Today's resignations of Ministers Hobbs and Bunkle actually miss the point at issue, says United Future leader, Hon
Peter Dunne.
"The issues surrounding Ms Hobbs and Ms Bunkle do not relate to the conduct of their Ministerial portfolios, but to
their conduct as individual Members of Parliament in claiming certain allowances."
"Therefore, if resignations are considered to be in order, as I believe they are, then the two concerned should be
resigning from Parliament altogether, not just their portfolios."
"Otherwise, the implication is that the alleged improprieties that took place while they were ordinary MPs, impact only
on their ability to be Ministers, and not on their ability to carry out their functions as MPs."
"That is illogical," Mr Dunne says.
Mr Dunne says that the Ministerial resignations look like a "smokescreen of appeasement."
"Ms Hobbs and Ms Bunkle have offered their heads on a plate now merely to protect the Government from further political
embarrassment."
"However, the fundamental issue here is not one of political embarrassment to the Government, but rather the individual
conduct and accountability of Members of Parliament."
"Although understandable and to a certain extent inevitable, today's resignations fail to address that fundamental
point," he says.
Ends