KEY POINTS:
John Key and Helen Clark have defended their decision to send retiring MPs on a taxpayer-funded junket to Europe, claiming the election has the rest of the caucus too busy campaigning to trip about eastern Europe.
Four MPs will accompany Speaker Margaret Wilson on her annual Speaker's tour to eastern Europe intended to foster parliamentary relations _ but of the five the only MP who does not intend to leave Parliament this year is NZ First's Peter Brown.
All others _ National's Katherine Rich and Brian Connell, Labour's Marian Hobbs, and the Speaker herself, Margaret Wilson, will leave at the election.
A spokesman for Speaker Margaret Wilson's office said she had initially tried to cancel the trip altogether this year because it was an election year. However, she was obliged to continue because invitations from the countries involved had already been accepted.
Both Mr Key and Ms Clark used the election as an excuse for sending MPs who were due to retire.
Prime Minister Helen Clark said the trip was "not about the benefit for MPs, it's about the benefit for New Zealand".
"Obviously in election year a lot of people have other things on their mind, like running for Parliament again, but the key thing is that this is representation of New Zealand. In that sense it doesn't really matter who is doing it, as long as they're members of Parliament."
Mr Key said Ms Rich and Mr Connell were the only two of National's 48 MPs "prepared and able" to go on the trip. "I want my MPs who are seeking re-election to be out there working hard on the campaign trail."
However, the election-year excuse appears to be new _ in 2005 all five MPs on the Speaker's tour were also standing for re-election.
Yesterday while Katherine Rich and Peter Brown were happy to defend the trip, Marian Hobbs went to ground after she was quoted in the Press saying the trip could be seen as a "last hurrah" for the retiring MPs and admitting "I don't know too much about the purpose. I think it's about MMP. I'm not sure." However, yesterday she hung up when the Herald called and did not answer her phone again or reply to an email.
The Speaker's office said the trips supported trade relationships, and MPs would also look at constitutional arrangements and parliamentary systems of other countries.
Helen Clark said the trip was a "diplomatic outreach" for New Zealand to countries which senior Government representatives rarely visited. However, Mr Key refused to debate the merits of the trip, saying it was a long-standing tradition and it was for the Speaker to decide if it was good value for the taxpayer. He said it was "not relevant" that National chose Mr Connell to go on the trip, despite being suspended from caucus.
"He is a member of Parliament and he participates in all of the other parliamentary activities including Question Time and select committee."
Act leader Rodney Hide, who has been on a Speaker's tour to Latin America, told NZPA he felt the trips were worthwhile.
"It is a bad look but at the end of the day, do you want a parliament that interacts with other parliaments? And if the answer is yes, then you're going to have trips like this."
THE TRIP
* The MPs and two staff will leave on April 18 and return on May 2.
* They will travel business class to Frankfurt, via Singapore. They then head to Eastern Europe for a fortnight, including time in Warsaw and Krakow in Poland, where they visit the former concentration camp Auschwitz. They will spend three days in Prague, in the Czech Republic, and then the Hungarian capital of Budapest, before travelling home. They return on May 2.
TENTATIVE MEETINGS:
IN WARSAW AND KRAKOW
Marshal of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland, President of the Republic of Poland, New Zealand Ambassador, Members of the Poland-New Zealand Parliamentary Group, Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Sejm, Regional Governor of Krakow.
IN PRAGUE
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Chamber of Deputies, Speaker of Senate, Prime Minister, Chief Magistrate, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs Committee.
IN BUDAPEST AND VARPALOTA
Hungarian Speaker, Constitutional Committee, Employment Committee, New Zealand Ambassador, Minister of Health, AHI Roofing (AHI/Fletcher Building investment) factory in Varpalota, Varpalota Mayor.
