's algebraic or maybe it's the old one. The old one is ABC: "Anyone but"—yeah that seems to be the prevailing view. They even took a portfolio off her and didn't tell her until she'd lost it. That was in the media yesterday. So the only thing I have heard suggested is that the ABC of politics is a bit jaded and they're trying to get a bit more sophisticated in the Opposition now and they've gone through D. But the problem is that they can't get past desperate divided and distracted as well as departing. They're desperate—obviously they're desperate because Simon Bridges just fails to impress. Even other contenders within the frame of ABC are rating better amongst the New Zealand public than the Leader of the Opposition. They're certainly divided—they're divided over whether Judith Collins would be worse than Simon Bridges—and they're distracted. They're so focused on their internal ructions that they haven't even asked us a question about the Budget. Yet another pratfall in the debate that we've just had was that 800 police was said to be our ambition. It's 1800 police and we're just about there. They're desperate they're divided they're distracted and they're departing."