Personal Explanations — Correction of Interjection

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I seek leave to correct a statement that I made in the House yesterday.

SPEAKER: Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There appears to be none.

Rt Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Yesterday, I said in the House that Helen Clark had dumped Winston Peters from Cabinet. That was incorrect: it was Jenny Shipley and Jim Bolger who fired him from the Cabinet. Helen Clark allowed him to resign as a Minister outside of Cabinet after the Serious Fraud Office started investigating political donations to New Zealand First. I will be more precise in the future.

Point of order. Mr Speaker, again—[Interruption]

SPEAKER: Just a moment—just a moment.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Again—[Interruption]

SPEAKER: Just a moment. Sorry, just a moment—the Rt Hon Winston Peters.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: Again, that member, on this occasion, with preparation, has misled the House. That is not what happened with respect to Jenny Shipley. I walked out of the Cabinet. I gave up my job. Everybody knows that, and so, sir—[Interruption]

SPEAKER: Hang on. Just one moment—one moment.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: —he should not be allowed to tell falsities.

SPEAKER: One moment. Just a moment. Points of order are heard in silence regardless of what we might want to react to. They’re heard in silence. The member will offer his point of order again.

Rt Hon WINSTON PETERS: What has been said by the leader of the Labour Party is, again, false. In this case, on the question of the Wellington Airport, I walked out of Cabinet on a matter of principle. Some of us actually believe in that in politics.

Hon Kieran McAnulty: What about rewriting history, do you believe in that?

SPEAKER: No, I was there at the time, so I won’t be rewriting it when you say “you”. We’re going to move on now to question No. 1, in the name of Dan Bidois.