1. Question No. 1—Prime MinisterHon NIKKI KAYE (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 1—Prime Minister1. Hon NIKKI KAYE (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does she agree with the Rt Hon Winston Peters that New Zealand has been in lockdown for far too long" and needs to be at level 1 now with a trans-Tasman bubble already operating as reported by the NZ Herald; if so what steps will she take to advance that?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (NZ First) on behalf of the Prime Minister: I—Hon Member: This'll be good.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Beg your pardon?Hon Member: I said "This'll be good."Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Well it always has been. That's not going to change. In fact we're only going to get better and better unlike certain people in this House. Now back to answering on behalf of the Prime Minister. I first would like to congratulate the member for her elevation to the deputy leadership of the National Party. Now I do agree with the Deputy Prime Minister as I said on Tuesday that there were "different opinions particularly expressed by the likes of members of New Zealand First around the pace of moving into level 1." The coalition has always been in lock step on the direction of travel ever since COVID-19 hit our shores but it's fair to say that the Deputy Prime Minister is very keen to see us move to alert level 1 and establish a trans-Tasman bubble as of yesterday. The Deputy Prime Minister's comments reflect the views of many people on both sides of the Tasman in our ability to have serious debates and differ but have a consensus at the end of it.Hon Nikki Kaye: Does she agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that the country should be in level 1 right now?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister I think I made it very clear to Jane Patterson of RNZ on Tuesday and other journalists who cared to have regard to what I've said she said when she set the parameters out there "at the latest" and gave that date which means it could be before that date. And then she said also that there's going to be a review two weeks after the announcement. That means that the Prime Minister and others envisage the possibility of it being—Hon Member: Nonsense.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —sooner rather than later. No nonsense is your specialty. I'm dealing with facts and words because words matter.Hon Nikki Kaye: Does she agree with the Deputy Prime Minister that the country should be in level 1 right now?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister I think she made it very very clear she doesn't agree with the Deputy Prime Minister. But it coming as soon as possible is the Prime Minister's aspiration as it is for the rest of the Cabinet and the coalition. That's why she put these two dates out there which suggest first a review and the outside date being the latest which suggests it could be much sooner if the evidence suggests it should be so.Hon Nikki Kaye: Has she had a detailed discussion with the Deputy Prime Minister about his view of the lockdown going on far too long?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister it should come as no surprise that we've had very comprehensive discussions not just with the Deputy Prime Minister but with every member of Cabinet because we all have views to suggest and put forward we all have people around the country who all have alternative views and discussion and proper debate is what this coalition Government is becoming famous for.Hon Nikki Kaye: Does she have any concerns about the confidentiality of Cabinet when her Deputy Prime Minister is revealing Cabinet discussions in public?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister now there's the rub isn't it? If that was true then I as the Prime Minister would be responsible for the same thing that was alleged by someone who knows nothing about the constitutional nature of this country will never be in the Cabinet and doesn't know what the manual is all about. To think that that member is repeating it astonishes me because the Prime Minister in answering the question first disclosed this information herself to Jane Patterson of RNZ on Tuesday 24 hours before the Deputy Prime Minister said anything.Hon Grant Robertson: Has the Prime Minister seen any reports around issues to do with the confidentiality of discussions in this building this week?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister indeed I have and to be true even though it's not in the bailiwick of the coalition which I seek to lead it deeply shocked me that politicians could behave that way where they would use inside information to destroy internally the very party they belong to and where those that have been so heinously treated by demotion have decided to fight from the back benches against those who are unwantonly and wrongly—and probably in vain—promoted.Hon Nikki Kaye: Has the foreign Minister advocated to her or to the Cabinet to proceed faster around the trans-Tasman bubble?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister take a wild guess.Hon Nikki Kaye: Has the foreign Minister advocated a date by which time he would like to see the trans-Tasman bubble established?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister in one word: yesterday.Hon Nikki Kaye: What are the issues that are holding up the delivery of a trans-Tasman bubble?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister the reality is and everyone has got their reasons for having their view but it is the concern to ensure that the stellar record of defeating COVID-19 has perhaps a few more days of an unblemished record before people would be more comfortable with change. And that is a fair sentiment; whether we all agree with it is a different matter.Hon Nikki Kaye: Does she agree with economist Brad Olsen that 80 percent of the total job losses in New Zealand would come from small businesses most of which will never be widely reported and does she think that staying in level 2 longer will make this situation far worse?SPEAKER: I'm going to ask the deputy leader of the National Party to relate that question to the primary question.Hon Nikki Kaye: Does she believe that staying in level 2 longer will lead to significant job losses in New Zealand?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister of course I agree with that because that's what anyone who knows what the remote elements of the economy are about would know that. The reality is the longer we go in the more difficult it is for us to recover but that said there are medical caveats and conditions and provisos which the decision makers seek to ensure is first and foremost in their minds. But that's nothing new. We don't need a group of economists to tell us what this means. What we need of course is the right ideology or the lack of blind ideology to take us as fast as possible out of it. And the member from Epsom can keep on laughing because that's all he's going to do.Hon Nikki Kaye: What reports has she seen on the number of businesses that are likely to close as the Government waits weeks to move to level 1?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister be honest there have been all sorts of comments and statements and predictions but in terms of analytical reports I believe none.Hon Chris Hipkins: Will she and the Cabinet be weighing the risk to businesses of a further outbreak of COVID-19 when they make decisions about the further relaxation of current restrictions?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: On behalf of the Prime Minister I think you can take that as read."