Source: New Zealand Parliament – Hansard
Question No. 2—Prime Minister
2. NICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader—National) to the Prime Minister: Does he have confidence in all of his Ministers?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI (Deputy Prime Minister) on behalf of the Prime Minister: Yes.
Nicola Willis: Why does he continue to have confidence in Stuart Nash when he went on the radio to brag about breaching the Cabinet Manual, joked about it when questioned afterwards, and only much later acknowledged that what he did was wrong?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Minister Nash is no longer the Minister of Police. That was a proportionate punishment for the breach of the code of conduct that was undertaken here.
Nicola Willis: Does he stand by his statement yesterday that these actions from Minister Nash amounted to a serious error of judgment, and, if the standard for sacking a Cabinet Minister is higher than that, what is it?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Yes, that is why Minister Nash is no longer the Minister of Police.
Nicola Willis: Does he agree with constitutional law expert Andrew Geddis, who said of Stuart Nash this morning, “I think he breached ministerial standards and … he doesn’t seem to understand what those rules are or why they’re there. … Frankly, I think he’s also ruled himself out as being suitable to be a Minister. I think he probably should be gone from Cabinet altogether.”, and, if not, why not?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Minister Nash does know that this was a serious error of judgment, and he is no longer the Minister of Police as a repercussion of that.
Nicola Willis: Why are this Government’s standards now so low that Ministers of the Crown can keep their warrants even when they make grave errors of judgment that directly break the rules set out for Cabinet?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I reject the premise of that question, and Minister Nash is no longer the Minister of Police as a consequence of his actions.
Nicola Willis: Doesn’t keeping Minister Nash in Cabinet send a message to his Ministers that they can get away with interfering in police and judicial matters just so long as they aren’t the police Minister?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: No.
Nicola Willis: Doesn’t his response to Ruth Dyson, Steve Maharey, and Stuart Nash’s behaviour show that there is one set of rules for his Labour mates and one set of rules for everyone else?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: No, and these are separate incidents.
Nicola Willis: Has his confidence in the Minister of Finance been compromised by his enthusiasm in signing off multiple wasteful projects for funding in the middle of a cost of living crisis that the Prime Minister has now had to intervene to stop, and how can New Zealanders possibly trust a finance Minister who has been so profligate with the public purse?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: I have absolute confidence in the Minister of Finance. We have near record lows of unemployment in this country. Our debt, compared to many other OECD countries’, is comparatively lower, exports are up, and tourism is coming back. I have absolute confidence in our Minister of Finance.
Nicola Willis: How can he have confidence in his finance Minister when, after two years of a cost of living crisis, the economy is going backwards, we aren’t paying our way in the world, and he still doesn’t have an economic plan to take New Zealand forward?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: On behalf of the Prime Minister, every assertion that that member just spoke is absolutely wrong. I have every confidence, on behalf of the Prime Minister, in our Minister of Finance.
Nicola Willis: Does this Prime Minister have the lowest standard for Ministers ever?
Hon CARMEL SEPULONI: Absolutely not, and, on behalf of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister is absolutely confident in his Ministers and is very proud of what has been achieved and is looking forward to achieving much more.
