Adams AmyHon AMY ADAMS (National—Selwyn): Thank you Mr Speaker. Well we are five months in already to this three-headed hydra of a coalition governing arrangement. What staggers me is that already they are looking like a tired shambolic third-term Government. They're out of ideas. Well we know that probably happened on day one because actually the biggest achievement of this Government in the last five months has been the establishment of inquiries and working-groups and expert panels—broadly anyone who can has been asked to come together and give the Government some ideas on what to do because they have none. So they've done that.We know they're out of ideas but what has been even more apparent in the last couple of weeks is the level of shambles and disarray within their own ranks. It is quite extraordinary that the only thing we are really hearing from the Prime Minister in recent weeks is when she has to come out and defend the comments of another Minister defend the actions of a backbench member explain what she really meant when she shot off some comment from the hip on the steps of Parliament and put out fires of things happening in her own party that she wasn't briefed on. Time and time again we are seeing the old adage play out which is If you can't manage yourselves you can't run the country."Now I wouldn't have expected a Government fresh from the excitement of assuming the Treasury benches and fresh with the vigour of taking on the governing reins of this country for the first time in nine years to be out of ideas in disarray and unable to manage the simple business of acting collectively as a team and most importantly to focus on the best interests of New Zealand. That's what you should do as a Government. That's why we fight to be in this place. That's why we fight to be in Government: so we can make New Zealand a better place for the people who live here. And all we're seeing consuming the time of the Government the Ministers and the Prime Minister in particular is putting out fires managing scandals setting up working-groups—almost nothing on how we make New Zealand a better place.Let's just look at a couple of the examples from the last few weeks. We've had a range of loose ill-formed poorly thought-out inappropriate comments from the likes of Shane Jones getting stuck into the performance of Air New Zealand knowing full well that it is not appropriate for him to do so having to be reined back in by the Prime Minister told off—by the way continuing to ignore that advice and carry on which just shows the control the Prime Minister has over her Cabinet.We've seen the Prime Minister herself going to the steps of Parliament announcing policy off the hip and then coming back in and having to explain to the media what she actually meant which is different to what she actually said which was different again to what her Minister said at the Petroleum Exploration and Production Association of New Zealand conference later on in the week. We're seeing falling business confidence—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Look over here.Hon AMY ADAMS: —which isn't surprising actually given that you've got a party that has zero ideas zero competence and seems to have no plan of where it's going. We heard today on behalf the Minister of Finance that their plan for spending is—Rt Hon Winston Peters: Look over here.Hon AMY ADAMS: —we're just going to hope the economy keeps growing.SPEAKER: Order! I'm sorry I have to interrupt that. I think the member is getting slightly repetitious—[Interruption]—no in his interjections. Members are allowed to and the member might have once or twice himself turned around and addressed members of his own team in the way that the member is doing now. I think we should just let the member get on with it.Hon AMY ADAMS: Thank you Mr Speaker. We've seen deeply questionable practices hinted at from members of New Zealand First bullying members on this side of the House who are trying to carry out legitimate activities. And we've seen poor old Jenny Marcroft rolled out to play the Bancroft to an unknown Steve Smith in New Zealand First. So what we want to know is who is Steve Smith? Who is the Minister who said poor old Mrs Marcroft ought to play Bancroft? She's been thrown under the bus. When will Steve Smith of New Zealand First stand up and take responsibility? You've seen quite frankly unbelievable conduct from the Minister of ironically open and transparent Government the Hon Clare Curran—[Interruption] SPEAKER: Order!Hon AMY ADAMS: —secret meetings that she failed to disclose when she was asked to do it. If these meetings were so above board and inconsequential why did Carol Hirschfeld hide the true nature of them for four months? Why was it not included in the information when my colleague Melissa Lee asked for it? To have a Minister of the Crown who is responsible for the regulation of that sector and is responsible for setting up panels to decide the allocation of more than $150 million of taxpayers' money to be meeting with the head of content the head of news at an independent broadcaster is one of the most serious allegations that I think I have seen in this House. It certainly puts into very stark light decisions like that of RNZ to have a member of the Prime Minister's own staff appearing on radio without disclosing their positions. These are serious questions. They show an appalling lack of judgment by the Government and I think the Government should be very worried."