Hide Rodney: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Hide Rodney: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:624;Page:19312] 
6. Hon RICHARD PREBBLE (ACT) 
 on behalf of  
RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she have confidence in the Associate Minister of Education the Hon David Benson-Pope; if so why? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Deputy Prime Minister) 
 on behalf of the 
 Prime Minister 
: Yes because he is a hard-working conscientious and therefore very occasionally somnolent Minister. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: When the Prime Minister says that Mr Benson-Pope is a hard-working and conscientious Minister can she confirm the belief that he rises at the crack of noon each day works hard until the early hours of the afternoon and then comes into the House to have a well-deserved sleep—is that his general work pattern? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No. The member does not emulate the work habits of Rodney Hide. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Does the Prime Minister consider that the Associate Minister of Education’s attempts to cover up the scholarship debacle his refusal to admit any problems with National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) results and his telling parents concerned about NCEA to “get over it” were all results of his napping on the job just a bit too much and does she intend to give him any time to readdress his work-life balance? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: On behalf of the Prime Minister and of all my colleagues I can say that the Prime Minister is prone to ring up some of her colleagues in even the early hours of the morning and that I think includes the Associate Minister of Education. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Madam Speaker. The Prime Minister’s nocturnal habits may be of interest to the Labour Party but in no way do they address the question asked here about what she intends to do about giving Mr Benson-Pope the sort of rest that he clearly needs with his having been a Minister now for at least 4 or 5 months. 
Madam SPEAKER 
: I think that the Minister certainly addressed the question. 
Hon Brian Donnelly 
: Is the Prime Minister aware that the New Zealand Teachers Council reported to the Education and Science Committee yesterday that large numbers of schools and pre-schools are not forwarding names of staff for police vetting as they are legally required to do and will she guarantee that the Associate Minister of Education will resolve that problem? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am not aware of the first issue but I am sure that the Associate Minister will take that up with his normal due diligence as befits a person representing the great Dunedin South electorate. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Do Mr Benson-Pope’s sleeping habits explain the NCEA mess; if not does he do more harm when awake or asleep? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Minister is working very hard on the NCEA scholarship issue. The NCEA itself is not under scrutiny in terms of the basics of that scheme. A number of issues need to be considered in relation to that. Regarding the scholarship issue the member should tread very carefully. The main issues that emerged as a result of the recent study in relation to scholarship showed up things that have been happening for years in terms of the pass rates before scaling in a number of science subjects. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: Can we take it from the Prime Minister’s vigorous defence of Mr David Benson-Pope that he is one of her more effective Ministers even when he is asleep? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Around all his waking and sleeping moments Mr Benson-Pope is loyal to the principles of the Labour Party. I just wish that that member had been when he was a Minister.