Peters Winston: Member Vacancy — Epsom Electoral District—Hon John BanksText is incorporated into the Bound VolumePeters Winston: Member Vacancy — Epsom Electoral District—Hon John Banks[Sitting date: 18 June 2014. Volume:699;Page:18643. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First):The ACT Party’s recent affair is a long-running saga of political sleaze double talk and cant unparalleled by any party in this country’s history. The National Party can smile. The National Party can laugh but I know what happened here. John Banks took legal advice. It was wrong and he should have turned away from it when he determined that that was the case having looked at the charges against him and sadly he has wrecked his career. But he should have known this from the start. The ACT Party was no party to join in the first place. Finally justice has prevailed and it should be without any thanks to the Prime Minister of this country. The Prime Minister you know has no knowledge of electoral law he has no view that it is a cornerstone of our democracy and if electoral law can be flouted and manipulated with apparent ease what sort of country would New Zealand finally become?Right now as we know next week the Conservative Party is going to launch its campaign in East Coast Bays. Tell me when are we going to learn about the sleazy deal that is going to happen there? As it has for the ACT Party as it has for United Future and sadly as it has for the Māori Party which has destroyed all reason for special seats for Māoridom if that is the way it is going to construct its politics. The whole integrity of our system is put at risk. The law is the law and the Prime Minister seems oblivious to why we have electoral law.This party has faced these accusations in the past. I want to remind members that in 2008 it was the ACT Party and the United Future offshoot that brought charges against New Zealand First for funds for an electoral petition—not a campaign but for an electoral petition—as to who was the right member of Parliament for a seat called Tauranga. The accusations you know went to the police the Serious Fraud Office and the Electoral Commission and all turned out to be doughnuts—nothing—but the National Party did not stop did it? No no it had a Privileges Committee hearing—a total kangaroo court—and sort of said: “We’ll hang him in the morning but before that we’ll give him a trial.”I want to remind those members and most of all the member who is the Attorney-General because he is meant to be an expert in law that if he goes to the three drafts from that commissioned report—Hon Christopher Finlayson: They’re a great Privileges Committee.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —no do not mumble—the three drafts of that committee all have this statement. Those three final drafts said that should Winston Peters have won the case in Tauranga then he would have pecuniary interests because he would become the MP with all the extra additional electorate funding. Look at the three drafts it is all there.I called up the clerk of the committee—knowing full well that the chairman was Simon Power a lawyer; they had an adviser Stephen Kós who is now Justice Kós a lawyer; and the committee clerk was a lawyer—and I said to her: “I cannot believe with all the lawyers on that committee and your legal advice that you don’t understand the law because it is not going to be one MP out another MP in. No it is a by-election and an extra cost to the member. So how can they possibly allege pecuniary interests?”.Look at the final draft. Out comes that clause—it said that he still had pecuniary interests and it applied it retrospectively. I know when politics stinks and we came back from that because a lot of people in this country—Hon Christopher Finlayson: Ha ha!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No Mr Finlayson they do not think it is a joke. They know that parts of our system are rotten. Despite that New Zealand First still said that we should keep the 5 percent threshold and that we should get rid of the coat-tailing provisions and that is the way we should run our democracy under MMP not pervert and distort it at every move. What did Mr Key say back then? Before the committee even had the inquiry he said: “He doesn’t meet my standards.” He had not heard any evidence of course. No no he believed Owen Glenn although I demolished 32 statements that Mr Glenn had made. I demolished 31 but could not find the phone accounts in 4 days as the committee was demanding.It is rotten but we are back and we are never going to forget it Mr Finlayson because your party used the whole system in a kangaroo court in a majority report and who were the strongest proponents? The ACT Party the Māori Party and United Future all stood there in condemnation. So if you think we are going to forget that—The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —then you are dreaming. No no no you will not forget it Mr Assistant Speaker because the law is the law. I say again look at those three drafts which all make the allegation of pecuniary interest. It becomes demolished by the—Hon Anne Tolley: Move on.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh “Move on.” Oh of course she says: “Move on.” because she is the Minister of Police. Why she is the Minister of Police is beyond me because she does not understand the law. I saw her the other day helping a member of Parliament and boy she is going to be embarrassed by that as these facts are unfolding. It just shows why she is so unqualified to be the Minister of Police. And the Minister of Justice as well was doing the same thing as was the head of the Māori Affairs Committee Tau Henare. There is a day of reckoning—Hon Anne Tolley: All right. Rave on. You’re good at making accusations but you never actually prove them.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh no you will make my day. I will not be making yours of that you can be sure. It is no use shouting out here. The point is that it is sleaze to think that you can organise all these arrangements before the election prop up the guy in Epsom prop up the guy in Ōhariu maybe prop up the Māori Party—although it is wasting its time there—and last of all do a deal with someone who says: “There is such a great demand for our brand of politics that we need a ladder from the National Party.” Unbelievable. And that is the reason why MMP will soon sort itself out. It is because the public are wising up to this.But what I want to ask the National Party is this: why did it apply such duplicitous standards in the case of Mr Banks? Why did the Prime Minister say: “I am not going to read the police report.”? Next question: “Why not?”. Answer: “Because I trust Mr Banks.” Likewise do you remember when it came to the allegations about Mr Peter Dunne—whose speech today I mean I could not believe this. I thought: “This guy is going to get struck by lightning very shortly. He is seriously going to get struck by lightning because he is talking about integrity and honour in politics.” And what did Mr Key say about the leak in respect of the Government Communications Security Bureau report? He said: “I would like to believe him.”—“I would like to believe him.” Then he went and suddenly he found a renewed belief because Mr Dunne came back and he is back now as a Minister. He leaked State secrets four times.This Prime Minister has got standards that are so low they could parachute out of the bottom of a snake on issues like this. That is how bad it is. No do not frown. Out there there are tens of thousands hundreds of thousands of National Party people who in a recent poll said that they find all of this business so distasteful but those members will not be making allegations about New Zealand First receiving money for campaign funding will they? No the National Party is so bad that to get round the electoral law it had an auction to play a game of golf against the world’s most famous golfer—John Key—and up gets an Oravida man who pays $53000 to play a game of golf against John Key. How do you like that? Naked venal sleazy underhand—Melissa Lee: Because they won’t pay to play with you mate.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: What did you say there the woman over there who made that statement?Melissa Lee: I said they won’t pay to play a game with you. That’s why you’re jealous.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No nobody tries to play a game with New Zealand First. Do you know why? We have got honour. We have principles. We stand for them. Out there in New Zealand there are hundreds of thousands of people who are telling me that they seriously want us back in big numbers in 2014 and yes one-third of them happen to be National supporters. Oh that took the smile off their faces. I have got great news for them. In 21 years this party called New Zealand First has never engaged in this sleazy coat-tailing coathanger deal - type of behaviour—21 years. It is the only immutable honourable party in this respect.Hon Christopher Finlayson: 1999.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: What was the deal we did in 1999? Remind me Mr Finlayson. Remind me. What was the deal in 1999? Oh he has gone silent. Just makes an allegation off the top of his head opens up his mouth lets the wind blow his tongue around and he cannot sheet home the allegation. He is meant to be a lawyer. He tells us he is the best one Parliament has ever seen—the best one Parliament has ever seen. But when he is asked the simple question: “What was the deal that New Zealand First did in 1999?” he has gone strangely silent. Not a mutter not a murmur not a syllable not a sound.Hon Dr Jonathan Coleman: Hey what was the deal that brought Denis O’Rourke in here? Tell us about Denis.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh and they made the allegations of course about Mr O’Rourke to the media and guess who got nailed? The National Party member over there—the National Party member over there the recently imported one. Poor old Claudette she got nailed. The allegation was against my member. Let me be honest. I thought: “We’re not taking that sort of thing in this campaign. I know someone who is doing just that. Her name is Claudette. I’ll tell the media.” and the rest is history.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): Order! The member must use—Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Thank you very much—I know I know I know. But you see somebody over there wanted an example. Mr Coleman—again tongue engaged before brain—and now he has found out again.Hon Members: Dr Coleman.Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Oh Dr Coleman. Well if that is the case it is the Rt Hon Winston Peters to you then sunshine. I am sorry for John Banks. I personally am because I—Hon Christopher Finlayson: Oh yeah right!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No no hang on a minute. John asked me—or at least his team did—whether I would bear witness in his case. I did not say no. That is a fact because I think he was badly advised by the lawyers. But my real point is that he exposed the National Party for what it is—a shadow of its former self.