Headline: Transcript Of PQT Commentary Session (June 26 2013) From Parliament’s Debating Chamber
At 2pm Wednesday Martyn Bradbury and MP David Cunliffe provided political commentary direct from the debating chamber in TDB Live’s Parliamentary Question Time feature PQT.
Martyn Bradbury: 11 degress in Wellington today
1:44 PM – Martyn Bradbury: humidity at 79%
1:45 PM – Martyn Bradbury: wind an easy 2km/h
1:45 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Parliament looking good for todays commetary sesson
1:45 PM – Martyn Bradbury: David Cunliffe joining us at 2pm
1:56 PM – David Cunliffe: hello
2:00 PM MartynBradbury: Welcome to Parliamentary Question Time commentary sessions everyone
2:00 PM – Martyn Bradbury: David Cunliffe is this weeks guest commentator live from the debating chamber
2:00 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Speakers Prayer
2:01 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Speakers claok always looks crooked
2:01 PM – Martyn Bradbury: he really needs to do something about that
2:01 PM – Martyn Bradbury: First question today from David Shearer
2:02 PM – Martyn Bradbury: it’s the classic – DAVID SHEARER to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by all his statements?
2:02 PM – David Cunliffe: HI folks hopefully i am online _ on laptiop not ipad today
2:02 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Welcome Mr Cunliffe
2:02 PM – David Cunliffe: The opening question does not give away the direction of supps
2:02 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Ouch – first blood to Mr Key
2:03 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Mr Key deflecting question on Terrorism by using Winston Peters – thos two getting very cosy
2:03 PM – David Cunliffe: Reprising the security themes of yesterday – sseeeking a balance between security and privacy: PM dodges using the “cannot disclose” line.
2:04 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Mr Key using National Security to not answer questions
2:04 PM – David Cunliffe: DS: was PMs Boston Bmbing reference real or imagined?
2:05 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Is Key ‘scaremongering’ – seeing as he has tried to use WMDs to justify these new spying laws, one would have to say ‘yes’
2:05 PM – David Cunliffe: DS Shoots back on the MRP share slump.
2:05 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Second blood to Shearer
2:05 PM – Martyn Bradbury: ouch
2:06 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Tau Henare yelling
2:06 PM – Martyn Bradbury: If the GCSB Bill is so urgent, why wasn’t it urgent last year? Good question by Shearer
2:07 PM – David Cunliffe: PM responds on Kitteridge review – but has not comitted to implementing all of it: “rather spooky” tag an unintended pun?
2:07 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Massive U-Turn on the inner city rail loop
2:07 PM – David Cunliffe: DS: Govt U turn on Auckland rail loop – National is nowmoving toward Labour policy
2:07 PM – Martyn Bradbury: key realizing Wellingto can’t bully Auckland
2:07 PM – David Cunliffe: Slow realization
2:08 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Mr Key not noting that 11.9% of the Herald Digi Poll were ‘don’t knows’ – hardly a victory
2:08 PM – David Cunliffe: National has completely lost the faith of communities and NGOs – taking Muldoonism to a new level
2:08 PM – Martyn Bradbury: PAUL GOLDSMITH to the Minister of Finance: What progress is the Government making to ensure future generations of New Zealanders are not saddled with excessive debt?
2:09 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Apparently arresting students at the airport is the answer to eliminating debt
2:09 PM – David Cunliffe: Q2 Finance: The Next Nat MOF (Joyce) answers.
2:09 PM – Martyn Bradbury: not sure if that’s a vote winner for students
2:10 PM – David Cunliffe: Argument is over National lauding core crown debt reduction: labour notes that is only a small part of the total debt (and there are not enough jobs)
2:10 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Does anyone other than Joyce, Treasury and the tooth fairy believe in these projections?
2:11 PM – David Cunliffe: Tau Henare being a prat tabling a viusual aid – gets rightly booted by the Speaker.
2:11 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Tau Henare kicked out of Parliament
2:11 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Gerry Brownlee now wasting Parliaments time to defend Tau
2:12 PM – David Cunliffe: Brownlee asks for *** for tat. Speaker explains it was defiance of the Speaker that got him booted.
2:12 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Winston now wanting to start a fight with the Speaker
2:12 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Not sure why?
2:13 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Something about him not standing up?
2:13 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Seems very unhappy about any suggestion he can’t stand up
2:13 PM – David Cunliffe: Goldsmith stupidly asks about current account and net external debt – latest stats are a blip on the medium term worsening trend. Own goal national.
2:14 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Back to Joyce rattling off statistics that are meaningless
2:14 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Worst borrowing record in over 70 years? Winston not happy
2:14 PM – David Cunliffe: Winston goes for total borrowing. Joyce tries to condescend – smarmy
2:15 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Joyce certainly one of the smarmiest Ministers, surely Tony Ryall though would hold the championship?
2:15 PM – David Cunliffe: Goldsmith goes to manufacturing. Blends in primary sector? Fact is, over a 30 year spread manufacturing has done far better under Labour led govts. Just sayin.
2:16 PM – Martyn Bradbury: These stats are so cherry picked they are more berry than math
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2:16 PM – David Cunliffe: D Parker applies the analytic scalpel to the numbers, carving out primary sector manufacturing. Joyce smarms. Argument over deflators. Deflating.
2:17 PM – Martyn Bradbury: David Parker makes agood point about housing
2:18 PM – David Cunliffe: DP: How much additional debt will be housing driven in next year: Joyce: tries paprty tag instead of numbers. DP interjects, Speaker asks for Minister to have time. DP has the numbers all along
2:19 PM – David Cunliffe: The point being tat the housing bubble is once again driving “growth” – and it is hardly productive (and diguside by the Canterbury rebuild effect). The underlying trend is well below long run trend.
2:20 PM – David Cunliffe: Apols: disguised by Canty rebuild…
2:20 PM – Martyn Bradbury: I’m not sure hoping for another natural disaster is much of an economic strategy
2:21 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Economic Autopilot isn’t really leadership is it?
2:22 PM – David Cunliffe: No there reall is no strategy, other than short term politics of letting the property owning classes believe they are better off on the way up the bubble…
2:22 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Lot’s of poinrs of order that don’t have much point
2:22 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Parker putting the hard questions to Joyce
2:22 PM – David Cunliffe: DP shows up Resbank stats on the ks driving housing lending, and concerns at highly leveraged proprty debt. Once again JOyce “doesn’t have the numbers” – amazing how standards of replies have fall
2:23 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Willfull ignorance on behalf of Joyce – they don’t want to admit to fuelling a housing bubble?
2:23 PM – David Cunliffe: DP tries to table Resbank data series. Speaker blocks him…
2:23 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Reserve k is hardly a hotbed of socilaism is it?
2:24 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Questin
3: Dr RUSSEL NORMAN to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that “In 2009, New Zealand was rated first on the Transparency International’s ‘Corruption Perception Index’. Out of 1
2:24 PM – David Cunliffe: Wait for the sting in the supps….
2:25 PM – David Cunliffe: TI has highlighted the Sky City pokies deal at raising fiscal, regulatory and transparency concerns. Key uses the excuse of having comapigned on it… but hello, the deal has only just been announced
2:25 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Key defensive and attacks
2:26 PM – David Cunliffe: …a ridiculous stretch by Key, who throws a jab on the way past…
2:26 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Russel Norman about to drop the hammer
2:27 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Key refuses to accept any criticism of his dirty pus filled Sky City deal
2:27 PM – David Cunliffe: RN: Process “severely compromised” Key cites OAG report. RN nails him by quoting the same report – then Key has to distance from it…
2:27 PM – David Cunliffe: Amazing how slippery that little PM really is when we analyse the logic in print…
2:27 PM – Martyn Bradbury: I am cringing watching the Prime Minister of my country pimping for a casino
2:27 PM – Martyn Bradbury: ugly viewing, terribly ugly
2:28 PM – David Cunliffe: RN: skewers PM beteeen TI and OAG. Key has no answer except: they are both wrong.
2:28 PM – David Cunliffe: Ugly indeed Bomber. And he does it badly..
2:28 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Breath taking aarogance from Mr Key
2:29 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Very nasty, very defensive
2:30 PM – Martyn Bradbury: When will the Speaker punish the PM for breaking the rules?
2:30 PM – David Cunliffe: RN uses the rules (standing order 383 on concise replies) to call on it. Speaker defends PM. Surprising…
2:31 PM – David Cunliffe: Peters goes for jugular on Sky City donations to national.
2:31 PM – Martyn Bradbury: I have yet to be surprised by the Speaker
2:32 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Winston putting the boot in re Sky City donations, Russel now ramming the rules down the Speakers throat
2:32 PM – David Cunliffe: Speaker defends PM “no responsibility” line. Surprising. RN nails the fact that PM rssied the Sky City Box issue first. Speaker says the answer sufficed. Peters objects.
2:32 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Winston lecturing the Speaker – love it
2:32 PM – David Cunliffe: Big call from Peters to question Speaker’s impartiality. He is pouring petrol on the bonfire but Speaker is not sparking.
2:33 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Winston wanting to start a fight with anyone today
2:33 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Questin 4 PHIL TWYFORD to the Minister of Transport: Has he had any reports of an imminent Government U-turn on Auckland’s City Rail Link?
2:33 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Phil Twyford a good man doing good things
2:34 PM MartynBradbury
: Gerry not used to backing up, intellectually or physically
2:34 PM – David Cunliffe: Aye – reminding NZers that the City Rail Link is Labour’s idea, quoting Brownlee’s statements back at him – “how did he convince himself he was so wrong?” nice
2:35 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Gerry decides they need to future proof National’s share of Party vote by allowing the inner rail loop
2:35 PM – David Cunliffe: PT now plays the splits and divisions card. GB plunges headlonginto “bereft of ideas” …irony
2:36 PM – David Cunliffe: PT: Quotes GB on CRL “a short little loop that is neither useful nor popular” big worm squirms on the sharp hook.
2:36 PM – Martyn Bradbury: If National are so keen to make the people of Auckland happy, they could also butt out of forcing Auckland to sprawl
2:37 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Question 5 Dr CAM CALDER to the Minister of Education: What recent reports has she received on improvements in the retention of students in secondary school?
2:37 PM – David Cunliffe: Hekia cant even do a jab right. Wrong newspaper. Own goal
2:37 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Education has 99 problems and Hekia Parata is 98 of them
2:38 PM – David Cunliffe: Puffery on retention rates of students.. err might have something to do with the lack of jobs to go to – DOH!
2:38 PM – David Cunliffe: Hekia glows in her own ignorance
2:39 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Great that some of those students Hekia wants to hold up as examples won’t be taught by qualified teachers under charter schools
2:40 PM – David Cunliffe: Hekia quotes OECD NZ Country survey -another own goal – it specifically criticised NZ’s poor school to work transitions…
2:40 PM – David Cunliffe: And then she responds to one of Treveor’s injections, thus writing it into Hansard. own goal #3
2:41 PM – David Cunliffe: Annette King picks up an pings back a Maggie B “50 years” injections. Ryall blushes
2:41 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Questin 6: Hon ANNETTE KING to the Minister of Health: What recent reports has he received on affordability of health care for New Zealanders?
2:42 PM – Martyn Bradbury: King a pocket battleship, only MP who manges to get under Ryall’s skin
2:42 PM – David Cunliffe: King goes to the advice leading to the rasing of prescription charges… Ryall refers to Treasury reports.. comforting?
2:42 PM – David Cunliffe: (MB I had fun with that rooster too I recall)
2:43 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Mr Ryall’s Shirt is bleeding into the rest of the screen
2:43 PM – David Cunliffe: Ryall doing the “let me read lots of really boring fatoids in a low voice so it must be true” routine.
2:44 PM – David Cunliffe: AK quotes medical centers sufering or closing from a lack of funding. Ryall thinks its OK if public primary care centers are replaced with higher cost private ones.
2:44 PM – Martyn Bradbury: The additional spending isn’t enough to keep up with the population increases
2:45 PM – David Cunliffe: Testing
2:46 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Everything I hear from people in medical service now is that all the resources have been used up and they are desperate for more
2:46 PM – David Cunliffe: Back on line after brief disconnect.
2:47 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Thank you GCSB
2:47 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Question 7 SIMON O’CONNOR to the Minister of Housing: What initiatives is the Government taking to address housing supply in pressured markets like Auckland and Christchurch?
2:48 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Minister for annoying Auckland – Nick Smith now pretending Government cares about housing affordability
2:48 PM – Martyn Bradbury: ‘streamlining’ for the private sector should make anyone who cares about social justice quiver in fear
2:49 PM – Martyn Bradbury: I’m not sure this Government even understands what the word ‘Partnership’ even means
2:49 PM – David Cunliffe: Govt prioirty is social housing in Queenstown. Tell it to South and West auckland mate.
2:51 PM – David Cunliffe: Smith sucking up to Maori party. CPR on a political corpse.
2:51 PM – Martyn Bradbury: The Minister would like to give the Maori Party a tiny crumb to justify why they continue to swallow dead rats
2:51 PM – David Cunliffe: Wont repeat Winston P’s Point of Order. nearly got him booted.
2:52 PM – David Cunliffe: Brendon Horan lives….
2:52 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Brendan Horan – the answer to a question no one ever asked
2:53 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Questin 8 JAN LOGIE to the Minister of Health: Does he agree with the Attorney-General’s advice that the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Bill (No 2) unjustifiably limits the right t
2:53 PM – Martyn Bradbury: o judicial review; if not, why not?
2:54 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Ryall claiming that Government’s have breached the Bill of Rights heaps of times, so one more shouldn’t worry anyone
2:54 PM – David Cunliffe: Greens push on continual weakeneing of the rule of law…
2:54 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Not even Muldoon would have done this
2:54 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Key is worse than Muldoon, he’s not just as bad
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2:55 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Ryall just explaining with a straight face that discrimination is okay against the families of those looking ate their own kin
2:56 PM – Martyn Bradbury: after
2:57 PM – David Cunliffe: Restricitng right of appeal… caregivers can head for UN – ryall responds NZ is one of only three countries in world who pay family caregivers.
2:57 PM – Martyn Bradbury: NZ will be humiliated if this is taken to the International stage, how needlessly vicious to those citizens who but for the grace of God go I, are forced to care for their sick family members
2:57 PM – David Cunliffe: …but deliberately misses the cnstitutional angle of the question…
2:58 PM – David Cunliffe: Nicky Wagner: gravitas personified.
2:58 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Question 9 NICKY WAGNER to the Associate Minister of Health: What is being done to address the mental health needs of people in Canterbury?
2:58 PM – David Cunliffe: Todd Mclay bravely reads out his notes…
2:59 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Todd looks like a car salesman, he can’t be an associate Minister of the Crown can he?
2:59 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Is it a mistake?
2:59 PM – David Cunliffe: Mclay: Psycho social recovery lags fiscal recovery…., oops another Freudian slip…
2:59 PM – Martyn Bradbury: That’s really Todd McClay? I expected someone less time share rep
2:59 PM – David Cunliffe: HIs time is soon up…
3:00 PM – Martyn Bradbury: You just know tose notes are phonetic
3:00 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Question 10: CLARE CURRAN to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement of 11 June 2013 that “I can assure the House that we do not use our partners to circumvent New Zealand laws”?
3:01 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Clare firing up on the PM
3:01 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Key is comfortable with that
3:01 PM – David Cunliffe: Important question from Clare Curran: telcos tell committee tehy dont support extension of state interception powers… and how can PM continue to deny it is happening…
3:02 PM – David Cunliffe: Key doesnt attempt a real answer…
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3:02 PM – David Cunliffe: Clare: are there comparable protection for NZ citizens if GCSB becomes a domestic spy agency: Key parries…
3:03 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Very good question about te Southern Cross
3:03 PM – David Cunliffe: Clare C: asks if GCSB intercepts Southern Cross cable.. Key wont discuss … interesting …
3:03 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Ooooo – won’t answer
3:03 PM – Martyn Bradbury: she sunk his battleship
3:03 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Clare giving it to him with both barrels
3:04 PM – Martyn Bradbury: PAUL FOSTER-BELL to the Minister of Civil Defence: What reports has she received on how civil defence managed last week’s extreme weather events across New Zealand?
3:04 PM – David Cunliffe: Curran draws attention to legal catch 22 fro international IT Cos and telcos. Key blocks to ICT Minister..
3:04 PM – David Cunliffe: Who is Paul Foster Bell and why is he here?
3:05 PM – David Cunliffe: Someone clapped Nikki Kaye. We have moved into a parallel universe where Govt backbenchers clap questions about the weather… who wrote this
3:05 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Will National give Civil Defence a bonus because of National’s lack of work on the climate change that is powering these severe weather events?
3:06 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Question 1
2: Le’aufa’amulia ASENATI LOLE-TAYLOR to the Prime Minister: Does he still stand by his reported statement that the Prostitution Law Reform Act 2003 “hasn’t actually worked”?
3:06 PM – David Cunliffe: False start on Q12.
3:07 PM – David Cunliffe: PM agrees prostitution reform Act has been ineffective in dealing with underage prostitution.
3:07 PM – David Cunliffe: Lole Taylor looks for Govt Support for local Govt. PM replies with a straight bat. Interesting Nat-NZF dynamics…
3:07 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Perhaps the politicians need to be debating the povert that drives street prostitution rather than debate how much harder can tey make those street prostitutes lives
3:08 PM – David Cunliffe: Good point MArtyn
3:09 PM – David Cunliffe: Asenati deadpans her reply. Classy
3:10 PM – Martyn Bradbury: The underage street prostitutes I interviewed for TV were there because they were being abused at home, I’m not hearing any of that understanding between these two politicians
3:10 PM – David Cunliffe: Nasty exchange between Maggie Andrew Williams off mike – must be a bitter history there.
3:11 PM – David Cunliffe: Maggie Barry…
3:11 PM – Martyn Bradbury: Great commentary session – we will see you tomorrow at 2pm Mr Cunliffe…
3:11 PM – David Cunliffe : Thats it for Question time. Thanks for joining folks…
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