3. Todd Barclay—Southland Electorate Office Allegations Prime Ministerial ConductANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime MinisterTodd Barclay—Southland Electorate Office Allegations Prime Ministerial Conduct3. ANDREW LITTLE (Leader of the Opposition) to the Prime Minister: Have all the answers given by him and given on his behalf to questions in this House regarding Todd Barclay been fully accurate and complete?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH (Prime Minister): Yes to the best of my knowledge and in the context they were given.Andrew Little: Why did he tell the House last Wednesday that he reported the matter to the police when he knew that that answer was not truthful?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: That particular use of words was corrected by my colleague Gerry Brownlee because it was correct to say that I answered the police's questions—that is I made a statement to the police.Andrew Little: Why did he say last Tuesday that he did not know who told him about the tapes when he knew that that answer was not truthful?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I disagree with the member's statement but I do agree with another one he made: we must stop the abuse of the system by dodgy employers"—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! When I rise to my feet it is important that all members including Ministers and Prime Ministers then cease their answers. Further supplementary questions?Rt Hon Winston Peters: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. At the beginning of question time today you were at pains to point out the rules. Could you please tell me what part of the Prime Minister's responsibility that was when he answered that question.Mr SPEAKER: The member should go back and study Hansard like I do when it is published later on and he will see—[Interruption] If the member is going to ask the point of order then he should show some manners and wait for the answer. Then if he goes back and studies he will see that as soon as I saw the Prime Minister deviate off track I rose to my feet immediately and his microphone was switched off so he could not continue with an answer that was not relevant to the question asked.Andrew Little: Why did he say he did not know whether the tapes even existed when in fact Todd Barclay had offered to play them for him meaning he knew that that answer also was not truthful?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there is prime ministerial responsibility the right honourable Prime Minister.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: In response to the leader of the "Free Foreign Labour Party" can I say—Mr SPEAKER: Order! I just want an answer—[Interruption] Order! I just want an answer that addresses the question.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: There has been plenty of comment on that matter and in light of the police investigation I do not intend to add to that comment.Mr SPEAKER: Supplementary question the Rt—Andrew Little. [Interruption] Order! We will just have the question without the interjections from my right. [Interruption]Andrew Little: How many Young Nats have gone to help the Republicans? [Interruption] Given—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I do not want to be asking a senior Minister to leave the House but Andrew Little was then responding to an interjection. It would be far better for the order of this House if there were substantially fewer interjections coming both from my right and from members to my left.Andrew Little: Given the contents of the tapes have now been revealed to concern Todd Barclay and sex and drug matters does he accept the tapes exist and when was he aware of their contents?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there may be prime ministerial responsibility the right honourable Prime Minister.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: As I have said I have no comment to add to what comments have been made. But the member should I would hope be as forensic with his own statements about the free foreign labour and the idea—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! I have asked for less interjection. I am not getting much cooperation from either side. If I therefore have to ask a member to leave the Chamber because the member continues to interject then I would suggest that person not complain to me afterwards.Andrew Little: Putting aside the Prime Minister's admiration for my exemplary truthfulness—Mr SPEAKER: Order! We will have the question.Andrew Little: Why did he say—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order!Andrew Little: Why did he say he did not know anything about Glenys Dickson's settlement when he had earlier texted Stuart Davie that the settlement was larger than normal meaning he knew that that answer also was not truthful?Mr SPEAKER: I will allow the Prime Minister to address it but it—[Interruption] Order! It is marginal that it does not breach—I suspect it breaches Speaker's ruling 173/1 but I will allow the Prime Minister if he wishes to address the question to do so.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: Those matters have all been publicly commented on and I do not intend to add to it.Andrew Little: Is this an accurate time line of his statements as Prime Minister on this issue: last Tuesday he said he did not know who had told him about the tapes; later that day he said he remembered Todd Barclay had told him; last Wednesday he said he had reported the matter to the police; the next day he remembered it was the police who contacted him; on Saturday he did not know whether the tapes existed; and by Sunday he remembered that Todd Barclay had offered to play him the tapes? If so why does his version of events about a potential crime committed by one of his MPs just keep on changing?Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: If it comes to time lines that member had better be clear about the scale of immigration fraud—the scale of immigration fraud—to which he may be a party.Andrew Little: Bearing in mind his own statement as Prime Minister that Ministers should be truthful can he be straight with me: does he know whether any person suggested Todd Barclay destroy the tapes that were the subject of a now reopened police investigation; if so who was that person?Mr SPEAKER: In so far as there may be prime ministerial responsibility the right honourable Prime Minister.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: I certainly have no ministerial responsibility for that although that leader has responsibility—Grant Robertson: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. [Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! Carmel Sepuloni will stand withdraw and apologise for that interjection immediately.Carmel Sepuloni: I withdraw and apologise.Mr SPEAKER: Now point of order—Grant Robertson.Grant Robertson: Point of order—[Interruption]Mr SPEAKER: Order! This is—[Interruption] Order! I do not want to keep reminding members on my right that this is a point of order.Grant Robertson: Mr Speaker in both of the first two questions when the Prime Minister moved outside matters that were his responsibility or indeed his answer to the question you drew that to his attention. I just wondered how long he goes on defying your instructions as Speaker without being pulled into line by you.Hon Simon Bridges: Speaking to the point of order—Mr SPEAKER: I do not need any assistance but I do thank the member for offering it. I will watch that very very carefully but when I consider the tone and length of the question and look at Standing Order 380 it did give some licence to the Prime Minister when he took the opportunity of addressing the question.Chris Hipkins: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. In his answer the Prime Minister said he had no ministerial responsibility. The question that the Leader of the Opposition asked him was whether he knew of any person—in other words is he aware of something. How a Minister becomes aware of something does not matter. In what capacity they become aware if they have any form of ministerial responsibility for it—and in this case the Prime Minister is responsible for the statements he has made as Prime Minister. How he became aware of a piece of information is neither here nor there. Ministers when they are aware of something are aware of it in their ministerial capacity.Mr SPEAKER: I have two problems with the point the member is raising. First of all it is just that the length and tone of the question was substantial. It was very difficult for me to actually decipher the essence of the question the member was asking. Then I do point out to the member Speakers' rulings 198/5 and 198/6. The Prime Minister—my job is to judge whether he has addressed some of that question and in my opinion he has. I do not accept any responsibility for the quality of the answer that has been given.Andrew Little: Why did he sit for a year on an issue that was so bad it forced the honourable member for Clutha-Southland to retire from politics once it became public and is now the subject of a new police investigation and is that the moral standard by which he now governs?Mr SPEAKER: There are two supplementary questions there. The Prime Minister can address either.Rt Hon BILL ENGLISH: The member is simply wrong. I took part in the previous police investigation over a year ago. How long did that member know about the 85 free foreign workers—Mr SPEAKER: Order! [Interruption] Order! [Interruption] Order! It is not the Prime Minister's right to ask me when I knew any such issue."