National's Nicola Willis had the House in stitches during question time today with a poorly worded question.
Willis, National's finance spokesperson, was questioning Finance Minister Grant Robertson about new "belt tightening" directives issued by the Government after what she said was a period of "spraying New Zealanders money around".
Robertson fired back stating Willis needed to"keep up" with the Government's accounts better and that "she now has to be the one to find a way to repair the fiscal hole in National's plans".
It was then Willis made the comment which led to much amusement from her colleagues.
The exchange over the Government's finances left MPs in stiches earlier. (Source: 1News)
"How big is his hole..." Willis said before realising how it could be taken and stopping in her tracks as laughter rang out around the debating chamber.
"That is not in the public interest I can assure you," Robertson shot back, not missing a beat.
Willis laughed, putting her hand to her head as she tried to compose herself.
Once the laughter began to subside she apologised to the Speaker and phrased the question in a more tame manner.
"How big is the New Zealand Government's financial hole," she said as chuckling continued.
Normal service was then resumed.
Opposition parties have been quick to demand answers, deputy political editor Maiki Sherman reports. (Source: 1News)
Robertson was later asked about the probing question at the end of a line of questions about the Government's finances.
"As I said, it's not in the public interest for me to discuss anything about that," he said.
Willis added shortly after that she felt "embarrassed" by the exchange.
"I'm really sorry to all the New Zealanders who are disappointed with that image," she said.
"You know, often, my kids say to me: 'What did you do at work today?' and I guess this is a story that they relate to more than some of the others.
"I think there's a downside to being reactive with a supplementary question. And obviously, no offence was intended by the remark."
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