Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
Cosgrove Clayton: General Debate 
[Volume:640;Page:10477] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Minister for Building and Construction) 
: 
 I have one thing to say to the former member of a band called the “Minetti Brothers”—I think he was on the double bass or the bassoon—which is that if he is so keen on Waimakariri he should run against me and have a go. I say that this man is cracking—all right—the man who as I said before in an interjection has as much credibility as a Mississippi riverboat gambler. This is the genius from that side of the House who signed up as a director of a company thinking the company was going to clean up the casino industry and then found out that it wanted a casino licence. I tell Gerry Brownlee of the “Minetti Brothers” that I know that the band was not a country and western band but I invite that member to reflect on that great Kenny Rogers song “The Gambler” where Kenny said: 
You got to know when to hold em know when to fold em 
Know when to walk away and know when to run. 
Well we know now that he did not “know when to hold em” he did not “know when to fold em” and he certainly did not “know when to walk away”. But my word when the media caught him out he ran he bolted—which was physically impossible I would have thought. 
This is the “Boss” Hogg of Parliament. We can imagine Gerry in a Western movie perhaps called  
The Maverick 
 in the white suit the white pants the little black string bow tie and the big Stetson riding into town on the Clydesdale for the big game with the pearl-handled knife and fork strapped to his belt. Members can imagine that—old Gerry—can they not?  
But Mr Brownlee got up and talked about conflict of interest. I say that this is a man who if he cannot govern his own conduct in his own life cannot hope to be—as he is now—the spokesperson on State-owned enterprises governing some of the biggest companies in New Zealand. He wants to be Minister for State Owned Enterprises but he cannot work out when a conflict of interest exists. He teamed up with a couple of blokes who have a bodyguard—you know a Dirty Dog sunglasses bloke—trundling along behind the guys. I want to know whether Gerry had a bodyguard or many bodyguards actually; there is a lot to guard of course. So I say to him that he should not get up in the House and talk about conflicts of interest. 
I also say to him that there has been an unwritten Standing Order in this House that has been broken yet again today. It used to be broken frequently by Mr Hide but even he has sort of had a dancing road to Damascus experience. That unwritten order used to be that we did not bring kids spouses or people who are not elected but who are family members inside this Chamber. Well he broke it; be it on his own head. I say to that member that he should reflect on the Kenny Rogers lyric that goes like this: 
… if you’re gonna play the game boy yagotta learn to play it right. 
That member is a disgrace. That member got hauled over the coals by his own leader because he could not work out that as a member of Parliament it probably did not pay him to become a director of a company. It certainly did not pay to become a director of a company when the member did not know what the heck the company was doing. The member joined a company as a director supposedly to clean up the casino industry—I do not know how that would have happened—and then it turned out that the company was actually seeking a casino licence. Well the egg poached fried or scrambled—and there is a fair bit of it—is all over him. 
It is bad enough that the silly National Party put up the two-time loser first in this debate the one who is going to pull the rug out from under old folk’s superannuation do over KiwiSaver and rip the entrails out of Working for Families but then that party picked the gambler to come up—the sort of human bassoon out of the “Minetti Brothers”—and have a crack at us. Well I say that if Gerry Brownlee is so confident in Waimakariri have a go mate—roll the dice. If you are so confident of your credibility stand up and give us an explanation in this House as to why you were so silly why you have no judgment and why you do not have the confidence of any of your colleagues. 
Hon Bill English 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. The member has been here for a year or two I think and he knows that the use of the term “you” is regarded as a direct address to the Speaker so is not allowed. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member is absolutely right. I have called the member to order several times. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I withdraw and apologise. The member should tell the House why he does not have the confidence of his leader why his leader raked him over the coals and why he has no credibility in this House because this ain’t the first time for this person. We remember the top of the stairs and the poor old fellow who was bowled down them. 
Hon Member 
: The pensioner! 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: We remember the pensioner; we do remember that. 
This member is the big hitter of the National Party. There might be some Young Turks over here but there are some big turkeys over there. I say to the member that he should give us an explanation. He should not talk to us about credibility he should not talk to us about conflict of interest and he should not bring family members and the spouses of members of Parliament into this debate.