Power Simon: Appropriation (2006/07 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
Power Simon: Appropriation (2006/07 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:633;Page:4594] 
SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) 
: 
 As chairman of Parliament’s Privileges Committee I have removed myself to some extent from the debate surrounding Taito Phillip Field. In fact I made a decision very early on not to read the report nor to involve myself in the debate in this Chamber on this issue on the off chance that the issue was referred to the Privileges Committee. As chair of that committee I would have to come to the issue with clean hands as one would say. But I can comment on the smell around this issue. 
As somebody who for the reason of the office I hold has not participated in the debate during question time or in the general debate I have been in a bit of a unique position to watch the reactions and body language of the Labour members of Parliament as this issue has unfolded. I genuinely believe that many of the members opposite although I disagree with their politics are honourable people. They see the world differently from the way I do on many issues but I do not doubt that their motivations are pure and I do not doubt that they believe they are doing the right thing. They are ashamed of what is going on. There are honourable members sitting opposite who know that this is bad news. It reflects poorly on all members of Parliament. That is the real problem with this particular set of circumstances. There are members opposite who just have to sit there and swallow hard day after day as this issue is replayed and relitigated in the House. 
We have watched members like the Hon David Cunliffe come under frankly some of the most incisive questioning I have seen in this House in some time. That he has shifted from saying: “I can’t comment on this because it’s in the Ingram report.” to saying 24 hours later: “I will comment on this because it is in the Ingram report.” is beyond me. To watch Phil Goff and Damien O’Connor being dragged into this sorry state of affairs makes the issue even more serious than many members of the public probably realise. We have watched middle bench Labour Ministers—the likes of Lianne Dalziel David Parker and Rick Barker; people who like to toil away at an honest day’s work—having to cope with sitting there and saying nothing as this issue is played out day after day. 
I cannot recall one occasion as Lockwood Smith was questioning David Cunliffe over the last three or four question times when Labour front bench members lifted their heads from their papers and tried to defend what was going on. I have never seen Michael Cullen Annette King and Phil Goff—who are probably to be fair the powerhouse of this Government—seem so distracted by their paperwork and by the important official documents that lie in their manila folders as they have been over recent weeks. They know that this issue is rotten. When members get into taxis and talk to taxi drivers or talk to hairdressers—the type of people who see plenty of members of the public every day—and find that this issue is all that those people want to talk about they know that the rot is setting in. They have to sit over there and take it knowing that their Government is starting to fall apart. 
One thing is certain from National’s side of the House on this issue and if the Government has not picked this up by now I will let those members in on a bit of a secret: the National Party is not giving up on this issue. There is more to come and Labour members will have to sit there and endure this treatment for quite some time. We know that the Labour Government’s regeneration and rejuvenation have been personified in the arrival of the new list member of Parliament from central Wellington today. When we look further down the Labour list we know that that rejuvenation and reinvigoration will be continued when Lesley Soper returns. Well that will be something to look forward to. 
Today when members put questions to Lynne Pillay and Darien Fenton—as part of members questioning members on a bill they have before the House or questioning select committee chairs—what was apparent was how shallow the depth and capability of this Labour Government is. Those members have been here for between 2 and 5 years. It was the first time that they had had to answer a question on their feet in this Chamber and both occasions were unequivocal disasters. So if the middle bench of the Labour Government is looking thin let me assure members opposite that the back bench looks worse. I say to those members of the Labour caucus who are sitting in the second and third rows that their places are safe because there ain’t much action happening on Labour’s back benches from what we saw today. In many ways that is a shame but that is the reality of politics. There is only one rejuvenation battle going on in this House and that is the battle between Trevor Mallard and Phil Goff over who will become the next Minister of Finance. That is about as exciting as it gets for that sad tired rancid Labour Government sitting opposite. 
A good example is that we are hearing regularly what Labour members of Parliament really think about the Taito Phillip Field debacle. We know that they are disgusted and appalled at what this incident is doing to their Government. There is no question—and Labour members opposite know this—that it is damaging this Government and it is damaging it very very badly. There is no honour in this issue. There is no honour in having members opposite defend the indefensible. I say to Dr Cullen and the Prime Minister that this is not one of those issues where the Labour caucus can be convinced just to hunker down and it will all go away—because it is not going to go away. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith said there must be a further inquiry into this matter and he is right about that. He is right about it for this reason. What is going on with this issue in this Parliament over the last week or two implicates every member of Parliament in this House. The whole of Parliament and all the members in it are being drawn in in the public’s mind to the bizarre details of this case. It does this Parliament no good and it does honourable Labour members sitting opposite no good to allow this sort of thing to carry on. It is not on. The honourable Labour members opposite—and there are two or three in the House at present—know that it stinks and that it is pulling this Government down. If they had any sense of integrity they would go to the Prime Minister and tell her to cut Taito Phillip Field loose before he drags the rest of us in this Parliament down. That is the message that honourable Labour members opposite should dwell on tonight.