3. Question No. 3—Prime MinisterKIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 3—Prime Minister3. KIRITAPU ALLAN (Labour) to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his Government's policies and actions?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Acting Prime Minister): Yes and once again it's a real pleasure to be held to account in this House. Kiritapu Allan: What reports has he seen on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's trip to the United States? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I thank the member for a very very good question. The reality is the Prime Minister had a stellar meeting with not only the President of the United States but the Vice-President of the United States Mike Pence; the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; and the National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien—all together in the same room. The most impressive meeting that there's ever been with the United States where this country is concerned and dare I say it since a request was made way back in 1939—and I wasn't there—by Walter Nash the then Minister of Finance for the United States to have a free-trade agreement with New Zealand. The United States is listening and the President's comments were absolutely and totally positive. Kiritapu Allan: How have these trips benefited New Zealand's relations with its international partners? Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: That's a superb question as well. The reality is that on this trip the Prime Minister has been as you know first to Japan—the third-biggest economy in the world—then the United States—the biggest economy in the world—Hon Members: China! Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I beg your pardon? No Simon went to China. The most sycophantic—Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —palm-licking trip I've ever seen—Hon Simon Bridges: Point of order. SPEAKER: Order! Prime Minister when there's a point of order one sits down. Hon Simon Bridges: Questions from one's own side shouldn't be used to attack the Opposition. SPEAKER: Well I think it's fair to say that the attack came as a result of an interjection from behind the member. Hon Simon Bridges: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. He didn't use my full name. SPEAKER: I apologise; does the member want me to ask him—Hon Simon Bridges: No no him. SPEAKER: I understand that; I apologise for not picking it up. Would the member like me to ask him to repeat it with the full name or just to go on?Hon Simon Bridges: Oh it's up to you. SPEAKER: Well I'll ask the Prime Minister to repeat his answer. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I was going to talk—[Interruption]SPEAKER: Order! On the basis that someone wants to hear it. Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: I was endeavouring to talk about the Prime Minister's most successful trip to Japan the third-biggest economy—Hon Simon Bridges: Was it? Hon Members: China!Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: No the person who keeps getting China wrong is Mr Simon Bridges who has been described by the Mood of the Boardroom in today's paper as the second least popular member of the National Party caucus—the second least—and has he got some competition to get there. But he made it all the way to the second least popular. The Prime Minister has had a mega Monday with the power structure of the United States in New York and with the President of the United States turning to his staff and saying on the question of a free-trade agreement Why don't we get on with it?" It is the most positive news this country's heard for a long long time. It will enable us to face so much more—our infrastructure and social welfare policy going into the future. In short there is one Government that knows where the future lies and you're looking at it. Kiritapu Allan: Supplementary to that very informative answer what reports has he seen on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's trip to Japan?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Wonderful question. Again a stunningly successful story of a Prime Minister going over there who's got respect because her country has a new arrangement with Japan where we work so closely in the Pacific and elsewhere where we are more aligned than we've ever been for decades and the Prime Minister I have to say went of course there—and of course the All Blacks were there at the same time—so on every count it was a most successful trip to be followed up shortly by the Minister of Finance and dare I say it somebody else later on. Thank you very much.Hon Grant Robertson: Further to my question to the Prime Minister last Thursday how many questions has he answered from the Leader of the Opposition since he took over as Acting Prime Minister last Tuesday and what reason might he have for that number?Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: That is a superb question and alas I have to tell the people watching from around New Zealand that we're being boycotted here. When it comes question time they won't ask me a question and the reason for that is nobody likes to get beaten up in the first round.Hon Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. That might be an enormous amount of fun for the Rt Hon Winston Peters to have a question asked of himself about why he's not being asked questions. What he really should ask is: why is he seen to be so irrelevant that he gets no questions?David Seymour: I seek leave to be able to ask the Prime Minister an additional primary question and 10 supplementaries.SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that course of action? I think it's fair to say that the coalition was divided on that matter."