Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Peters Winston: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Sitting date: 12 June 2012. Volume:680;Page:2801. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
3. 
Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader—NZ First) 
 to the  
Minister of Finance 
: Does he have confidence in the advice he is receiving from the Treasury; if so why? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance) 
: 
 Yes because Treasury gives its best advice based on experience of New Zealand conditions. But of course that does not mean the Government always agrees with Treasury advice. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: How can he have confidence in the advice he is receiving from Treasury when in the words of the Prime Minister implementing such advice would cause “months of industrial action” and “huge amounts of anxiety from parents and children …”? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Given the choice between Treasury’s advice and the Prime Minister’s advice I would generally choose the Prime Minister’s advice. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: That being the case is it not true that the Treasury 2011 briefing to the incoming Minister of Finance in particular the recommendation on page 4 in the executive summary to “improve educational attainment at lower cost” means that he and not the Minister of Education was the main instigator of this horrendously unpopular policy? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: Ministers are under some pressure these days to ensure that they can meet the Government’s requirement for more public services for fewer resources. And as the Minister of Finance it is part of my job to make sure that Ministers understand the need to do that. I take my responsibility as part of the collective responsibility for all decisions that are made. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I recited the date or the timing of a briefing paper and in particular its recommendations which suggest that the finance Minister and not the Minister of Education was the first recipient of that advice. And I am asking whether that does not make him the main instigator of this policy. He did not answer the question at all. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Well the Minister I believe did give an answer. It may not have been quite the one the member was looking for but in his answer if I remember correctly he said he was involved in the matter. I accept that he did not go on to say whether he was the driver or not or the first person to push the policy but he said he was involved in the decision making with regard to the policy. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am not disputing what you are saying but he used the word “Minister” and I was not aware whether he was talking about the Minister of Education or himself. That is the confusing part of that answer. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I found his answer not confusing. I thought he was referring to himself in his answer if I remember correctly. 
Hon David Parker 
: Did the Secretary to the Treasury advise the Minister of Finance of his intention to give a speech promoting larger class sizes before he gave that speech? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: I cannot recall whether he did or did not but he would have given the speech on the basis of the pretty clear evidence that has come out of extensive educational research and I would expect Treasury to advance policies based on sound evidence. 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Could you instigate an investigation—it is my understanding that all of the microphones in the House are live and are being broadcast and there have been some interesting things said on the other side. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Order! I suggest that members if that is the case keep a little quieter. It is being dealt with at the moment but members should be aware that the microphones are all live and any interjection will be broadcast. We will do our best to get that remedied as soon as possible. 
Rt Hon Winston Peters 
: Did he instruct the Secretary to the Treasury to publicly advocate increasing class sizes in the  
Dominion Post 
 on 27 March 2012 and in the  
Listener 
 published on 24 March 2012; if so were Cabinet and the Prime Minister consulted? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: The answer to the first question is no. The Government takes good ideas from anywhere: from Treasury from members of the public from Ministers and even from members of the Opposition. If it is a good enough idea we will have a listen to it and we might even try it out. 
Hon David Parker 
: How can the Minister have confidence in the Secretary to the Treasury when Treasury’s mismanagement of the Crown guarantee scheme caused additional avoidable losses to taxpayers of between $100 million and $500 million which the Secretary to the Treasury and no other arm of Government has inquired into to quantify? 
Hon BILL ENGLISH 
: We disagree with the member. His analysis is based on his misunderstanding of the deposit guarantee scheme.