Parker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is subject to correctionParker David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 07 November 2013. Volume:694;Page:14486. Text is subject to correction.]5.Hon DAVID PARKER (Deputy Leader—Labour) to theMinister for Communications and Information Technology: Will the Government enforce its broadband contract with Chorus?Hon AMY ADAMS (Minister for Communications and Information Technology): As I have previously stated the Government expects all parties to fulfil their contractual obligations with the Government. The contract with Chorus contains a number of enforcement options if it were to fail to meet its obligations. The concern for the Government is ensuring that New Zealanders get ultra-fast broadband to deliver high-quality high-speed world-leading telecommunications. That is our focus in this issue and our consideration of options will be guided by the best way to achieve that.Hon David Parker: Why was an independent review of the financial viability of Chorus not undertaken prior to awarding the broadband contract to Chorus?Hon AMY ADAMS: Although I would take issue with that I can assure the member that considerable due diligence was done through the contract negotiations into the capability of parties to undertake the obligations. What we have said consistently through this is that although there was an understanding that the copper price may well fall nobody expected a price drop of this level and none of the pricing methodologies therefore would have worked through such an unanticipated drop. I would point out that that failure to anticipate such a drop was shared by members of the Labour Party who as I recall actively predicted that the copper price would rise under these arrangements.Hon David Parker: Will this latest review examine the role of Mr Joyce the former Minister for Communications and Information Technology in crafting the legislation and awarding the contract to Chorus?Hon AMY ADAMS: The independent stream of advice that I have asked for today is about ensuring that the Government and the wider community have good information as to whether or not having the copper price set at this level would seriously undermine and threaten New Zealanders’ ability to get ultra-fast broadband. That is certainly the indication that we have had but some people including some members in this House have suggested that that is not right. We need good information to back up whether or not—as we suspect and as the advice we have had says—that would put it at risk. That is what this review is about.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That is all very interesting but it was not my question.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I heard the question. The difficulty I had was actually in hearing the answer accurately because of the noise coming from Opposition benches here. If the member has further supplementary questions that is the way to get the answer he wants.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. If the Speaker could not hear the answer and therefore could not judge whether the question was addressed the Speaker should have brought the House into order. My point of order was that I did hear the answer and my question was not addressed.Mr SPEAKER: In the bits of the answer I heard because it was difficult to hear I believe the question was addressed—maybe not to the member’s satisfaction. But it would certainly assist if the deputy leader of the Labour Party could ask for his party to support him so that when he asks a question the question can be answered without a level of interjection [Interruption]—Order! [Interruption] There is not much point in looking behind yourself. It would certainly be assisted if we had a level of interjectionthat was substantially less than what is occurring on this particular day mainly from the Labour Opposition benches.Hon David Parker: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I have some difficulty in being told that my point of order is out of order because the Speaker could not hear the answer to assess whether the question was addressed and then be told that that is my fault.Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member maybe misheard me or maybe misunderstood me. I said I did not hear all of the answer because of the level of interjection. I asked for the member’s assistance with his colleagues to try to minimise the level of interjection. I then said that although I did not hear all of the answer what I did hear of it led me to believe that the question had been addressed. I accept that it may not be to the satisfaction of the member but the way forward is not to raise a point of order saying that the question has not been answered the way the member wanted it to be answered. The way forward is for the member to rise to his feet and ask a further searching supplementary question.Clare Curran: Will her review announced today include examination of whether any private or other assurances were given to parent company Telecom and/or Chorus during the demerger and ultra-fast broadband tendering processes that led them to believe that there would not be a fall in copper prices; if not why not?Hon AMY ADAMS: The review is not my review. I have asked for an independent review to be provided to the Government which I have indicated I will release to the public. What that will look at is whether Chorus is reasonably able to be expected to complete its contractual obligations to provide ultra-fast broadband. That is what it will look at. It will not go into any Opposition conspiracy theories.Clare Curran: How has her decision to undertake a narrow specific and possibly illegal review of the 2011 amendment to the Telecommunications Act 3 years before it was due—bypassing the Commerce Commission’s legal process of reviewing copper broadband pricing—created more certainty; and is it not so that her tactics between last December and now have failed resulting in greater uncertainty about the future of both Chorus and the Government’s flagship ultra-fast broadband process?Hon AMY ADAMS: Well firstly I reject most of the allegations in that member’s question and secondly no and no.Hon David Parker: Why is the Government creating investment uncertainty for other investors in telecommunication companies and what measures has she put in place to ensure that the review is not just a snow job to justify more corporate welfare or higher copper broadband prices?Hon AMY ADAMS: Well it seems to me that just yesterday the Opposition was demanding an independent look into the affairs and numbers of Chorus. Actually that is something that I signalled 2 days earlier that we were going to do. That is what we are now doing. So is it the Opposition’s position that we should not actually ask independent questions? Regardless we make decisions—Hon Simon Bridges: Yeah nah yeah nah.Hon AMY ADAMS: That is right. We are not the “Yeah Nah Party” on this side. We make decisions based on information and analysis. Where that information is challenged and we think it is a matter of significant public interest as this is we are happy to get further independent analysis and we are happy to release that publicly. This will help inform the debate and get New Zealanders focused on the question of whether this copper price—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The answer is now getting a bit long.