Acting prime minister Winston Peters has told a senior female Labour Party MP to "keep quiet" during a debate in Parliament today around the ability of an MP to ask questions in te reo Māori.
During Question Time in the House, Te Pāti Māori MP Rawiri Waititi asked "he aha tō whakautu ki nga rōpū e mahi ana, mō ngā tamariki rawakore e karanga ana kia heke te whika o nga tamariki rawakore, ma te pene, ma te hiki i te whiwhinga pūtea, ma te ngāwari, i te hoko kai me te mauiui ārai?"
The question asked what the acting prime minister's answer was to groups representing vulnerable children, who said there would be a decrease in Māori children in poverty if there was an increase in wages, as it would alleviate food cost pressures and improve overall wellbeing.
Speaker Gerry Brownlee asked Waititi if he was going to translate the question himself or if he would give Peters time to hear a translation, which is provided for MPs by Parliament through an earpiece.
Peters could then be picked up by microphones in the debating chamber saying a sentence containing the word "English".
Brownlee said according to parliamentary standing orders the question did not need to be answered "if the prime minister, in this case, doesn't feel like he has to answer it".
Labour MP Grant Robertson called a point of order saying while the Brownlee's ruling was "strictly speaking" in order, the practice in the time Robertson had been an MP was that a minister could refuse a question only when it was "definitively out of order".
"We have a simultaneous translation system in the House to allow for members to answer."
He suggested the right course of action may be for Waititi to ask the question again, giving Peters and other MPs notice to don the earpieces provided.
Peters then stood saying people watching Parliament TV might not feel included if they did not understand what Waititi said.
"That's what a democracy is called. It's not just about 5% it's about the other 95% ... it's called one people, one country.
He continued, saying he understood the question may be about the cost of living, as he was heckled by other members, including senior Labour MP and former Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods.
"No, no, no, on the marae, Megan, you keep quiet. You do. Willie [Jackson] knows that, he keeps quiet too. You don't shout out like some bunch of clowns at university."
He said the cost of living was of the greatest concern to the Government.
Peters was in the hot seat while Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was out of the country. (Source: 1News)
There was some debate then about whether ministers could refuse questions if they were asked in te reo Māori, including Green MP Marama Davidson saying a minister could usually only refuse a question if it was not in the public interest to answer it.
Eventually, Brownlee allowed Waititi to ask the question again, 11 minutes after it was initially asked.
Peters said if the Government was to help groups that worked with the poor, the first thing it needed to do was "uplift the economy" and "leave no one out".
"With the reforms that are going to go ahead, running a far more successful economy, and ensuring that no one is left out in housing, education and in health ... then people will be uplifted. Not like the disaster that we had, where there were all those tens and tens and tens of thousands utterly forgotten and homeless went up by 35%."
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