Graham Kennedy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
Graham Kennedy: Questions for Oral Answer — Questions to Ministers Questions to Members 
[Volume:653;Page:2497] 
4.  
Dr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green) 
 to the  
Minister of Foreign Affairs 
: Does he share the vision of the President of the United States Barack Obama who on 5 April stated his commitment to “seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons”; and does he also share the President’s commitment to take concrete steps towards that goal? 
Hon JOHN KEY (Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs) 
: Yes. New Zealand warmly welcomed President Obama’s recent leadership on the elimination of nuclear weapons. Renewed engagement by the US in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation is very welcome to New Zealand. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Does he agree then with the statement of the New Zealand Prime Minister of 1985 that the United States carries the burden of “knowing that the deterrent which defends them will also destroy them and all the rest of us if it is ever used. No nation should carry that burden.”? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes. Broadly we do agree that the United States can because of its position in the world show leadership in this area. That is why we welcome the statements made by President Obama. We believe that they are a step in the right direction but we do not underestimate the size of the challenge that lies before the United States. We just hope that the United States is successful. 
Jo Goodhew 
: What recent action has New Zealand taken following President Obama’s statement on nuclear weapons? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: At the conclusion of today’s meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton an agreement was signed for New Zealand’s fourth contribution to the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. This is a practical way for New Zealand to assist international efforts to prevent the smuggling of nuclear material and therefore reduce the potential for nuclear weapons to end up in the wrong hands. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: In light of his response to my earlier question and also of New Zealand’s vote in support of the December 2008 UN resolution for a nuclear weapons convention will he confirm that our Government will urge the United States to commence negotiations on a phased programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons within a specified time frame? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Firstly I think it is fair to say that New Zealand has supported resolutions of the United Nations seeking negotiations on such a convention but we have done that against the background that such negotiations are unlikely to get off the ground in the foreseeable future. New Zealand’s emphasis has been and remains on the practical steps that President Obama outlined in his speech in Prague. Yes we will be encouraging that. As I said it is a very positive step and really it is one almost that only America can take. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Has his Government warmly welcomed the vision of President Barack Obama in moving forward measures to effectively deal with climate change; if so if it was not President Obama that the Prime Minister was referring to why did he say: “The leaders I have talked to I can assure the member are so focused on the recession that they are not particularly focused on climate change at the moment.”? Which leaders was the Prime Minister referring to? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: It is a fairly long way from nuclear proliferation to climate change but that said no President Obama was not one of the world leaders I was talking about there. I have not spoken to him. I do share— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Who was it? Who were the leaders? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Well there was quite a number actually. If you like I am happy to give— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: One name! 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: Your mate Joe Biden! 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I do not have a photo of me with Joe Biden. 
Hon Gerry Brownlee 
: You’ve got to run up from behind and grab him! 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: That is right. I do not know who was happier: Joe Biden seeing Phil Goff or Phil Goff seeing Joe Biden. The fundamental point here is that we support the view that the world needs to take climate change seriously. New Zealand has its own prescription for that and we will be following it. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: Does he agree—bringing the matter of nuclear weapons closer to home—with the statement of the New Zealand Prime Minister in 1986: “New Zealand is a nuclear-free country. We reject any strategy for our defence which relies on nuclear weapons.”? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: Yes. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Is it not true that the Prime Minister was just making it up when he said that other world leaders were not focused on climate change because they were focused on the recession; if not why can he not name just one leader who said that to him? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: It would be inappropriate for me to relay conversations— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Oh you’re just making it up! 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: As a former Minister of Foreign Affairs— 
Hon Phil Goff 
: You’re not supposed to make things up as Prime Minister John. You should have learnt that by now. 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I do not have to go out there and ankle-tap world leaders then email the photo to the  
Dominion Post 
 in order to get a profile. I have my own profile. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [ 
Interruption 
] There is a Standing Order that you continue to fail to enforce because members keep interjecting when I raise a point of order. I ask you to bring the House to order please. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: We will hear the point of order in silence. 
Hon Phil Goff 
: Mr Speaker as you are aware the question was very straightforward. It asked whether there was a world leader that he had spoken to. Either there was one or there was not but nothing in his answer pertained to that question. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: If the question had been straightforward and serious—and I am not sure whether the barracking from the member’s colleagues indicated the seriousness of the question—I believe that the response the member got was absolutely in response to the interjections from his colleagues. Ministers are perfectly entitled to respond to interjections when answering questions. 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: I am not going to relay conversations I had with other leaders simply because I think that is inappropriate. But I can say that with quite a number of leaders I have met recently what has come up first and has dominated nearly every conversation we have had has been the recession. If the Leader of the Opposition does not think leaders around the world are almost solely focused on the recession at the moment as opposed to anything else then he is showing why he is so out of touch with what is happening in the world. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: In light of his response to my third question which rejected the use of nuclear deterrence in the defence of New Zealand and in light of the judgment of the World Court that the use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to international law can the Prime Minister confirm that New Zealand supports the UN General Assembly Resolution 63/75 calling for negotiations to commence for an international convention prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances? 
Hon JOHN KEY 
: As I said in response to an earlier question from the member yes New Zealand has supported those resolutions at the United Nations but it is important as I said to put them against the backdrop of what is happening out there. We think that the fastest way to achieve those kinds of results is not necessarily through a UN resolution; it is through the leadership that America is demonstrating in Prague this week. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: I seek leave to table three United Nations documents. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Could the member identify the three documents please. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: The first is General Assembly Resolution 63/75 of 2 December 2008 which sets out the resolution calling for a convention on the non-use of nuclear weapons and which New Zealand voted against. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection to that? There appears to be none. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: The second is General Assembly Resolution 63/49 which calls for a nuclear weapons convention and which New Zealand voted for. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is none. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House. 
Dr Kennedy Graham 
: The third document is United Nations General Assembly document A/62/650 of 18 January 2008 which sets out the  
Model Nuclear Weapons Convention 
. 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? There is none. 
Document by leave laid on the Table of the House.