Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
Te Pāti Māori MP Tākuta Ferris deliberately misled the House last year for denying he called other MPs "liars", Parliament's Privileges Committee has found.
The committee recommended Ferris be required to apologise to the House, and said his actions amounted to contempt.
During general debate on 18 September, Ferris, who is MP for Te Tai Tonga, said "a knowledge gap is a dangerous thing. It allows lies to be presented as truths. Politicians call this obfuscation-the art of making something unclear, intentionally vague, ambiguous, to conceal or obscure the truth, to confuse others. Lies, in other words. Many in this House are masters of it".
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters then raised a point of order, and said Ferris was alleging other MPs were liars, which was considered an offence in Parliament.
Rather than withdraw and apologise, Ferris replied "I haven't made that statement".
Peters' New Zealand First colleague Jamie Arbuckle then wrote to the speaker, formally raising it as a matter of privilege.
New Zealand First MP Jamie Arbuckle delivers his maiden speech in Parliament, 14 December 2023. Photo: Johnny Blades / VNP
On 24 September, the speaker, finding an "apparent inconsistency" between Ferris' speech and his response to Peters, referred the matter to the Privileges Committee.
On Tuesday, the committee released its report, outlining the process it followed.
The committee said Ferris provided it with written comment about the question of privilege, and again denied calling MPs liars.
"Mr Ferris noted that the topic of his speech during the general debate was obfuscation. He argued that any 'average, normal person' after listening to the dictionary definition of the word obfuscation would agree with also defining obfuscation as 'lies, in other words'. He explained that this does not mean that 'lies, lying, or liars' were the topics being presented in his general debate speech. Mr Ferris reiterated that he described many members of the House as 'masters of [obfuscation]'," the report stated.
Ultimately, the committee found this to be "contradictory, and his argument confusing," and Ferris declining an invitation to appear in-person to explain meant the committee found it difficult to understand his view that he did not mislead the House.
It decided calling MPs "masters of obfuscation" was an allegation MPs were liars.
"Causing the House to be misled is a serious matter. To find no fault in this case would risk undermining a fundamental principle of the House: that its members behave truthfully and honourably. Members of Parliament, and indeed the public, must be able to trust in the truthfulness of members for the House to operate effectively. We therefore recommend that Mr Ferris be required to apologise to the House," the report said.
Ferris was not in the House on Tuesday to apologise.
Speaking on her way into the House, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the party respected the committee's decision.
"They've made a decision on what he has to do and we respect that decision," she said.
Ngarewa-Packer said she was still waiting for a decision following her referral, along with Rawiri Waititi, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, and Labour's Peeni Henare, for leaving their seats to perform a haka during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill.
"I think that'll be a lot harder to ask us to apologise for doing our own tikanga," she said.
Peters, who raised the point of order in the first place, had a one word response to the findings.
"Justified," he said.
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