Brownlee Gerry: Electoral (Vacancies) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
Brownlee Gerry: Electoral (Vacancies) Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:610;Page:7754] 
GERRY BROWNLEE (NZ National—Ilam) 
: 
 I will take a moment at the start of my contribution to follow on from what Richard Prebble has just been talking about. This morning I raised the issue of the Prime Minister’s status in relation to this bill and I simply asked whether she has dual citizenship and whether she has applied for another passport in recent times. I am reliably informed that that has been put to the Prime Minister by members of the media and she has described that as a scurrilous lie. 
No lie was ever told because no allegation was made. A question was asked and could not be answered by the whips. So I am very pleased that the Prime Minister is now out there saying: “It’s not me.” However it leaves open the question who is it? I say to the person who was described earlier today as the Philby of the Labour Party that he or she should come clean. The member should put his or her hand up and say “It’s me.” so that we do not have to go through the ignominy of having every other member of the Labour Party besides Harry Duynhoven put in a position of having to defend him or herself when the media asks that question. 
Hon Roger Sowry 
: Some will refuse to answer. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: That is a very good point. When the media asks those members “Are you one of the vacancies referred to in the title of this bill?” some will refuse to answer. They will say: “Sorry I can’t answer you. I don’t want to answer. I can’t answer.” What will happen is that people like Clayton Cosgrove will have to stand up and say: “It’s not me.” But then I think well the name “Cosgrove” is very Irish. He has probably got an Irish passport. [ 
Interruption 
] Oh he said he has an Irish passport. How long has he had it and has he renewed it since the last election? 
Hon Member 
: Yes. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: There is someone who straight away is a little bit dubious. Then there is our friend over at the back of the Chamber the great white hope for the Labour Party the Hon David Cunliffe who spent many many years in the United States. Did he get residence while he was there? Was he granted the right to hold a US passport? Is he on the phone to the ambassador now as he was the other day checking on New Zealand First members? Is he on the phone to the ambassador now saying: “Listen just keep quiet about my arrangements would you?” and saying to the media here in New Zealand: “I can’t comment on whether I am one of the vacancies.”? 
Then there is the Hon Chris Carter. Most of us would have said he is one of the great vacancies in this Parliament particularly in respect of some of his handling recently of the Auckland Regional Council situation. Is he able to tell us for certain that due to his relationship he does not have a right to another passport somewhere else? 
Hon Chris Carter 
: I do have a right to another passport. 
GERRY BROWNLEE 
: There we go! He has just confessed. He is another person who is entitled to dual citizenship. Has he been in the bottom drawer reading up the manuals to see whether he could receive one of these passports? That would make him under the law one of the vacancies. It will be very interesting later in the day when Mr Prebble’s amendments are put up one by one and Labour members are asked to back themselves or tell the truth and come up to the Parliament and say: “It’s me.” 
This bill in its title is quite explicit: “Electoral (Vacancies)”. It is not the “Electoral (Fix it up for Harry Duynhoven) Amendment Bill”; it is the “Electoral (Vacancies) Amendment Bill”. Perhaps the Minister in the chair might tell us why it was necessary to have both paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 55(1) of the Act changed when to change just paragraph (b) would do it.