Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is quizzed on Govt plans to overturn a Court of Appeal decision that made customary title easier to get. Video / Mark Mitchell
Questions to the Prime Minister over a minister calling a judge “communist” caused disarray in Parliament
Shane Jones described High Court Justice Cheryl Gwyn as a “Communist Judge” in a May hui
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon stated Jones’ comments were descriptive, not critical, consistent with the Cabinet Manual
Questions to the Prime Minister over whether he was comfortable with a senior minister describing a judge as a “communist” led to disarray in the House on Tuesday afternoon.
Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Oceans and Fisheries Shane Jones met with seafood industry representatives in May to discuss issues related to the Marine and Coastal Area Act.
A document containing notes from that hui show Jones described High Court Justice Cheryl Gwyn – who has granted titles – as a “Communist Judge”.
In the House on Tuesday, Jones said it was a “a matter of fact” and an “adjective”.
It has previously been reported that when Gwyn was a young law graduate she belonged to a Socialist Action League group.
That came amid questions from Labour leader Chris Hipkins to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, including whether if he was comfortable with a minister calling a judge a “communist”.
Luxon said Jones “was being descriptive, not critical”.
That led to laughter and interjections from the Opposition. Hipkins took issue with the answer, raising a point of order that it was “well respected” that ministers shouldn’t be criticising the judiciary.
“A Minister calling a judge a communist is a legitimate question to ask of the Prime Minister around ministerial conduct, and I think we could expect more than just a flippant answer like that,” Hipkins said.
Speaker Gerry Brownlee disagreed the answer was flippant, instead labelling it “pretty reasonable”.
Hipkins continued with his interrogation, asking Luxon whether the description of the judge as a “communist” was “acceptable for a minister in his Government”.
“Again, the comments are descriptive, not critical,” the Prime Minister replied. “That’s exactly what has happened. It’s on the public record. They might not be the words that I’d use, but he’s perfectly free to do so.”
David Seymour had his own question. Photo / Marty Melville.
David Seymour, another senior minister and the leader of ACT, then got involved to ask the Prime Minister if he was “surprised that the leader of the Labour Party believes ‘communist’ is a critical term”.
That too led to disorder in the House.
The Speaker didn’t allow the Prime Minister to answer that.
Seymour is recorded in Hansard as interjecting: “Sorry, comrade!”.
Brownlee said: “We’re just going to come to order. Everyone might find everything highly amusing; you’re just taking up your own time.”
Luxon also said he believed Jones’ comments were consistent with the Cabinet Manual which says ministers shouldn’t criticise the judiciary.
Jamie Ensor is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub Press Gallery office.
