Judith Collins: Privileges Committee Chair on the punishment for Te Pati Māori

Satisfaction the Privileges Committee stood its ground over Te Pati Māori's viral haka in Parliament.  

The harshest sanctions in Parliament's history have been handed down, with co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi suspended for 21 days.   

Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke's been suspended for seven.  

Privileges Committee Chair Judith Collins told Mike Hosking the committee was almost universally appalled by the demonstration and six months’ worth of hearings. 

She says the committee's work was worth it, and it's about time Parliament realised the public is appalled by the antics.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we got there. On the end of Parliament endorsed
the Privileges Committee recommendation around the Maori Party. Two of
them are out for twenty one days. Might be Clark
who started it all as out the seventier of the
Privileges Committee due to the Collins back with that's very
good morning to you, our good morning Mike. What have
you learned out of all of this?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Well, I've learned that you should always stick to your principles.
And it's very clear that the committee was I would
have thought pretty much almost universally appalled by what we
saw in Parliament and the six months of hearings, including
three tempts to get the three MP's to turn up

(00:39):
and to answer questions and to explain themselves, that it
was actually worth it. And it's about time that Parliament
realized that the public of New Zealand are appalled by
some of the antics that they've seen in Parliament, including
interrupting the vote. It's looking seeming to threaten other MPs
are certainly to try and influenced them, and I thought

(01:02):
that see the committee stood its ground in the majority.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Indeed they did. It wasn't unanimous. Something was made that
by the other side. Do they have a point or not?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
No, they don't. The factors is that during those hearings,
all the meetings that we had over six months, I
thought there was a very genuine concern about behavior on
that day and the fact that we weren't able to
hear the other side because they didn't want to turn up,
and what they did want to do is to write

(01:34):
us letters telling us the way we should be running
the committee, including turning into some sort of public forum
to discuss Tea Kane, which of course is not what
it's there for. It. The other thing is that hearing
wn Ai a Packer make all sorts of validations yesterday
in Parliament which are wrong. This is not about the harker,

(01:55):
It's not about that. It's about interrupting the vote, finger
pointing into there's a gun movement at three act MP's.
And it's also the fact that none of the protocols
were respected in parliament, and there are protocols on the Mariah,
there's protocols in Parliament, protocols in the churchs, mosques and schools.

(02:16):
Whatever we do, we've got to follow those protocols.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
I don't I can't work out whether they want to
get it or don't want to get it, or do
get it, but just don't want to run it. But
I mean, in other words, I just don't take them seriously.
I just I'm so fed up and sick of them. Well,
I think they're not serious people.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Do that? No, No, well they're not serious people. And Hannah,
she's only in the first term and very young, and
obviously we felt that she was very heavily influenced by
the co leaders who are now five years in parliament.
They know exactly what the rules are and they have
been they said that they did so, and it's clear

(02:56):
from what Hannah said in public that she had been
as been arranged that Rallery Waitity would be the one
to tear up the build and started all off and
then they went and through it and hear it the
last minute. So do I feel she's been somewhat used?

Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yes, I do, just really quickly HeiG Seth Singer poor
five percent defense China, Miles, all the stuff that you've
been dealing with in the last couple of days, is
there something extra there that we don't know about as
regards China and attention in the world at the moment
or is that just because you all got together in
the room you expressed it.

Speaker 2 (03:30):
No, it's very tough at the moment, and I think
people should be very realistic about It's what we saw
recently with the very heavily armed and capable Task Group
that came down from China, that is just that that's
nothing compared to what the sort of tensions that are

(03:50):
going on in the end of specific I think it's
really important though for anyone just to be very calm,
measured and not to get too carried away. But every
country that we dealt with in Singapore is putting more
into defense and is taking this situation very seriously. I
think it would be very foolish not too and we

(04:12):
are taking it.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Seriously well said, appreciate it very much, Defense Minister, due
to the Collins also the head of the Privileges Committee
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