Lockwood Smith makes hay with Ingram report

Lockwood Smith has lost count of the number of questions he has asked in Parliament over the past three weeks about the inquiry into Labour MP Taito Phillip Field and the propriety of his dealings with constituents.

But Dr Smith acknowledges that the intention has not been to get answers.

"Normally in an oral question, you don't ask a question to find the answer," he says.

"You normally try to make sure you know the answer before you ask the question in Parliament."

The aim of questions was either to make a point or to put the minister, in this case David Cunliffe (Immigration), in a difficult position in trying to answer it, thereby reinforcing the point.

The report has given Dr Smith, National's longest-serving MP, more exposure than anything since being in Opposition and, for an MP who has often been the subject of Government ridicule, greater respect.

Dr Smith has been combing the report by Noel Ingram, QC, in a clinical, almost forensic way, using his questions to highlight what he sees as particularly damaging passages.

A change in standing orders during Jonathan Hunt's time as Speaker gave Opposition parties the gift of being able to devote as many of their daily allocation of questions as they want to a single issue.

The occasional effect has been to turn Parliament into an arena resembling a courtroom during cross-examination.

Dr Smith's questions have been carefully prepared, and asked without tub-thumping, a style he said he adopted based on his own experience of fielding questions for nine years as a minister.

"The more political hyperbole in a question, the easier it is, in my experience, for a minister to use that to bat it away.

"The more focused a question is on fact, the more difficult it is for a minister to handle it," Dr Smith said yesterday.

"I don't like being involved in attacking fellow members of Parliament.

"It has not been my style."

Dr Smith said his aim was to get another inquiry with powers to subpoena evidence in a way that Dr Ingram was unable to - and has not given up hope of a select committee inquiry, despite losing the Greens' support.

Dr Smith accepts that unless there are new developments, the momentum of the story will be lost.

He will spend the next two weeks - when Parliament will be in recess - attempting to get people who he believes have information to come forward.

"I think there will be further developments," he says.

"I think there is sufficient evidence of possible corruption that there should be another inquiry to sort it out."

Dr Smith believes the proposed code of conduct for MPs is a diversion.

He acknowledges there may be a perception that the issue has been rejuvenating for him but that, he says, is because people are unaware of how active he normally is behind the scenes.


Veteran MP

* At 57 Dr Lockwood Smith is one of New Zealand's most experienced MPs, having represented the Kaipara (now Rodney) electorate since 1984.

* He intends to stand again for Rodney in 2008.