Mallard Trevor: General Debate 
Mallard Trevor: General Debate 
[Volume:656;Page:5251] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
: 
 The previous speech from Colin King was a big play for the role of Parliamentary Under-Secretary some time early in 2011. The member talked about enrolled nurses but I want to put one factual matter right. The previous National Government took away the role of enrolled nurses; Annette King restarted the training of enrolled nurses. The previous speaker had it wrong by 180 degrees but we will move on. 
I want to focus today on Paula Bennett because two things became absolutely apparent today. First Paula Bennett ordered a staff member either directly or through a political person—and we will get to that tomorrow—to access the Social Welfare Information for Tomorrow Today (SWIFTT) database by using the machine in her office. That is just wrong. I had the education database in my office when I was Minister of Education but I would not have dreamt of accessing the information for political purposes. It is wrong. What will happen to the staff member who was ordered by Paula Bennett to access that information? Despite the fact that the staff member was ordered by Paula Bennett that person has still breached the rules on accessing SWIFTT and will almost certainly lose his or her job. 
Peter Hughes is the chief executive of the Ministry of Social Development. I have never seen a chief executive look so bad. He is stuck between a Minister who ordered a staff member to do something and a staff member who breached the regulations and therefore will face disciplinary action. It is unfair to put the staff member in that position and also unfair to put the chief executive in that position. 
We will progress that matter but let us look at some of the parallels. The Minister of Police has the police database sitting in a staff member’s office. What would people think if someone looked up Hone’s convictions my convictions or Sue Bradford’s convictions on the police database for political purposes? We all know— 
Simon Bridges 
: What else have you done? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Oh here we go! “Cougar Bait” is interjecting again. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: The member knows we must refer to members by their correct title in this House. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The member for Tauranga who has the hots for Christine Rankin interjects. If the member wants to put it that way and that is the approach members want I am happy to put it that way; I was happy to call him “Cougar Bait”. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Eric Roy) 
: The member not long ago raised an issue about referring to a Speaker’s ruling. I do not think the tone the member is proceeding in will maintain order in this House and I may well have to impose some other regulations. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Let us get to the point: should the Minister of Police access the police database for political purposes? No. Should the Minister of Health access the health database? When Labour was in Government we knew that some people on the Opposition side had some pretty serious health problems. Should the then Minister of Health have accessed the health database for information about Opposition members? Of course not; that would have been absolutely wrong and unethical just as it was unethical for Paula Bennett to access information on two beneficiaries. 
Ministers are trusted. Ministers are trusted not to abuse the access they have to information. When I was Minister of Education I did not go looking up the examination results of the children of Opposition members. That would have been wrong. I did not look up the examination results of Opposition members when they were at school. That would also have been wrong. Why is it right for Paula Bennett to order her staff to breach the regulations access information inappropriately and not tell the chief executive until afterwards? It is unprecedented as far as I am aware. I ask Government members where it stops. What is the ethical basis for Government members going into official records of opponents? 
Paul Quinn 
: You are the last person who should be talking about ethics. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: We hear Paul Quinn again. Who is the New Zealand Maori playing this year? Who did not go to the New Zealand Rugby Union meeting and lost the New Zealand Maori its game? It was Paul Quinn. He is useless there and here.