King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
King Annette: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:658;Page:7372] 
1. Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does he expect all his Ministers to comply with paragraphs 2.50 to 2.96 of the  
Cabinet Manual 
; if not why not? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister)  
on behalf of the  
Prime Minister 
: 
 Yes. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does he expect all his Ministers to comply with paragraph 2.54 of the  
Cabinet Manual 
 which states: “accepting additional payment for doing anything that could be regarded as a ministerial function is not permissible” and “accepting payment for any other activities requires the prior approval of the Prime Minister”; if so in what cases has he approved Ministers accepting payment for such activities? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The answer to the first question is yes and the answer to the second one is that I cannot tell the member as I do not have that advice here. 
Hon Annette King 
: Does he believe that the Minister of Local Government upheld the highest standards as required by section 2.53 of the  
Cabinet Manual 
 when he invited local government councillors to a breakfast called “The Future of Local Government Breakfast” in his capacity as Minister of Local Government with all cheques at $45 a head to be made out to the ACT Party? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: My understanding is that the Cabinet Office does not have concerns about this situation but any questions of detail should be directed to the Minister who I understand has explained the circumstances. 
Hon Annette King 
: Is he aware that the Minister of Local Government said on  
Checkpoint 
 last night that the Christchurch breakfast is the only time he has used his title as Minister to attract paying customers to hear him speak in his capacity as Minister but contradicted that statement when he spoke to Susan Wood on Newstalk ZB and said that he had had meetings like this all around the country before and is he aware of any such other meetings being held? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The member will be aware that whether MPs are Ministers or not they take part in fundraising activities. In respect of this particular activity which I understand has not actually occurred yet the Cabinet Office has no concerns. 
Carol Beaumont 
: Is he aware his Minister of Consumer Affairs Heather Roy is holding a similar breakfast in her ministerial capacity to talk about her plan to review consumer legislation with all cheques going into the same bank account that Mr Hide is using to build the ACT Party campaign fund; if so what is he going to do about this Minister’s behaviour? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: As I said before all Ministers are expected to comply with the  
Cabinet Manual 
 and there has been no suggestion that they have not. 
Hon Annette King 
: When the Prime Minister said that he would be operating a “one strike and you’re out” policy for his Ministers did he establish the standard of ethical performance he expected from his Ministers and did it exclude arranging private financial affairs to get as much money out of the taxpayers as possible using their positions as Ministers to raise money for political campaigns leaking commercially sensitive information to competitors in a bidding process and releasing private information about people who question Government policy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: That is just a bit rich coming from Labour. That member knows that politicians attend fund-raisers all the time and that is fine as long as everyone is clear about the basis on which they are attending. 
Hon Annette King 
: Would he expect a Minister to stand aside if the Auditor-General announced a formal inquiry into his or her behaviour and will he require the Minister of Finance to stand down if such an inquiry is instigated against him? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: That is purely hypothetical. 
Carol Beaumont 
: I seek leave to table a breakfast invitation from the Minister of Consumer Affairs to raise funds for the ACT Party and at $35 a head it is a real bargain compared with— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will seek leave for that course of action in a moment but I stress to the member that she must not add that kind of comment when she is seeking leave. That is not allowed. However leave has been sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is no objection. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: Mr Speaker—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I have called the Hon Rodney Hide. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: I have to say to Mr Twyford that the whole country is paying for the Labour— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I am on my feet and all members will cease interjecting. I accept that the honourable member was provoked while he stood to ask his supplementary question but he must not do that either. I will not allow it again. 
Hon Rodney Hide 
: Could the Prime Minister confirm that when Ministers in this Government attend public meetings they need to ensure that more than four people will turn up so that they do not end up in the very embarrassing situation that Labour leader Phil Goff had in Rotorua when the local chamber of commerce could sell only four tickets with one of those being sold to Steve Chadwick and not surprisingly the event had to be cancelled? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: It is quite possible that Steve Chadwick bought all the tickets because she takes her job as a whip seriously. But I can advise the member— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I think the House has heard enough of that. The question was of marginal acceptability and I think that the Minister has gone on long enough.