Points of Order — Ministers—Correction of Statements

Point of order. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I just want to raise a serious matter on Ministers taking the first available opportunity to correct inaccurate or potentially misleading statements. This is the last opportunity a Minister has to do so. On the 15th of this month, Minister Louise Upston, when asked whether she had sought advice on the impact on sick, injured, and disabled New Zealanders and whether they had been left into debt, homelessness, or hunger, answered yes. I posed the very same question in writing, and, today, just now, a couple of hours ago, she came back to me with the exact opposite answer, which was an emphatic no. I’m concerned that Ministers are not taking the opportunity to correct statements when a week ago I got an emphatic yes to a question and in writing got a very clear no to the very same question.

💬 SPEAKER: Yeah, look, it’s fairly straightforward. I think the procedure for such contested responses like that is to either write to the Speaker or set down a notice of motion on the Order Paper. I appreciate that we are at the end of this Parliament, but, none the less, the Standing Orders remain in place.