By KEVIN TAYLOR
Two doses of name calling in Parliament came to a head yesterday when one MP apologised and another laid a complaint with the Speaker.
The unlikely common factors in both were New Zealand First's rumbustious leader Winston Peters and Green Party Rastafarian MP Nandor Tanczos.
Before yesterday's question-time National finance
spokesman John Key rose to apologise for referring to Mr Peters' drinking habits in the previous day's general debate in the House.
Then the dreadlocked Mr Tanczos rose to announce he would complain to Speaker Jonathan Hunt if Mr Peters did not apologise for calling him a "ropehead" during the previous day's question-time.
Mr Key's apology came after referring to Mr Peters' consumption of alcohol while taking exception to a speech by Mr Tanczos on drug policy.
"I still get the whiff of alcohol in this chamber at times, it is not common, but it happens," Mr Tanczos had said.
Mr Key took exception, saying such a comment reflected badly on all 120 MPs.
But he added: "If he is talking about Winston Peters ... which clearly he was, because he was talking about the time that [Mr Peters] was Treasurer of the country, then he should say that."
A spokesman for Mr Peters later retorted that Mr Key, a former foreign exchange trader, was a "junk bond dealer".
After Mr Key's apology, it was Mr Tanczos' turn. He said after examining the parliamentary record he wanted Mr Peters to apologise for the "ropehead" comment or he would complain to the Speaker alleging a breach of privilege for deliberately misleading Parliament.
Mr Peters had made the comment during the first oral question on Wednesday on the legal status of cannabis.
Greens co-leader Rod Donald later challenged Mr Peters to withdraw the "ropehead" comment if it was intended to be derogatory.
But Mr Peters had claimed he was not referring to anybody in Parliament.
Mr Peters did not respond to Mr Tanzcos' move, but earlier complained strongly to the New Zealand Press Association, which filed the story about Mr Key's drinking remarks.
Mr Peters called the report a "disgrace to Western journalism" and was critical of the Herald for publishing it.
In Parliament he raised a point of order about the report.
