Cunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to MinistersText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCunliffe David: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers[Sitting date: 11 February 2014. Volume:696;Page:15745. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]2.Hon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Leader of the Opposition) to thePrime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?Rt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister): Yes.Hon David Cunliffe: Does he stand by his 2007 statement in relation to trans-Tasman regulatory harmonisation that “We always have to make sure what we are doing is in the best interests of New Zealand.”; if so why did he come home empty-handed from Australia in relation to the supermarket boycott of New Zealand products?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: Far from coming home empty-handed from Australia we came home with a trans-Tasman visa for the Cricket World Cup; we came home with an invitation for New Zealand businesses to be part of the G20 and be part of 400 global chief executive officers; we came home unpicking the terrible deal that Helen Clark and Phil Goff and David Cunliffe signed New Zealanders up to by making sure that student loans actually will be accessible to New Zealanders who are special class visa holders—Mr SPEAKER: Order! That answer is quite long enough thank you.Hon David Cunliffe: Has the Prime Minister sought any advice as to how many Kiwi jobs will be lost as a result of this boycott; if so what was the number and if not why has he not asked?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I do not have that number but I do have the number of people who have lost their job in the Labour Party today. It is one—the Leader of the Opposition’s chief of staff has quit.Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am trying to assist the member who is raising a point of order.Hon David Cunliffe: The question was a simple and straightforward one: “Has he asked for any advice?”. He has not turned himself to that question.Mr SPEAKER: Order! There were two parts to the supplementary question. The Prime Minister addressed one part in saying how many—he said “None.”Hon Annette King: He said he didn’t have the number.Mr SPEAKER: That is true. He said he didn’t have the number which answers the question.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister agree with his soul mate that the only appeal available to New Zealand exporters who could be facing a loss of up to $700 million per annum is an appeal to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; if so why?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: First and quite fundamentally I think the Leader of the Opposition is probably inventing numbers from somewhere. They are not from a reliable source. More important—Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker.Mr SPEAKER: Order! I apologise to the Prime Minister but we have a point of order.Hon David Cunliffe: The Prime Minister has called my veracity into question. The number came from theNational Business Review a renowned—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Order! That is not a point of order. That is a matter of debate within the answer and the—[Interruption] Order! The member has the opportunity with further supplementary questions if he wishes to tease out that information. Does the Prime Minister wish to complete his answer?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: What is clear is that this is a commercial matter and that in fact the Government does not support a buy Australian-made campaign any more that it actually supports the supermarkets in New Zealand that actually run buy New Zealand - made campaigns. What is clear is that the Australian Government is actually running a full investigation into competition policy in Australia. There is an opportunity for New Zealand companies to submit to that. But these are actions by a commercial company so if the member is telling us that he is going to intervene with them that is a very interesting thing to hear.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister consider cups of tea and shady deals with extreme minor parties to be gerrymandering the MMP electoral system?Hon Gerry Brownlee: How does that relate to the Prime Minister?Mr SPEAKER: Order! The Prime Minister is quite capable of answering it.Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I think if the member wants to talk about some of those issues he should go and look in the mirror and also talk to Dr Norman.Hon David Cunliffe: Does the Prime Minister stand by his statement that “People want greater transparency.”; if so why will his Government not release the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement before any final agreement is signed?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: As I said earlier firstly the Government has been involving all of the interested stakeholders. My understanding is that the trade Minister has been talking to both Mr Goff and Mr Shearer. If they feel they want more information and they are prepared potentially even to answer confidentiality arrangements I am sure we could go another step forward. We are following—Hon David Cunliffe: Point of order Mr Speaker—Rt Hon JOHN KEY: No no sit down sunshine I have not finished.Mr SPEAKER: Order! Both members—[Interruption] Order! I am on my feet. Both members will resume their seats. Is there a point of order?Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. As the question went to the matter of the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement I thought it might assist the Prime Minister to clarify—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Again—[Interruption] Order! That is not a valid point of order. The question related to transparency and the Prime Minister was addressing that. Does the Prime Minister wish to add further to his answer?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: I do Mr Speaker. The process that is being followed here is the identical process that was followed with the China free-trade agreement. We are more than happy to try to keep parties up to date once texts are complete and we are in a position to be able to do that through a proper process. This is the same process that was followed for China.Hon David Cunliffe: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. Quite clearly the question concerned the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. The Prime Minister is obviously new to foreign policy—Mr SPEAKER: Order! Again for the third occasion that is not a valid point of order. What the member is attempting to do is to use the point of order process to debate an answer that has been given. The process would be better accomplished by using further supplementary questions.Hon David Cunliffe: Given that the Prime Minister routinely refuses to comment on intelligence and security matters why did he make statements in relation to operational intelligence regarding New Zealanders in Syria?Rt Hon JOHN KEY: From time to time I do offer answers where I believe it is the right thing to do. I have done that on other occasions in the past. Actually the interesting thing yesterday was that it was a great example of how the Government Communications Security Bureau actually assists the Security Intelligence Service to protect New Zealanders. Interestingly enough I remember in this House about 6 months ago the strongest opposition coming from the Labour Party yet last night David Cunliffe was once again on TV telling New Zealanders he wanted to go further than that. He wanted more information and more laws. Fortunately Mr Goff straightened him up on the radio this morning.Hon David Cunliffe: Point of order—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is a point of order and it will be heard in silence.Hon David Cunliffe: I seek leave to table an article on Australian supermarkets locking out New Zealand exports—Mr SPEAKER: Order! The source—Hon David Cunliffe: —tabled in theNational Business Review—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I am not prepared even to put the leave. I am not tabling theNational Business Review.