Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
Brash Don: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers 
[Volume:617;Page:12540] 
1. Dr DON BRASH (Leader of the Opposition) 
 to the  
Prime Minister 
: Can she confirm her Government still enjoys the support of a majority of members on matters of confidence and supply; if so why? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK (Prime Minister) 
: 
 Not only can I confirm that but I can certainly confirm that the National Party does not. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Can the Prime Minister give an assurance to this House that she will have majority support in the House in 2 weeks’ time? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I certainly expect that to be the case. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I call question No. 2. [ 
Interruption 
] The member is overdoing it. The Minister is warned. He has had his only warning. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Mr Speaker— 
Mr SPEAKER 
: I had called question No. 2. [ 
Interruption 
] No one was seeking the call. I looked around very carefully; everywhere in the House. I do not want to be unreasonable. Was the member going to seek the call for another question? 
Dr Don Brash 
: Yes I was Mr Speaker. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: In that case I will grant it. 
Dr Don Brash 
: What discussions has the Prime Minister had with New Zealand First or the Greens in the last month regarding support from those political parties on matters of confidence and supply and what indications has she received from them? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: It has not been necessary for me to talk with other members about confidence and supply. In the course of building a majority for the foreshore and seabed legislation of course I did have discussions with the two parties concerned directed at that particular issue of support for the bill. 
Dail Jones 
: Has the Prime Minister asked the National Party to continue its support of this minority Labour Government in matters of confidence and supply as evidenced by the National Party which voted twice on 17 February 2004 to support and maintain confidence in this minority Labour Government including voting against New Zealand First’s motion of no confidence in this minority Labour Government—which motion was lost by 98 votes to 22? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: To be gracious I do not think the National Party would have seen that as a vote of confidence. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Noting that just a few moments ago both New Zealand First and the Greens voted against the Government and noting recent reports in the nation’s two largest newspapers that the Labour Party has lost one—and probably two—members of its own caucus can the Prime Minister still assure this House that she has the confidence of a majority of the members? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: I suggest that 119 other members heard the outcome of the vote. 
Hon Richard Prebble 
: As one of the members who did hear the count if the Government loses a second Maori member will the Prime Minister be looking to the Green Party for support; if so how does she square that with her statement during the election campaign that the Greens are so extreme that no stable Government could be formed with them? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: The question is based on an entirely hypothetical premise. However I believe the Government will continue to enjoy the confidence of the House. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: With regard to confidence and supply matters is the Prime Minister confident that the current arrangements she has in place with her caucus and other parties will endure and that there will be occasions from time to time on other matters where she needs to build majorities on a more infrequent basis? 
Rt Hon HELEN CLARK 
: That is the basis on which I am operating. I am entirely comfortable with the present arrangements and I thank United Future for the role it has played in bringing stability to the Government.