Readers may recall that Rodney Hide asked a few questions before Parliament was dissolved.
8314 (2008). Rodney Hide to the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
Following her reply to Question for Written Answer 08058 (2008), did any officials or employees of Parliamentary Services accompany the Minister on the trip including the trip to Las Vegas; if they did, what was the cost?
8313 (2008). Rodney Hide to the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
Following her reply to Question for Written Answer 08058 (2008), did the New Zealand Embassy In Washington ask the US Government for any facilitation for Winston Peters during this travel?
8312 (2008). Rodney Hide to the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
Following her reply to Question for Written Answer 08058 (2008), what was the original itinerary and the full programme for the travel prepared by Ministerial offices?
8311 (2008). Rodney Hide to the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
Following her reply to Question for Written Answer 08058 (2008), who wrote up the itinerary supplied and on what date?
8310 (2008). Rodney Hide to the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
Further to her reply to Question for Written Answer 08059 (2008), who did pay for these flights; were they booked by the Parliamentary Travel Office; if they were not booked by the Parliamentary Travel Office who did book them?
8309 (2008). Rodney Hide to the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs
Further to her reply to Question for Written Answer 08058 (2008), did the New Zealand Consul General in Los Angeles accompany Winston Peters while in Las Vegas or did the Consul General provide any facilitation for Winston Peters as he transited through Los Angeles?
All have come back with the following answer:
Rt Hon Helen Clark (Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs) replied: Parliament Dissolved. Answer not received.
This is a bit of a shame. but to help readers bear the suspense of having to wait until the next Parliament we are able to supply some new insights.
How might you ask are we able to do this?
Well in one instance we have been able to view the original reply received by Rodney Hide to some questions that were answeredin mid September. So we can answer question 8311. According to the document history the itinerary was drafted by Justin Allen on 17 September. This, in itself, is interesting given this post on the blog Roar Prawn. But it is interesting that a new itinerary was created as opposed to the original itinerary from the Ministerial visit programme being used. This will have to be investigated in due course.
We can also reveal - thanks to an OIA request - that the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet did know about the Peters trip well before it was discussed in the media in early September. According to CEO Maarten Wevers "this Department had had minimal discussions or contact with anyone concerning this visit.
I have ascertained that the Cabinet paper in which authorisation of Mr Peters' travel overseas travel in April/May 2007 was sought and the subsequent report to Cabinet after the trip do not refer to Las Vegas (or anywhere else in America)....
When the Minister of Foreign Affairs has received approval from cabinet to travel overseas, it is usual practice for the relevant Policy Advisor in this Department to receive a copy of the MFAT cable to New Zealand Embassies and High Commissions detailing relevant overseas contact details and itinerary.......I am advised that the cable indicates that for one weekend the Minister had a private arrangement and that the flight itinerary attached to the cable indicated that the trip would include a flight from Europe to Las Vegas and then to Asia. No information on accommodation in America was included in the cable.
In relation to your comment that your request includes information in the minds of relevant officials, I can only advise that the relevant Policy Advisor recalls being made aware that Mr Peters went to Las Vegas. The Policy Advisor is unable to pinpoint the time or context in which that awareness arose." [Maybe we can help - it was probably a MFAT Division Directors' Meeting, the same one at which everyone was told not to mention the trip outside of MFAT].
Do readers really believe that on receiving this cable the NZ Embassy in Washington would not have sought facilitation for Mr Peters from the State Department on his various airport transfers in the US? And would the Consul General in LA not have facilitated the transfer in LA also? We cannot answer whether the CG went to Las Vegas. And we still can't answer the question about whether Winston was travelling solo on this trip. The answers to these questions and more will have to await the election.
