M.P. allegedly misled Parliament

Press, 23 September 1981, Page 1

M.P. allegedly misled Parliament

PA Wellington A senior Labour Party frontbencher has been referred to Parliament’s Privileges Committee for allegedly deliberately misleading the House. The former Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Mr R. J. Tizard (Otahuhu), allegedly misled Parliament last week when he told the Speaker (Sir Richard Harrison) he had not made an interjection complained about.

An examination of the Hansard record — a verbatim transcript of Parliamentary debates — showed this reply was “untrue,” said the Leader of the House (Mr Thomson) yesterday. “I believe from this that the member for Otahuhu deliberately misled the House." Mr Thomson said. Mr Tizard himself told Parliament the matter was "trivial." The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Rowling) said that when Parliament's Standing Orders Committee had looked at the procedures of the Privileges Committee it had been agreed the Privileges procedures would “not in the future be abused by raising matters that were

hair-splitting or relatively trivial." The Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) said he did not regard the matter as trivial. It was clear from Hansard that Mr Tizard had made a detrimental statement. It was equally clear that a short time after he had denied having made it. and said he had made an entirely different statement. The committee, which in theory has almost unlimited power, is due to meet today to consider the response to its invitation last week to anti-tour protesters who prayed in Parliament, to apologise. The Hansard record examined later showed that Mr Tizard interjected during Ministerial replies to questions that the Government lacked "courage and honesty."

The Chief Government Whip (Mr A. P. Friedlander) objected and Mr Tizard was asked to withdraw the remarks by the Speaker. According to Hansard, Mr Tizard replied: “I did not say what was attributed to me ... I attributed courage and honesty to the late Norman Kirk."