Goff Phil: General Debates 
Goff Phil: General Debates 
[Volume:618;Page:13859] 
Hon PHIL GOFF (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade) 
: 
 The National Party's—and in particular Don Brash’s—handling of the nuclear issue has been incredibly damaging to the Leader of the Opposition’s reputation and to the National Party itself. When can anyone in this House recall such fumbling indecision or such a series of flip-flops? First of all Don Brash said he was in favour of the Somers report because it was logical. Then he was in favour of the Creech report; the Creech report was the way forward. Then he said to the Americans that the ban would be gone by lunchtime. And now tail between his legs he has crawled back into his hole saying that there will be no change to the nuclear policy—leastwise the National Party will not publicly talk about it before the election. 
My challenge to the National Party is to ask why when it has a conviction on an issue it cannot show the courage of its convictions. Why does National not acknowledge its stand on that issue? Why does it not come out of the closet and say yes it is in favour of nuclear-propelled ships coming to our harbours? Why does National not show that it has a series of principles and policies that it believes in? I will give Mr Hide the prediction that the back-down by Don Brash—the failure to stand up for the policy he promoted just a matter of weeks ago—is ACT’s big chance to get back into the electoral race. The National Party is showing once more that it has no policy—or that it has a policy for everybody. Regardless of what that policy is National will deliver—no policy; every policy. Nobody believes any more that the National Party has a platform on which to take this country forward. That is the real damage it has done. Did the flip-flop happen because the National Party does not have conviction in what it believes or was it simply because it cannot make a hard decision? That is another explanation for National’s change of policy. If National’s members cannot make a hard decision what are they doing in this Chamber pretending that they can lead this country? 
I predict that the National members cannot make a decision on that issue. They are divided; they are all over the place. Simon Power sits there on the Opposition benches. He has told the country that decisions should not be made in New Zealand but in Washington in Canberra and in London—anywhere but in Wellington. For God’s sake he says we should not have the courage of our convictions exercise our judgment or have our own values! Simon Power is prepared to pass all those things overseas—as indeed is Nick Smith. Nick Smith will have a policy on Kyoto if Australia and the United States do but he will not if they do not. Now there is a man of conviction and there is a party of conviction—we really do know what they believe in! 
If the purpose of the exercise in raising the nuclear issue was to improve relations with Australia and the United States as Don Brash has said on many occasions then the National Party has done just the opposite of that. National is a laughing stock in Washington and in Canberra. When one is Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade one is meant to be diplomatic— 
Stephen Franks 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The Hon Mr Goff appears in his speech to be claiming knowledge of the subject that has probably come from diplomats’ reports. I draw your attention to Speaker’s ruling 45/1 which states that “diplomats’ views must not be used to influence debate.” 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: I am prepared to table what I am quoting from. It is actually the lead article in the  
New Zealand Herald 
: “Australia snipes at NZ nuclear ban” in which Alexander Downer— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I will rule on the point of order. That is perfectly acceptable and the Minister can ask to table that page at the end of his speech. 
Hon PHIL GOFF 
: In an astonishing departure from his normal diplomatic style of not criticising the internal policies of other parties and other countries Alexander Downer absolutely panned the National Party. He said that it creates expectations reneges and never delivers. What did he say about Labour? He said that he could understand Labour’s policy because: “It was an article of faith.” It was something Labour believed in. There was no such excuse for the National Party. National Party members just did not have it in them to stand up for what they believed and that is why I say they are a laughing stock in Canberra. They are not believed in Canberra or in Washington. Thank God they will never be the Government of this country. 
If that latest back-down was designed to reassure the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders who on principle are against nuclear-propelled ships coming here then it will have no such effect. The TV3 poll showed quite clearly that overwhelmingly New Zealanders do not believe the National Party is sincere in its back-down. Instead they believe what Don Brash told the Americans in private. What sort of a leader goes around telling New Zealanders one thing—solemn sincere pledges that his party had made no decision—after he has told the Americans in private that the ban would be “gone by lunchtime”?