Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Key John: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:675;Page:14381] 
1. JOHN KEY (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Does she stand by her answers to oral question No. 2 on 19 February 2008; if not why not? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Yes. 
John Key 
: When did the Prime Minister become aware that the President of the Labour Party Mr Mike Williams had asserted that no donations had been received from Owen Glenn since 2005? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I would think since the matter has been in the public arena within the last few days. 
John Key 
: Why did not the Prime Minister seek to correct the false impression given by Mike Williams given that at the point she learnt of the statement she knew it to be untrue? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: When I say in the last few days it was probably in the course of preparation for question time yesterday that my attention was drawn to that statement which I think was made on or around 31 December. The member himself may have been in Hawaii at the time which is probably why he refused to comment on the matter when asked by the  
New Zealand Herald 
. 
John Key 
: How does the Prime Minister reconcile the fact that she chose not to correct the statement by Mr Williams which she knew to be incorrect with her promise that she would deliver a Government that people could trust and that would be open and accountable? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Of course no such choice was made. I have made it clear since this matter has come to my attention that Mr Williams made a mistake. This donation of forgone interest will be in the Labour Party’s audited accounts. I note that the National Party’s audited accounts have no track of any donation ever made by Mr Key. Are we to believe that he is just mean or has he hidden his donations in the Waitemata Trust? 
John Key 
: Further to her response to my question yesterday has she at any time had any discussions with the President of the New Zealand Labour Party Mike Williams regarding the possible appointment of Owen Glenn as New Zealand’s honorary consul to Monaco? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: As I said to the House yesterday I became aware that Mr Glenn had expressed such an interest. Since becoming aware I have obviously had that as a matter of discussion with Mr Winston Peters. Mr Williams has also talked to me about it. I repeat that Mr Glenn’s interest was expressed in just the same way that Mr Richard Worth advanced the cause of a friend of his; when Mr Worth wrote to the previous Minister of Foreign Affairs about the matter he told Mr Phil Goff: “There is an aspect of substantial self-interest behind my request that the New Zealand Government appoint a consul in Monaco.” 
John Key 
: Can the Prime Minister then confirm subsequent to her answer just a few moments ago at what point did Mr Williams actually inform her about the conversations that he had had with Mr Glenn; was it before or after they had received the various donations he gave to the Labour Party? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: Those donations go back to somewhere around 2003 2004 2005 so quite a long time. 
John Key 
: Has the Prime Minister worked out that not only is she wrong but she is actually continuing to propagate the myth that Mr Williams has been trying to propagate because in fact Mr Glenn gave a donation some time after that and that may well have been around the time that he was talking about becoming the honorary consul? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The member is starting to believe his own propaganda. There seems to be a view that being an honorary consul is a plum post. Well it might be for Mr Worth who sees it as being in his self-interest to recommend people for the position in Monaco but for most people they offer to do it because they think they can do something for a country.