English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
English Bill: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:611;Page:8185] 
2.  
Hon BILL ENGLISH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Why didn’t the Prime Minister and her officials ensure that all documents including memoranda from her department relating to GM-contaminated corn were disclosed to the public of New Zealand during the 2002 election campaign? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Deputy Prime Minister) 
 on behalf of the 
 Prime Minister 
: The Prime Minister made it clear publicly that all relevant advice should be released. She was not aware until well after the election campaign that some items had not been released. 
Hon Bill English 
: In the light of her statement on 11 July 2002 on National Radio that “I believe in full disclosure” will she volunteer to show up to the select committee inquiry into “corngate”? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Prime Minister did indeed make that statement and did indeed order full disclosure of all papers. In the case of this paper it was first released in November of 2002 discussed in a magazine article in February 2003 given to the Local Government and Environment Committee in April 2003 and discovered by the National Party on 26 August 2003. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. We are seeing this happen increasingly in this House and I would like you to comment on it. When the Government is on a difficult question the Minister makes a half-baked attempt at a joke and the Labour caucus has clearly been instructed to clap and laugh to try to deflect the question. It is terribly orchestrated— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I heard a member make an interjection during a point of order. She is very lucky not to be asked to leave and that is the only warning today. 
Rodney Hide 
: It is clearly orchestrated. I do not want to relitigate this particular one but I would ask you to keep your eye on that. It is not helpful to question time to have that forced laughter from the back benches. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Let me put it this way. I would be the first to enjoy the Standing Orders Committee coming down with a recommendation that there be absolutely no interjections whatsoever during question time and I would fully support that. However this is a Parliament where I believe we are able to have a bit of toing and froing. I did not see anything that occurred then as being different from other parties doing similar things at similar times. 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Given that Minister’s answer it is important the House knows that I was specifically advised by the Clerk’s Office that I could not release those papers without that being a breach of privilege until such time as the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet had appeared before the select committee. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: That is not a point of order and the member knows it. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: In view of recent revelations based on the documents and memoranda that were withheld by the Prime Minister’s department during the 2002 election campaign does the Prime Minister now regret calling John Campbell of TV3 “a little creep” last July—yes or no? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: No. 
Hon Bill English 
: Given that the Prime Minister won a Broadcasting Standards Authority complaint against TV3 on the basis that she was “ambushed” on “corngate” why will she not accept the considered invitation of the select committee to show up and explain her role in “corngate” at the legitimate inquiry of this Parliament? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Apart from anything else because as I have just said the document now being referred to was first released in November 2002 reported in a magazine article of February 2003 given to the select committee in April— 
Hon Dr Nick Smith 
: Answer the question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I heard the member start his comments with “because” and that is an answer to the question. Let him finish. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: And also because the document referred to is simply a cover note for a Cabinet document which was released before the election. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Why did the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet not release any of its large bundle of papers during the election campaign when the Ministry for the Environment released its two boxes of papers and why did it take an Official Information Act request by  
Metro 
 writer Steven Price many months later before any of that material was released? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I am advised by the chief executive that in his judgment following the principles of the Official Information Act confidential memos within the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet were not to be subject to release. That clearly was directly contrary to the Prime Minister’s instruction to release all material. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: In the light of that last answer and the Prime Minister’s earlier comment in July last year I recall about disclosure has the Prime Minister—[ 
Interruption 
] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member will now leave the Chamber. I have told the member there will be no interjecting during questions. The member interjected. I warned the member. Please leave the Chamber. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. With all due respect this is one of those situations that get a little tricky. We had a circumstance last week where Mr Tamihere was ejected from Parliament and was then brought back to answer a question. I notice that question No. 4 on the Order Paper is in the name of Dr Nick Smith. It is not unusual for there to be some interjection during the course of question time. It has been very noticeable in the last week that there has been a lower threshold of tolerance on your part—that is the standard you wish to set. But in this case it seems on an issue that is very sensitive and where there are quite serious issues of accountability being examined by the Opposition it simply does not look good if one of the questioners—in this case Dr Nick Smith—is expelled from the House and is unable to ask his question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member has his facts slightly wrong. I ejected Mr Tamihere and I was asked to recall him because he had a subsequent question. I thought on balance as that was a request made by the Opposition I would do so and I was generous in that regard. But I have made it perfectly clear—and there has been no change to my standard over the last 3 years—that during the asking of questions there are to be no interjections. That was a very very noisy and unprovoked interjection and the member must leave the Chamber. Please leave. 
Dr Nick Smith withdrew from the Chamber. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: What about my supplementary question? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: The member may have his supplementary question. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Bearing in mind the decision you have just made—and we are not disputing that—Dr Nick Smith does have a question No. 4. I ask that he be allowed to return to the Chamber to ask question No. 4 and then leave. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I want to be reasonable about this. I think I will allow him to do that but that is the only time he is to be in the Chamber during question time. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: In view of the previous answer and the Prime Minister’s own comments in July last year about full disclosure what action was taken either at that time or subsequently in respect of a standard of behaviour by Dr Prebble that was clearly less than that expected by the Prime Minister with regard to that disclosure? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I think that Dr Prebble has made it clear that he now thinks he made an error of judgment. It was a matter of his judgment on the balance of looking at things in the light of the Official Information Act. I do not believe and I do not think the Prime Minister believes that the lack of judgment in that particular case was sufficiently serious for disciplinary action to be taken against an excellent public servant. 
Hon Ken Shirley 
: Can the Prime Minister assure the House that neither she nor any other Cabinet Minister instructed the Government members of the Local Government and Environment Committee to block the request of that select committee to call on the Prime Minister to explain the situation in order to help that committee with its inquiries? Why did Government members and United Future members block that request and prevent the committee doing that inquiry? 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Before I allow the question was that part of the meeting held—[ 
Interruption 
] There is a press statement. All right. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: The Prime Minister is not responsible for the actions of Government members on select committees. 
Hon Bill English 
: I repeat my question to the Prime Minister: did she or any other member of her Cabinet or the whips instruct the Labour members and the United Future members of the select committee inquiring into “corngate” to vote against the select committee invitation to her to show up to explain her role? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: If the member cared to read the Standing Orders he would understand that it is not appropriate to instruct members of select committees to do anything. 
Hon Bill English 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Twice now I have asked Dr Cullen direct questions that he simply refuses to answer. I asked him quite explicitly—not about the Standing Orders—whether the Prime Minister or any whip or Minister had given instructions that Labour and United Future members were to vote against Helen Clark coming to the select committee. That is a pretty straightforward question. I do not need a lesson in the Standing Orders; I know them. What I know is that this Government is unlikely to have followed them. I asked him a direct question and he should answer that question. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: First I take exception to the notion that the Government would not follow the Standing Orders. In fact the member is trying to accuse the Prime Minister of a breach of privilege. If he wishes to do that he should do so by way of a letter. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I need nothing further. 
Rodney Hide 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I do not need any further assistance. If the Leader of the House chose to answer that question in the way that he did then that is the way he chose to do so. He did address it. 
Jeanette Fitzsimons 
: Will the Prime Minister answer my previous question which was different from Mr English’s question and did not relate to the two particular memos but asked this: why did the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet not release any of its large bundle of papers during the election campaign when the Ministry for the Environment did; why did it take an Official Information Act request months later for it all to come out and could it all have been covered by the matters that Mr Prebble relies on in explaining his decision? 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: I could not quite follow the last part of the question. In terms of the first part I am advised by Dr Prebble that it was his judgment that guided by the principles of the Official Information Act there was no overriding public interest. What I can say is that having looked at the document itself nothing in that material is essentially different from the Cabinet document that was released before the election.