King Annette: Appropriation (2008/09 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
King Annette: Appropriation (2008/09 Estimates) Bill — Third Reading Imprest Supply Debate 
[Volume:649;Page:17794] 
Hon ANNETTE KING (Minister of Justice) 
: 
 What a difference a week in politics makes! A week ago National Party members were swaggering up and down New Zealand telling anybody who would listen to them that they had the election in the bag and that “Everyone loved that nice man John Key.” to quote Bill English. Some of them were so arrogant as to ask what sort of self-drive ministerial car they could have and where the ministerial houses were. I have no doubt that some of them have already bought the smart new ministerial suits and that those suits are hanging in the wardrobes right now. 
National Party members have felt very bitter about their long wait to get into power. They are the ones I call the “ageing-in-place members”—the Tony Ryalls the Bill Englishes the Nick Smiths the Murray McCullys. Well they have put many New Zealanders on notice. They have said it is payback time if they get into power. They have said: “Look out public servants because you are for the chop.” They have said they will not sack those people but there will not be any jobs for them. They have said they will lower the lid on public servants. They will not replace them when they leave. So when a social worker leaves that person will not be replaced. When a prison officer leaves that person will not be replaced. But those jobs will not be cut out. They have said to their opponents to students to workers to beneficiaries to tenants of Housing New Zealand to outspoken elderly and to Labour-friendly businesses: “Look out!” They have said: “Look out!” to all those who have slighted them over the past 9 long years. They have said they will soon be in power and they intend to use it. 
Well something went horribly wrong at the staged National Party conference and we are seeing the continuing fall-out from it. I could have predicted that something was going to happen because I got a taste of it on Friday. I was walking past the Wellington Town Hall when I was stopped by two beautifully dressed blue-rinse National Party delegates. They stopped smiled at me and said “Hello. Are you going to register? Could you show us where to go?”. I asked them what they were registering for and they said “The National Party conference.” I said it was the wrong conference for me. I said I was a Labour member of Parliament. So I suspect that they were still trying to work out who people like Craig Foss were because they had no idea although they certainly knew then that I was a member of Parliament. 
It was written on the wall that it was going to be a conference where there would be problems. This was the conference where delegates were told when to smile when to clap and when to give standing ovations and most of all when to keep their mouths shut. They were told it was not a conference where they could speak out. They were told they were there to look pretty and to smile when they were told to. But the minders—the Steven Joyces the Crosby/Textors the Murray McCullys—did one thing wrong. They forgot to tell the loose-lipped caucus members that they had to button up. They forgot to tell them that they ought not to be saying anything; they were told to leave it to that nice Mr Key. 
They forgot to tell delegates to turn off their tapes as well. And they forgot to tell the deputy leader Bill English not to disclose the real agenda. They forgot to tell Bill English not to tell the truth. That is what they forgot to tell Bill English. I have a message for the National Party and Bill English: they cannot unscramble this egg. They cannot put those words back in their mouths. They cannot apologise their way out of this. Bill English does believe in selling Kiwibank. He said that National would sell Kiwibank eventually. I want to remind Bill English of something. He was in this House week after week asking questions of me about a secret tape recording of Mike Williams at our Labour Party conference. He said that Mike Williams should resign. A secret tape was disclosed in the media and Bill English said that Mike Williams the president of the Labour Party should resign. But I am saying to Bill English that he should resign. If he has standards and if he believes in what he said he should resign. The truth is that he did not believe in what he said when he apologised yesterday. He did not believe in that apology because he does believe in selling State assets. He got caught out; he had loose lips. In fact in my view it was a candid moment when Bill English told a delegate he thought he could trust what he intended to do. 
Now we have John Key the leader of the National Party and the would-be Prime Minister running around New Zealand having press conferences and telling the media that the Labour Party is to blame for taping National members’ conversations at their conference. Let me put this scenario to members: Labour Party members were so clever that they were able to evade tight security and the cordon around the National Party conference; get themselves dressed up in twinsets and pearls; get the blue rinses the invitations the passes and the delegate credentials; pay the money to go to the conference; get through the door; and get up close and personal with National members of Parliament at their cocktail party. Labour Party members were able to grill those innocent National members of Parliament about National policy but all the while nobody had noticed those Labour Party infiltrators who had managed to get into the National Party conference who had shown their credentials and passes and who had paid their way in. Not a soul had noticed it. They were able to smuggle out those secret tapes and give them to the media. 
I suppose that we can take it from that that Labour Party members had secretly taped the Labour Party conference and then had gone out and given the tape to the media so the media could beat up on Labour as well! That shows members how ridiculous John Key was out there in the media today when he said it was dirty tricks from the Labour Party. I say to John Key that he should listen to himself—just listen to himself! Why is it that when things go wrong with John Key it is everybody else’s fault—his indecisiveness his flip-flops his lack of principles his memory loss his confused statements his insecurity his secret dealings with the Exclusive Brethren and his own comment about the stealing of emails from Don Brash’s office which he tried to blame on the Labour Party? The police said the theft was not by the Labour Party and Diane Foreman—who should know—said it was much closer to home than that. But now Mr Key is blaming the Labour Party for exposing the truth about what National’s agenda will do. He is lashing out at absolutely everybody. 
I believe that the exposé actually came from the National Party’s own supporters. They are appalled. They are appalled at National’s retreat at the double to traditional Labour Party policy. They are appalled at a party with a proud long history giving up everything it believes in to get into power and to quote John Key “doing whatever it takes”. It does not matter whether it is principled and whether it is good or bad; National will do whatever it takes to get into power. 
We are now told that the comments of Bill English and Lockwood Smith do not reflect what the National Party intends to do. Perhaps we could have believed that if there had been only one person and only one occasion. But wait there is more. Some of us remember earlier this year that Maurice Williamson made it clear at the Automobile Association conference at Mount Cook that climate change was a hoax as far as he was concerned. A few days later Lockwood Smith said the same thing. Both of them were told to close their mouths and their denials floated through the air like confetti. There is a pattern there. The National Party’s policy is to lull the public into believing that nothing will change under that nice Mr Key. 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: You just made that up. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Lockwood Smith is interjecting. Well I suppose I made it up that he said: “But wait. We wait until we’ve swallowed a few of those bloody dead fish.” 
Dr the Hon Lockwood Smith 
: Those are not my words either. 
Hon ANNETTE KING 
: Oh yes those are the words on the tape. I suppose the tape was doctored by the Labour Party! But that is what he said. This whole debate around the issues that have been raised by Mr Key and Mr English is nothing but a smokescreen because we know that National will sell State assets the minute it gets the chance.