Speaker of the House Gerry Brownlee has apologised to Leader of the Opposition Chris Hipkins for any suggestion yesterday that he may have brought the Prime Minister's wife into a debate.
Yesterday, Hipkins was warned after being accused of breaking conventions around talking about the family of MPs.
The warning followed an exchange between the PM and Hipkins regarding the scrapping of the Clean Car Discount, which the National Party has long opposed.
Hipkins pivoted to the months-old controversy of the Luxon family Tesla, following the Government's repeal of Labour's Clean Car Discount scheme earlier this week.
Hipkins asked: "Will he pay back the more than $8000 he's received from the Clean Car Discount his Government has now repealed?"
But the PM said the car was owned by his wife and said: “I wouldn't bring the affairs of your family member into public discourse because she's not a public figure.”
The Speaker then became involved, labelling Luxon’s comments surrounding his family a "fair point", and called the questioning "out of order".
He said the questioning both related to "matters that are not within the Prime Minister's responsibility" and related to a family member.
"All I’m saying is there has been a fairly long-standing convention in this House not to bring family members into the debate," Brownlee said at the time.
But Brownlee has today apologised for that statement.
Speaker’s apology
Brownlee said, on review of the footage and reviewing the Hansard transcript, "it is clear to me, family came into the debate by way of an answer".
"I’ve looked at all the supplementary questions that were answered by the Prime Minister and, despite points of order to the contrary, they were all in order.
"I would note the answer to the primary question opening things up, or did open things up, to a much more political exchange.
"Any suggestion the Leader of the Opposition brought family into the debate are wrong. It was done only by way of answer.
"I unreservedly apologise to the Leader of the Opposition, Right Honourable Chris Hipkins, for any implication to the contrary from my intervention... I will be more vigilant in the future."
SHARE ME