January 29, 2014
PM shirking question time
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters’ has defended Hone Harawira’s attendance record in parliament.
Prime Minister John Key has blamed Mr Harawira for a new rule requiring MPs to register their attendance, even though the Mana Leader’s 68 days away from the house last year were all cleared by the speaker as being for parliamentary business.
Mr Peters says Mr Key should be the last one to point the finger, because he makes a point of being elsewhere every Thursday.
"He’s not there because he’s so busy, I saw Muldoon, Lange, everyone else there on the Thursday. He’s not there because he doesn’t want to answer questions. So he’s the last person to be criticising Hone Harawira. Some people yes, they are absent and they can’t explain themselves and they’re not doing much, but I don’t think you can say that about Hone," he says.
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