Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brownlee Gerry: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:625;Page:19733] 
1. GERRY BROWNLEE (Deputy Leader—National) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she stand by her statement “Banishment under this Government is not necessarily a permanent thing.”? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Does the Prime Minister accept that today John Tamihere stared her down and she blinked first? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Obviously not. Leadership is about judgment and I have exercised mine in the interests of the Labour Party. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Given that the Prime Minister did not really act with a severe censure motion until the publication of the second series of allegations by the editor of  
Investigate 
 magazine should we reach the conclusion that the first series of allegations was indubitably true and accurate; and that being the case why did she not show some leadership today instead of taking the easy way out as Mr Tamihere said she always does? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The Labour Party caucus acted to the member’s face at the first opportunity when he appeared. 
Rodney Hide 
: Does the Prime Minister not accept that she has been humiliated by John Tamihere and could she please tell the public of New Zealand: what exactly does one have to do to get turfed out of the Labour Party? 
Madam SPEAKER 
: That question has no ministerial responsibility. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Does the Prime Minister accept that her Government’s so-called “new standards of behaviour and performance” have been completely abandoned in light of her tacit acceptance of Mr Tamihere’s behaviour? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The member clearly has not read the motion of censure from the Labour Party caucus. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Is it a fact that Mr Tamihere defied her direction to take leave and not to attend caucus as the media universally printed and is that not another example of extraordinarily weak leadership? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: No such instruction was given by me. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: Is she concerned that her visit to Auschwitz later this month to pay New Zealand’s respects to those who died there will be compromised by her failure to act decisively with regard to Mr Tamihere and is she concerned that her failure to act decisively risks being seen as tacit endorsement of his comment that he is “sick and tired of hearing how many Jews got gassed.”? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I issued an unequivocal condemnation of those comments. 
John Carter 
: How does she reconcile her statement of censure of John Tamihere with his statement on Television One news today that he does not resile from or apologise for anything he said? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: He most certainly did. 
Judith Collins 
: Is she confident that John Tamihere can change his appalling attitude towards New Zealand women given his description of them as “front bums”? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: That was one of a number of statements for which he has been severely censured by the New Zealand Labour Party. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Why should New Zealanders have any confidence in her as Prime Minister given that she has made it clear that she and her Government are prepared to tolerate offensive and objectionable comments from one of her high-profile MPs because it is politically expedient to do so? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Taking to people with a piece of four-by-two is not the only form of leadership available. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: If as she claims Mr Tamihere has apologised and does resile from the comments he made why was he not prepared to say so on the  
One News 
 interview played at 12 o’clock today? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Mr Tamihere humbled himself in front of the Labour Party caucus today. The Labour Party takes the view that people who have been under considerable stress need to be treated humanely.