Parker David: Oral Questions — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeParker David: Oral Questions — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 30 July 2015. Volume:707;Page:5519. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]12.Hon DAVID PARKER (Labour) to the Minister of Trade: Why did he say to journalists asking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement “we need adults to do this—not breathless children to run off at the mouth” and why does he think we should trust the Government to protect New Zealand’s interests when the Prime Minister has already admitted on TV that the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement may trade away New Zealand’s right to ban the sale of our homes to foreigners?Hon TODD McCLAY (Acting Minister of Trade): The member needs to be careful not to take the Minister’s comments in isolation or out of context. Equally that is not actually what the Prime Minister said. The Government is working to get the best deal that it can for New Zealand.Hon David Parker: What written advice has the Minister received from the Minister for Building and Housing or that Minister’s officials about the effect of foreign buyers on Auckland house prices?Hon TODD McCLAY: I am not aware of all of the advice that the Minister has received from all other Ministers in their portfolio areas but what I can say is that again as far as the Trans-Pacific Partnership is concerned it has not yet been agreed. It is still in negotiation and the outcome of that agreement should it be reached will depend on the circumstances around the policy the member is suggesting.Hon David Parker: Given that National does not know how big the effect of foreign buyers is on house prices how can he look New Zealanders in the eye and say that he is correct to trade away New Zealand’s right to ban foreign buyers?Hon TODD McCLAY: Because the Minister is not going to single out one group of New Zealanders who have unusual sounding names to the members opposite and stigmatise them as far as housing policy is concerned.Hon David Parker: Why does that Minister imply that it is racist to talk about foreign buyers from China but never makes the same accusations when we talk about foreign buyers from the USA under the Trans-Pacific Partnership?Hon TODD McCLAY: That is not what I said. What I said was that it was some of the worst policy development I have seen in the history of this Parliament from Mr Twyford and his cronies.Hon David Parker: Does he believe that New Zealand should be able to control whether overseas buyers should be allowed to buy New Zealand homes?Hon TODD McCLAY: That is not actually policy that falls within the Minister’s competence.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Given that it is absolutely central to the negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership as we have heard about for months in this House how can the Minister deny that he has got responsibility for whether he protects that?Mr SPEAKER: Order! I think in view of where the supplementary questions have gone and where the answers have been given on that basis I am going to invite the member to ask that question again.Hon David Parker: Does he believe that New Zealand should be able to control whether overseas buyers are allowed to buy New Zealand homes?Hon TODD McCLAY: That is not actually an area that falls within the competence of trade. The Government has a number of tools available to it around policy that can have an effect upon housing policy.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Order! If the member is now going to say that the question has not been addressed—we have now tried it twice. If that does not address the question it may not be to the satisfaction of—is it a fresh point of order?Hon David Parker: No my point of order is that he denied responsibility for answering the question saying it was outside his ministerial responsibility. Given that he is negotiating that very issue how can he deny responsibility?Mr SPEAKER: The question has been addressed obviously not to the satisfaction of the member. The way forward is further supplementary questions.Hon David Parker: Why does he call his critics ideologues tell journalists that they are breathless children and expect New Zealanders in the dark to trust him when he has already shown that he is the ideologue by selling out New Zealanders and giving up the right to ban the sale of overseas houses to foreigners?Hon TODD McCLAY: The member needs to be careful not to take the Minister’s comments out of context or to put meaning in them he did not intend. In as far as the Minister’s involvement with the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations is concerned his ideology is to deliver the very best agreement that he can for New Zealand.