King Annette: General Debate 
King Annette: General Debate 
[Volume:635;Page:6300] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of State Services) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. Later this week the current Leader of the Opposition Don Brash will embark on a taxpayer-funded farewell bon voyage haere ra trip around the world. Don Brash thinks he will be representing the National Party at the unveiling of the New Zealand memorial in London. But everybody knows that at this time of the year the National Party backstabbers move on their use-by-date leader; it is traditional and history is there to prove it. I believe we could add to that old Christmas carol line “Tis the season to be merry” the phrase “Tis the season for a National Party leadership coup.” 
As I said history proves me right. Pre-Christmas 1997 Jim Bolger was rolled by Jenny Shipley; pre-Christmas 2001 Jenny Shipley was rolled by Bill English; pre-Christmas 2003 Bill English was rolled by Don Brash; pre-Christmas 2006 Don Brash is about to be rolled by John Key or Gerry Brownlee or Simon Power or Bill English or as an outside chance maybe Judith Collins. It always happens at this time of the year and it always happens when National’s leader heads overseas. 
Members should remember that Jim Bolger was overseas when Jenny toppled him; Jenny was overseas when Bill English toppled her; and Bill English was overseas when Don toppled him. Of course it is far better to smile and wave goodbye to a departing back which is a much bigger target than it is to look a person in the eye and see his or her hurt as a result of the betrayal. Poor old Don Brash refuses to recognise that he is on the last leg of his political journey. He is about to give up on his gold elite travel card and he is about to get a golden age card. He is about to pass over his parliamentary salary for the old-age pension. 
National Party plotters opposite cannot believe their good luck. Gerry Brownlee is laughing away. He knows he has hit the nail on the head. Don Brash refuses to heed the “beware the ides of November” call from the media and the commentators. He has already packed his little suitcase and he is ready to leave because he knows this is a chance to get overseas to strut on the world stage and to hobnob it with royalty. The trouble is that the National Party plotters back home are ready to give him the “hobnail” so to hell with hobnobbing; it is all about the “hobnailing” that he is about to receive. 
Let us face it: the shadowy figure of National’s chief strategist Murray McCully is donkey deep in it. He has been behind every coup National has had in the last 20 years and he follows a very well-rehearsed plan. First he ensures that National’s leader is set up to look like a loser—incompetent and silly. Then he ensures that all the wannabe leaders fight with each other to see who will win. When he gets a feel for who will be the winner he does the numbers for that contender. So Murray McCully becomes “Mr Indispensable”—always on the side of the new leader. I have to tell members that the McCully “change the leader” strategy is under way as we speak. He is already up to stage three of the plan. 
It was inevitable that Don Brash would receive the order of the boot after he lost the last election. He was to be fair given time to bask in his almost victory and he received some praise gratitude and loyalty from some members opposite who did not think they would ever make it into this place and cannot believe their luck that they are sitting in Parliament. But for the perennial plotters it was always a case of not if but when. It works like this: one starts by undermining Don Brash—they started doing that about 2 months after the election. He was set up to look incompetent in the House and in the media. His time is coming; National members know it—he is down the road.