"\u003C!DOCTYPE html\u003E\u003Chtml xmlns:xlink=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink\u0022 xmlns:xsi=\u0022http://www.w3.org/2007/XMLSchema-instance\u0022 xmlns:mml=\u0022http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Chead\u003E\n    \u003CMETA http-equiv=\u0022Content-Type\u0022 content=\u0022text/html; charset=utf-16\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cmeta name=\u0022viewport\u0022 content=\u0022width=device-width, initial-scale=1\u0022\u003E\n  \u003C/head\u003E\n  \u003Cbody style=\u0022font-family:sans-serif; font-size:100%;\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b6d6c1ce19a34cf0b87ccca6c226ee15\u0022\u003EThursday, 19 September 2013\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226791d36d157840b7b0e6682bc77d20a4\u0022\u003EThursday, 19 September 2013\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000002\u0022\u003EMr Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002246277707d678459bbe17c98227267b1e\u0022\u003EBusiness Statement\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002256c4519255394459919f87f0d171850c\u0022\u003EBusiness Statement\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u00227cbd5f5ec01a4622a196f32895507480\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227cbd5f5ec01a4622a196f32895507480\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E When the House resumes on Tuesday, 24 September it is the Government\u2019s intention to progress the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2), the Arts Council of New Zealand Toi Aotearoa Bill, and other bills that are on the Order Paper. Wednesday is a members\u2019 day.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u002211f2afc5c7ae4e0c8b7b386bb5d671a1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002211f2afc5c7ae4e0c8b7b386bb5d671a1\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON (Labour\u2014Wellington Central):\u003C/span\u003E I thank the Leader of the House for that information. Just to let him know, the Labour Party will provide him with a list of Clayton Cosgrove\u2019s speaking slots, so he can set his DVD.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b86e094d63194bb9ac3bff67e80ba756\u0022\u003EMotions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229756db8f8425465cb23ae12c5af36fee\u0022\u003EWomen\u2019s Suffrage\u2014120th Anniversary\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022 data-id=\u0022168c6097afb84d40973d22045df373d8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022168c6097afb84d40973d22045df373d8\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW (Minister of Women\u2019s Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave to move a motion without notice in recognition of 120 years of women\u2019s suffrage.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af3c6216caf540d58c7d24c7de5e8278\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002257c5316c4254457dabf62c181be8ea60\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That the House recognise 120 years of women\u2019s suffrage. On 19 September 1893 we became the first self-governing nation in the world where women won the right to vote. The passing of the Electoral Bill that day 120 years ago was the culmination of a process that took 24 years of discussions, rallies, meetings, and numerous petitions. The last of these, a monster petition, as Kate Sheppard called it, was brought into Parliament in September 1893. John Hall, a member of Parliament and women\u2019s suffrage supporter, brought the petition, with over 30,000 signatories, into the House. He unrolled it down the central aisle of the debating chamber with such force that it hit the wall with a thud. Since then, New Zealand has celebrated many, many firsts and notable achievements for women: Governors-General, Chief Justice, Prime Ministers, Speaker of the House of Representatives, business and community leaders\u2014wonderful trailblazers, each of them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EAlthough these women inspire us, they do not represent New Zealand as a nation using the talents and abilities of all women to their full potential. The challenge remains to achieve, first, a critical mass of women around the table and in the widest range of employment options, so that gender diversity can bring New Zealand the benefits that research shows are possible. Then we will be far further down the road to addressing equal numbers of women in leadership and governance roles. Then we will have addressed the overrepresentation of women in the statistics as victims of violence. Then we can say that women\u2019s economic independence is improving, the gender pay gap has narrowed, and, better still, is no longer there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003EWe need to ask ourselves the question today: how much more can we do to ensure New Zealand is a nation renowned for fully recognising the talents of women, and in doing so, continues to lead the world? In the words of Kate Sheppard: \u201CDo not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops.\u201D Our actions matter every day. These are the single drops that form the nourishing rainfall.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022 data-id=\u00223e49f4c4e4da4ef5b18fd8adfa962b08\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223e49f4c4e4da4ef5b18fd8adfa962b08\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Labour joins with the Government in celebrating 120 years of women gaining the right to vote in New Zealand. It was a forward-looking decision that has helped shape our nation and continues to influence decision making in this country today. We were the first country in the world to make what must have been a very bold move 120 years ago. Just as the influence of M\u0101ori culture and the Pasifika influence of our international neighbourhood makes New Zealand unique, so does the early influence of women in shaping our country\u2019s decision making. Early adoption of social security, our proud independent foreign policy, and policies that promote an egalitarian society can all find their genesis in women having early and prolonged influence over decisions by using their right to vote. It has indeed helped shape a nation with a unique identity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E From Labour\u2019s Elizabeth McCombs, who was the first woman to be elected to Parliament in 1983\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289be635b7dcc45daa7ba01485b637b61\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: 33.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ac9f9b6c212499f9b9551c7cdb13aae\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY\u003C/span\u003E: \u20141933\u2014to New Zealand\u2019s first elected female Prime Minister, Helen Clark, and the most recent female MP to be elected to Parliament, Meka Whaitiri, we honour them all. We all carry the hopes and aspirations of those women and men who worked so hard to ensure that women had the right to vote 120 years ago. I certainly had the portrait of Elizabeth McCombs on my work desk for many years before I even entertained the idea of becoming an MP. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003EWe were the first in the world to achieve this, and that can never be taken away. However, the achievements made are not as secure. Would Kate Sheppard and the suffragists feel satisfied with the gender pay gap of 9.3 percent? Would they feel that their efforts in riding and walking the length and breadth of New Zealand gathering signatures were worthwhile, if they knew that more than a quarter of New Zealand women suffer sexual abuse in their lifetime? Would they accept 33 percent of their Parliament being women in the year 2013 as being truly representative, when women are 51 percent of the population? We all owe it to the vision and determination of those brave, fearless, pioneering women to ensure that we recognise that there is much work still to be done and to continue the fight to achieve this. Happy Women\u2019s Suffrage Day to all.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022 data-id=\u00220e98ab962bbf47f9b1f762ad3a020c76\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220e98ab962bbf47f9b1f762ad3a020c76\u0022\u003EJAN LOGIE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E It is a great honour to stand here today on behalf of the Green Party to mark 120 years of women being able to vote for the representatives in this House. It was not an easy battle back then for the suffragists\u201424 years, 31 petitions, seven failed bills, and decades of ridicule, abuse, and antagonism. But they kept fighting, not just for the right to vote but for the right to improve the status of women and children. We are here because of them. And the battle did not end in 1893. Groups of women have continued and still continue to fight for representation and equality. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EWe in the Green Party are proud to be in a party that gives voice to the human rights of all women on the planet. We are proud to be in a party with wahine toa, Metiria Turei as our co-leader, eight women out of 14 MPs, and gender balance in our party structure. We are proud to stand alongside our contemporary suffragists, like all the members of the Service and Food Workers Union who are fighting to end the exploitation of women living on poverty wages and doing the skilled and important work of aged care. We are proud to stand alongside all the women working in women\u2019s refuges and the sexual violence sector who are still fighting for a space of safety for women in this country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EWe are proud to stand alongside all the w\u0101hine M\u0101ori working to reclaim tino rangatiratanga. We are proud to stand alongside all the women born and affirmed, with and without impairments, of all cultures who are still striving for a fair go in this country. We are proud to acknowledge Papat\u016B\u0101nuku and give her voice to aspirations in this House. We are committed to honouring the efforts of our foremothers in moving forward together with the hopes of all those who have gone before us. Kia ora koutou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022 data-id=\u0022b379b2d698d2419fb3637c56137ac909\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b379b2d698d2419fb3637c56137ac909\u0022\u003EBARBARA STEWART (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E New Zealand First joins other parties in celebrating Suffrage Day. In 1893 New Zealand became the first nation in the world to grant women the right to vote. That event marked New Zealand as a leader in the emancipation of women, and provided an example for other nations to follow. Women in New Zealand gained the right to vote through a sustained campaign for progressive change, and that was an outstanding achievement. It is astonishing to think of how relatively recent that event was in terms of human history. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003EWhile celebrating this day let us also reflect that many women in New Zealand still have a way to go in achieving full equality in the workplace. Internationally, for a large part of the world\u2019s female population, women do not have equal rights with men. A lot of work remains to be done. New Zealand First considers that it is important to mark this very significant day, and in this Parliament we must acknowledge those who fought and continue to fight for equal opportunities for women.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220daaf9fb-1a1f-4d31-848a-fd13cb1a2c5a\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00229f62f1b37be746dead495b06b30ada83\u0022\u003EQuestions for Oral Answer\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002201fd183ae33244ebae94fd8dd95bced3\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222e605521568f4d3c9605409363aa3e0d\u0022\u003EGDP Growth\u2014June 2013 Quarter\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022 data-id=\u00226b6e746951d04ffd9971ee35790a2921\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226b6e746951d04ffd9971ee35790a2921\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY (National\u2014North Shore)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: What reports has he received on the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022 data-id=\u0022e131d52bd9894bdda303a8f9f6aaf835\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e131d52bd9894bdda303a8f9f6aaf835\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E This morning Statistics New Zealand released GDP data for the second quarter of 2013. The New Zealand economy grew by 0.2 percent in that quarter, with the effects of one of the more serious droughts in a generation having a major influence on that result. Annual growth was 2.5 percent. That is consistent with the Government\u2019s aspirations for growth of 2 to 3 percent, which is sufficient to support more jobs and moderate increases in incomes. Previous GDP growth numbers have been revised upwards. So growth for the year is slightly above both our expectations and market expectations. Given the circumstances of a significant drought, this result shows broader-based growth in the economy, and it is likely to continue. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1bd348d63d542f0b7d10ca2ccdb04a0\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: What were the main factors affecting growth in the June quarter?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022886078154264463db0969b192a7f3c97\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: I have already referred to the drought earlier this year, which saw the largest fall in dairy production volumes in 24 years. Offsetting the drought was a growth in eight out of 11 service industries: an increase in retail, accommodation, and restaurants, focused mainly in retailing; a 2.6 percent increase in business services; and construction activity increased by 2.3 percent, mainly in infrastructure. This is further evidence of the Government\u2019s substantial and ongoing investment in infrastructure growth. Private consumption grew by 1.5 percent in the quarter. There was a small reduction in manufacturing output for the quarter, related to the drought. But overall, despite Opposition allegations that manufacturing is in crisis, it grew 1.6 percent for the year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222214599a1f664285b353e66e3d9d3dd5\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: How does New Zealand\u2019s growth in the last year compare with other countries\u2019, and what is the outlook for the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f182594ce7f04ae28a78af66e4da6a52\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Our annual growth of 2.5 percent is ahead of the US on 1.6 percent, the UK on 1.5 percent, Canada on 1.4 percent, Japan on 1.3 percent, and the euro area on minus 0.5 percent. I think our numbers are roughly the same, if not slightly better, than Australia\u2019s and Singapore\u2019s. The outlook for the economy continues to be positive. We are looking at consensus forecasts of 2 to 3 percent growth over the next 3 years. This will support continued growth in new jobs and moderate increases in incomes. However, although this is an encouraging outlook, it is important that we stick to policy that is going to make it easier for businesses to continue to invest another dollar and employ another person, because that is what will improve the welfare of our households. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002226ebe03d7f92416da47e7d92880fe2fa\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: Given that our export and import substitution industries declined by 2.3 percent in the June quarter, does he agree that our economy is overly dependent on the weather, and that although the sporting hopes of the country in the America\u2019s Cup rely upon the weather, the destiny of our economy ought not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c4bb4856308458a8def6fa7400d9997\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: No, I do not agree. I knew that Labour was against jobs, but being against our agricultural industries seems a bit bizarre for a party that aspires to take part in economic debate in New Zealand. The fact is that this result shows precisely the opposite of what the member is saying. It shows a broad-based recovery where a lot of our non-agricultural businesses, including our service industries, are showing promising signs of growth. If we stick to the track we are on, I believe that it will lead to further diversification of our economy. But let us not knock the success of our core protein production industries. They will be core to New Zealand\u2019s success for the next two decades.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aad7280fa7d8424ba6637ec7b03b6aa2\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: What steps is the Government taking to build a more productive and competitive economy and to increase growth?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bb158206-360b-4757-8d72-f7d0994e1fb3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228e0a4197d7e445cda005d63f939a8053\u0022\u003EHon BILL ENGLISH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, we are continuing to focus on managing the Government\u2019s finances responsibly, on improving the productivity of the 25 percent of the economy the Government controls directly, so that when we put taxpayers\u2019 money into our social services, we get better protection for vulnerable families, more achievement for our young people, and better health services for our older people. That contributes to a competitive economy and increased growth. We are also continuing with a broad programme to reduce costs for business, cut red tape, continue to invest in innovation, and do whatever we can to keep interest rates lower for longer so that it will be easier for businesses to hire more people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002275a5f7b183c94036bf2bb9cf00f5d4ce\u0022\u003EHawke\u2019s Bay Water Management\u2014Department of Conservation Submission on Plan Change Proposal\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022 data-id=\u0022b60ffeb1eda449d78950c5bec7e275d3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b60ffeb1eda449d78950c5bec7e275d3\u0022\u003EHon RUTH DYSON (Labour\u2014Port Hills)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Conservation: Has he ever seen or received a submission or draft submission from the Department of Conservation regarding the Hawke\u2019s Bay Regional Council Plan Change 6, which paves the way for the Ruataniwha Dam proposal, which is critical of it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u002294f26e8b056940ce8cef44e45afb858b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002294f26e8b056940ce8cef44e45afb858b\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E A draft 30-page submission was prepared by the Department of Conservation in early July. I never saw that until Tuesday this week. The Department of Conservation\u2019s final submission was included in a briefing to me on 31 July.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c9e65714a6d24019b5350f901b94f1a3\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: What did he say to his Department of Conservation officials at the meeting on Monday, 29 July in relation to their draft submission?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222a271fc09ff24fd39d3d5aff50589369\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I did not have at that meeting a copy of any draft submission. At my regular report\u2014[Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228b54648da9a541c78e832a4b6a6f733b\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Give the Minister an opportunity to answer the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002275de7d587b4a436f9bae5d0bff0a8bec\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I said to the department that it had provided me with two sentences on its decision about what was in the submission. I said I needed a full briefing. I got that full briefing 2 days later.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229949a68945ec480084b42cd7720c4f0b\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: In light of the email sent from the deputy director-general Doris Johnston to other senior Department of Conservation staff at 6 p.m. on Monday, 29 July, did he say to officials that he wanted to see their submission before it was lodged and that he was concerned about it?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224b201096256449ea9454eb4b1cef289f\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I did say that I wanted to see the final submission before it was made. That is what a responsible Minister would do. In respect of whether I said I had a concern, yes, I wanted to be properly briefed. Two sentences on this important issue were not enough.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002245102a6de04e4deaa01c937fea0fd653\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Why did he tell the House on Tuesday, 17 September that he did not know that this draft submission existed until that morning, when he had discussed it with Department of Conservation officials at the meeting on Monday, 29 July?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002249abd40618e6444c88d80a0a81174be2\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Because I did not know that the draft submission, the 34-page document, existed until Tuesday this week.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b13339cc1a92457b94b566b74bf11a18\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Why did he tell the House on Tuesday, 17 September that he did not know that this draft submission existed until that morning, when at a meeting on Monday, 29 July he had expressed concern about its content and asked for a copy of it before it was lodged?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002248b67919266b4ce69878565ef4190127\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The member\u2019s proposition is incorrect. On 29 July I had never seen the draft submission. What I did have advice on was that the department\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c5012488f2a4116a47ffc236e292f05\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d0c922bf14944670a5dc84bdd64f2148\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The advice I received was that the department needed to finalise its submission by the end of that week, and I said to the department: \u201CI want to see your submission.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228faa4dc83adc4ff3a7c6fc058e57e1c5\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Did he or any of his staff instruct the Department of Conservation to not send the full submission to him?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c253468fd2e0405aaa4ca21cd730672e\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022678a1207d7604946b449d08ab849393a\u0022\u003EHawke\u2019s Bay Water Management\u2014Department of Conservation Submission on Plan Change Proposal\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022 data-id=\u002256e114da2ab84150a5c62def8dc9992a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002256e114da2ab84150a5c62def8dc9992a\u0022\u003EDr RUSSEL NORMAN (Co-Leader\u2014Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Conservation: Does he stand by his statement \u201CNo, I did not\u201D when asked in this House whether he gave any indication to the Department of Conservation on the direction or content of its submission on the Tukituki Catchment Proposal?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u002250eb6a94b2284b9799252db7f90e0630\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002250eb6a94b2284b9799252db7f90e0630\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, and I also note today the statement by Doris Johnston, Deputy Director-General of Conservation, confirming this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002277f100dfa1b04414961abe566cfee661\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Was Deputy Director-General of the Department of Conservation, Doris Johnston, correct when she said in an email, sent on Monday, 29 July, that he, the Minister, \u201Cis concerned\u201D about the submission \u201Cand is likely to query whether we leave it all to the EPA to consider.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f99b8e8cf7624c07aa81be747b8abf00\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: When the deputy director-general says that the Minister might query\u2014might query\u2014an issue, it simply says that the Minister has not yet come to a view, and how could I come to a view? I suggest to the member it would not be right for a Minister to come to a view on an important issue when I had received two sentences. I asked for a full briefing, which I received on the Wednesday.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229aad53a5d3bd4dd4876ddb508983fb4e\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Did he or did he not express concern to the Department of Conservation about the draft 30-page submission when he talked to Doris Johnston, as Doris Johnston says in her email of 29 July?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002267dbd120ec344cad925216268ab6a815\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I draw the member\u2019s attention to the statement today put out by Doris Johnston, deputy director-general, which makes plain that at that meeting on the Monday I sought a full briefing, and that was the responsible thing for a Minister to do on an important issue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002248fe67b54245443baf4a9695c859a852\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was about\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bb5ba041f8fa42a6925479ed567fe7a1\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The question has been adequately addressed. The member has further supplementary questions if he wishes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c10fcbe652f40358438bcc701c65c86\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table the email from Doris Johnston on 29 July, where she says that the Minister is concerned and\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002291b7438fca8f4614900631e0f03089d8\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That is sufficient information. Leave is sought to table that particular email. Is there any objection to that course of action? No, there is not. It can be so tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EDocument, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f512c3542590423b8a3035c7a371e937\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: How can he stand by his statement in this House that he gave no indication to the Department of Conservation of his views about its submission, when the email from Doris Johnston says very clearly that, firstly, he was concerned about the submission\u2014that is, the Minister was concerned\u2014and, secondly, that the Minister was going to query whether it should be left up to the Environmental Protection Authority?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca62526919d94ffbaed3d9ef348712e9\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: My statement to the House on Tuesday was absolutely correct, and that is, having received only two sentences of advice about the issue, that before I came to any view I wanted to see a comprehensive submission. I saw that comprehensive submission on Wednesday.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2bccb1092f3434f8196297dc84a6324\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by his statement this morning and earlier in the week that he did not even know that the substantive submission existed until Tuesday this week, and how is that compatible with the media statement he issued today in which he says he discussed the issues related to the substantive submission on 29 July?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022423d9ebaaa1e4b048917d6a8e1bf69cf\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Very easily. In early July a 34-page draft submission was prepared by the Department of Conservation. I did not know about that until this week. What occurred on Monday, 29 July was that I was told the department was preparing a submission. I said: \u201CGet me a copy of the final submission.\u201D, which I received, which was quite different from the original draft.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229fd62d73ac1745e0980a0b1724e915ec\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Does he know the difference between being aware that a submission exists and actually seeing a submission, and so does he stand by his statement that he did not even know that the submission existed until Tuesday this week even though he said in his own press release that he discussed the issues about the submission on 29 July?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002203e42cd0291347f6ab10a11e2b9ef561\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: On 29 July the department told me that it was finalising its submission to be made by that Friday. I said: \u201CBefore I make any view on it, I want to see a copy.\u201D I did on the Wednesday.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234833c44a641496d8da0d9f1a04fd02b\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister explain how he can have a conversation with Department of Conservation officials on 29 July about their submission when he did not know that the submission even existed until this Tuesday?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223ba661a7a65343f881bcbf5497fb8b03\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I was told by the department on the Monday that it is finalising a submission by the Friday. Just because it tells me that it is finalising a submission, I will not necessarily know what drafts might exist in the bowels of my department.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c5f9f09bb834d9b9848dd814db86d12\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Minister step down while an inquiry is held into this serious issue, considering he has been caught with his pants down yet again\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f125e318115e4ec5b178575396347db6\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! The member has every right to ask his supplementary question. It is helpful if he uses subtly different language, of course.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022401781e0586c4f94829f9bb0669fc04d\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I start again? [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e36af994d4d415b821f6280fc7d1d77\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I am going to invite the member to start again. I suggest to him that it would be helpful if he rephrased his question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225977242430a14137a4687f5ec2dfbf34\u0022\u003EAndrew Williams\u003C/span\u003E: I thought it was pretty good. Will the Minister step down while an inquiry is held into this serious issue considering he has once again been caught in a difficult situation, just like he was over the ACC privacy breaches?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225db323dd01274e0b9d3d9dff12de1fe2\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Might I say that is a member who should not be asking questions about taking the piss.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e300cd8ab984d3fb8fd9ac47ee05c6f\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by his statement in the House on Tuesday: \u201CI did not give the department an indication of what that submission would be.\u201D, in light of Doris Johnston\u2019s statement that he expressed concern and said it could be left to the Environmental Protection Authority?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c8ed80b1e2a54af59ac28106ad3fdc0d\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely, and I draw attention to Doris Johnston\u2019s statement today that confirms that what I said on Tuesday was correct.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022abb09c5dfb5149d3bca23f9a20338a22\u0022\u003EDr Russel Norman\u003C/span\u003E: Is it not a simple fact that the Minister misled Parliament when he said he gave no indication to the Department of Conversation of his views about the submission, when the leaked email from Doris Johnston shows that he gave very clear views about the submission, that he had concerns about the submission, and that he thought it should be all left to the Environmental Protection Authority?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e4972fa28e0d452ea9ac4c8efa2f499c\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Quite the contrary. All that Doris Johnston\u2019s email says is that the Minister wants to see the final submission. I say again to the House that if I were to make a decision on an important issue like this on the basis of two sentences, I would be negligent in my role as the Minister of Conservation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022dbf387b874bd47749a04a5f24a72714e\u0022\u003EElectricity Market\u2014Competition\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022 data-id=\u0022a639775cfa4349f7b77cddeeb9dafc56\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a639775cfa4349f7b77cddeeb9dafc56\u0022\u003ECLAUDETTE HAUITI (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What reports has he received on competition in the electricity market in New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u0022a2eaa319c271464ca7403bb503dbb509\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a2eaa319c271464ca7403bb503dbb509\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Energy and Resources):\u003C/span\u003E The Electricity Authority recently released a review of the 2012 What\u2019s My Number campaign. During 2012 there were nearly 25,000 additional switches over those recorded in 2010, before What\u2019s My Number, with an estimated average saving of $175 per switch and estimated annual savings of almost $4.3 million. The estimated national savings if all consumers switched to the cheapest retailer in their region would be $295 million. As Minister, I want to see even more competition in the market, consumers taking more and more advantage of competition, and retailers continuing to respond to the competitive environment, and that is what the Electricity Authority is setting about achieving.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ed550fc2-879f-4560-affa-d35858308ad4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220eb05470df8b480db30c1a6d8892c480\u0022\u003EClaudette Hauiti\u003C/span\u003E: What other reports has the Minister seen on the electricity market?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b57026b885e470bbf4143ec346309af\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: I have seen comments from the Opposition\u2019s favourite expert, Professor Wolak, who agrees with this Government\u2019s focus on competition. \u201CWhat\u2019s simplest is to say we\u2019re going to make this thing as competitive as possible.\u201D, he says. Professor Wolak also says that a single-buyer policy is \u201Cjust a sham.\u201D, is \u201Cbass-ackwards\u201D\u2014look that up on Google\u2014and is \u201Cjust a nightmare.\u201D The Opposition might want to consider removing him as their favourite expert.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222ac08c61556f42198a1fec1d492269d8\u0022\u003EPay Equity\u2014Employment Court Case\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022 data-id=\u0022d196736566c14a2f944e994aed555b90\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d196736566c14a2f944e994aed555b90\u0022\u003EDARIEN FENTON (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Labour: Does he believe women should have equal pay to men for work of equal value?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u0022c16c51f7a8af4a6a95a40ad046c1cf8a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c16c51f7a8af4a6a95a40ad046c1cf8a\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. That is why it is outrageous that that member was replaced as junior whip by a man not as good as her.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aaa5257943e147daa5365aaa8739de27\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: When he said that the Government may \u201Cintervene in the proceedings\u201D in the Kristine Bartlett equal pay case, where she is paid just $14.46 an hour as an aged-care worker, what kind of intervention is he proposing?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222c6437ecb57b40e4ab8491dd0d3367cf\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: As that member well knows, this party on this side has a very proud tradition in these things. We implemented law\u2014same pay for the same work. At the moment we have a country where there is the lowest gender wage gap in the developed world. But in relation to court cases, as she should also well know, it is not appropriate for me to comment on the substance of the case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b050424f0b3411f972a1fbdf1feb41e\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Although I appreciate that when the Minister finally got to his answer there he mentioned the court proceedings, he has in the public arena stated that he has an intention to intervene, and he should be able to answer on that matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ad27d4c5b5f4106893bbc6a53beb6e4\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is not a valid point of order. The Minister is perfectly entitled to say that the case is currently before the courts, and on that basis he does not want to comment further.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002279eff2ac32094ce49f0ec5bc0dbb84e9\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister is indeed entitled to refuse to comment on the basis that something is before the court, but the Opposition is entitled to question him on public statements that he has made, which is what my colleague Darien Fenton did.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f36880dab605441fb9eca45432692513\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I accept that point. Darien Fenton is certainly entitled to question the Minister, and she did so. The Minister is then perfectly entitled to answer it, and he answered it in a way that complies with the rules of this House. If the member wants to ask a further question, if she has further supplementary questions, I guess she can try again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228deef7b0dfcd461fb74fa113f63aa0c6\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: Will he guarantee not to intervene with legislation to overturn Kristine Bartlett\u2019s equal pay victory, as his Government did in the family carers court decision?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234cf3ac4e3a7447ca2ae07aa520afc5f\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: The member knows I have concern for vulnerable workers. Chris Hipkins is one of those at the moment. But those matters the member asked about are matters currently under consideration.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221e6d842991e841c79e90ea4244826d66\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: Does he think it is acceptable that 60 percent of minimum wage workers are women; if not, why will he not commit to allowing women equal pay following the Kristine Bartlett case?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a4d2eb1df0ce4bc3a24a8dac9a2d98f5\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: Well, of course it would be good if everyone received higher wages, but I think we can be very proud that in this country we have the lowest gender wage gap in the developed world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f05f71349a6f4178a280aa4ae29b764b\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: Why is he proceeding with the changes in the Employment Relations Amendment Bill that will lower the pay and conditions of women workers, such as Julie Reason, a home support worker who earns $14.10 an hour less petrol per assignment, who submitted to the select committee that his bill is going to make it even harder for her to earn a fair wage?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e76b34f46ec747edb2c2d295a8fb996f\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: Because I think it is important that we always look at arrangements and look at workers\u2019 rights, Fran Mold at the moment is one person\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c8699654b5814f7d92803f83e1cf4024\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister might think that low pay is a laughing matter but that was a direct question that deserved a serious answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022938511fef4194165b4f673b2cfc2541b\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: There is no reason to assume that the Minister was not giving a serious answer. The member, in her question, has quoted individual circumstances. It is not inappropriate that he quote some back.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b0bdc10c8727451096917a35362534d2\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Sit down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2ce33bb5020490aa3a46051595e321e\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, look, I will stay standing as long as you think you are the Chair, Mr Robertson. At the moment\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b9d44836c2654ddfa6d818dd3016f5b6\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I thank the member for his assistance. The question was relatively simple. It asked why the Minister was proceeding with changes to the Employment Relations Amendment Bill. If he could answer that, we can all move forward.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2648d37493b464598f16362c5e1b943\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I think that it is important that we look at issues like Part 6A of the legislation. I am aware of proposals to see that extended to all workers, and yet despite the Labour Party saying that and David Cunliffe saying that, he has just given\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217cddac8c45e4123974f798babbc965e\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That is a sufficient answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a40f5af7-f9b0-4b44-9669-9e63be1c3ced\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7de57cdb84241998223e126d039f3f3\u0022\u003EDarien Fenton\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. My question was not about Part 6A; it was about the employment relations legislation and the pay and conditions of a home-care worker. It had nothing\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002230304eabd2884075a0e7d71113b272d0\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Your question started with asking why the member was proceeding with changes to that particular legislation. He has now finally addressed it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002287e504d6f7b54fcfba1e14510872a9b2\u0022\u003ESchools, Partnership\u2014Science and Religious Education\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u00223ae2be504f0b4063b284edc06e5347ca\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223ae2be504f0b4063b284edc06e5347ca\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Education: Will she allow creationism to be taught in charter schools; if so, why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022 data-id=\u00222367458b1ce14c1d8fa11074df840030\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222367458b1ce14c1d8fa11074df840030\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 hoki koe e te Mana Whakahaere m\u014D te whakanui i ng\u0101 wahine i t\u0113nei tau.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E[Salutations to you as well for honouring women this year, Mr Speaker.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003EAll partnership kura are delivering the New Zealand curriculum, Te Marautanga o Aotearoa. Two of the five schools are permitted to offer religious education during school hours, as are integrated schools. Any religious instruction will be delivered alongside, but not in place of, the curriculum.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002225ab3add85cf4fbeabf81a2d2dcb3429\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: Would she be concerned to learn that one of the charter schools that is to get taxpayer money intends to give equal weight to the teaching of intelligent design, creationism, and evolution in the science curriculum?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022977850c2d2cb4a7383762580b1fc1b58\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: I invite the member to table the exchange of emails between the Opposition parties that make it very clear what the school in question is proposing to offer. It is very clear that the science curriculum will be taught in the national curriculum, and that religious faith instruction will occur alongside of that. There is no definition of creationism, even amongst communities of faith, and I would commend the member to\u2014and I am happy to table this\u2014refer to a speech given by a former Green Party MP, Jeanette Fitzsimons, entitled \u201CLiving Within the Limits of Creation\u201D, where the member talked about both how one constructed economic growth theory and what the Bible had to commend to people. P\u0113r\u0101 an\u014D t\u0113tahi. Kei te m\u014Dhio koe m\u014D ng\u0101 kura kaupapa e k\u014Drero ana m\u014D Papat\u016B\u0101nuku me Ranginui e t\u016B nei.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E[There is a parallel situation. You are aware of references to Earth Mother and the great Sky Father that exist in M\u0101ori-medium schools.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220fb484d5f9af457db7abf721dff79108\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It was a very interesting answer, but I asked whether she was concerned, and I am not sure that she explained whether she was concerned about the science curriculum. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f0ffc1fd99f142a382f075cdaddc8c22\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member is now making the mistake of using the point of order system to question or debate the answer that she has been given. The answer addressed the question. If the member has further supplementary questions, that is the appropriate way to get more information from the Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f8afd3530cc4fd3958b4830fb559c0d\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: What will she do to ensure creationism is not part of the science curriculum taught at South Auckland Middle School, given that spokesperson Alwyn Poole told the Green Party that it intends to teach Christian theory on the origin of the planet?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002223c4f318e4654036a90d1da3b27bcc92\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: The contract that we have with the partnership kura, including South Auckland Middle School, is for the delivery of the national curriculum, within which the science strand dealing with evolution for year 8 is dealt with. I have seen the email exchanges between the principal and the Green Party, and I invite that member to table them, which would make it clear that the science curriculum will be taught as part of the science curriculum and that any religious instruction will be taught alongside that curriculum. That is what the contract is for.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229ab80b52f714ae3aee615831f30f3de\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: For clarity\u2014is the Minister saying that the contract allows the teaching of creationism as a competing theory with evolution, on equal footing?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d283b1b275ca455ca0eddb9b4f75a569\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: No.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b7ad937dc1dc4c2b9b1534972aa425b2\u0022\u003ELegal Aid\u2014Interest on Debts\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022 data-id=\u0022d84d8f363cff47bba565d144f6365dd7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d84d8f363cff47bba565d144f6365dd7\u0022\u003EANDREW LITTLE (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Justice: What factors were taken into account in setting the interest rate on legal aid debt under regulation 14 of the Legal Services Regulations 2011 at 8 percent?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u0022f4838af44f824fe788b95eefaa5adb19\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f4838af44f824fe788b95eefaa5adb19\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E Legal aid has always been a loan, not a grant. The charging of interest on legal aid debt was set by Cabinet in 2011 as one of several changes aimed at bringing the ballooning legal aid debt under control. This was included in the Legal Services Bill when it was first introduced. The regulations provide for interest to be charged at the capital charge rate that is used by departments and Crown entities, as it reflects the cost to the Crown of lending that money. Any person who is unable to repay their legal aid debt can apply to the Legal Services Commissioner, who can write off the debt if he is satisfied that it could cause serious hardship.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002211b520f285164f84af83ae79dfa56540\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: Given that the purpose of the Legal Services Act is to provide \u201Clegal services to people of insufficient means;\u201D, how does she justify charging interest of 8 percent to the woman in Wainui\u014Dmata who has a legal aid debt incurred obtaining orders to protect herself and her children from her abusive ex-husband and who works 30 hours a week in a low-paid job, and for whom the $75 a week extra needed to pay off the debt by March next year and the extra needed to pay interest will cause her serious hardship?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229d4f7c46cafc42ccbbca99097a2ac9d3\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: As that member well knows, if that particular woman would like to contact the commissioner of legal aid\u2014in fact, he has already indicated that he is going to be very generous in looking at these cases. The member has already stated that it will cause serious hardship, in which case she would not have to repay that particular debt. I would also just like to confirm for the member, because he may not be aware, that of the $120 million a year that is spent on legal aid at the moment, only 25 percent of cases do not have their debt waived. So, in other words, in only 25 percent of cases does the debt ever have to be repaid.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb71305df7e148d5bdde15edada5b1e2\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: What does the Minister say to the grandmother in Upper Hutt who owes over $2,000 after obtaining orders to protect her grandson\u2014now 9 years old\u2014and who lives on a pension and cannot afford higher payments or interest payments without facing severe hardship?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb1d9040670f40ecb504e814bdb7abd5\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I would expect that that particular person would also not be one of the people who would need to pay any interest, given the\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e17f74170da4afca0e03fb3300d3b41\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: Well, why weren\u2019t they told that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234329745153845c6a00ad3da01474b26\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: One of the comments from the member seems to be that he expects that the commissioner of legal aid would know the personal circumstances of all of the 60,000 people who have been written to, and, frankly, that is not acceptable. In fact, he has already indicated that there is a 6-month period of grace for anyone to write in and explain their circumstances, and it would be waived.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002251511ccf410f44a4ab01b7ebb16cbfe6\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: Does she accept that people of insufficient means who use legal aid to protect themselves and their children from violent and abusive situations\u2014most of whom are women\u2014have already done the community a favour and that charging 8 percent interest on any debt is just punishing them?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf310c350d704de4a73b8b25588e294b\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I certainly say to that member that I believe that those women have done the community a favour in holding violent males who abuse women to account, and well done to them. Having said that, I would say that it is very unlikely that most of them would ever have to repay that debt.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e370acaa151343fa83fe34bfe4bfc485\u0022\u003EFinancial Markets\u2014Impact of Legislative Reform\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022 data-id=\u00220baaca74cd6b4429bb772d974fae4d95\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220baaca74cd6b4429bb772d974fae4d95\u0022\u003EKATRINA SHANKS (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Commerce: How will the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, which will be phased in from 1 April 2014, strengthen our financial markets?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022 data-id=\u0022725ec9bc941b4cff97a038e1408efc17\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022725ec9bc941b4cff97a038e1408efc17\u0022\u003EHon CRAIG FOSS (Minister of Commerce):\u003C/span\u003E The Financial Markets Conduct Act will strengthen financial markets conduct, continuing the rebuild of investor confidence in New Zealand\u2019s financial markets. The new law will provide clearer laws and options for the raising, reporting, and monitoring of investor capital. It allows for new forms of capital raising such as peer-to-peer lending and crowdfunding. It introduces new licensing regimes for specific financial service providers, including fund managers, independent trustees of workplace superannuation schemes, discretionary investment management services, and derivative issuers. The Act also introduces new duties on fund managers and supervisors, with stronger governance requirements and a new system to regulate securities exchanges, allowing for new low-cost exchanges. This Act is a key part of the Government\u2019s Business Growth Agenda, as we continue to rebuild the confidence and trust in New Zealand\u2019s capital markets.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a744a9a7-a2e8-401b-abfb-aec22a3818c8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221bb2ca3cec5f4988b6b67c699c19b526\u0022\u003EKatrina Shanks\u003C/span\u003E: How will the Act help to rebuild investor confidence?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022659f6556-09a1-4ead-bc52-05cbdb4eaab8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e789278c79b4296993d0ecb7f013652\u0022\u003EHon CRAIG FOSS\u003C/span\u003E: The new law will remove uncertainties by providing better information and protection for New Zealanders. This includes a new requirement for issues to prepare a single product disclosure statement tailored to retail investors, and two new online public registrars that will offer documents and information to be much more accessible to investors, their advisers, market analysts, and commentators. The Financial Markets Conduct Act is the largest piece of legislation in a suite of reforms in this sector, sitting alongside the Financial Advisers Act, the Financial Reporting Bill, and other bills on the Order Paper.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022790328e8a9e54c8f8e65260964b434a5\u0022\u003EHousing, Affordable\u2014First-home Buyers, Mortgages, and Availability\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022 data-id=\u0022df0d2b3f758345a89eac9f4ace7bb36f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022df0d2b3f758345a89eac9f4ace7bb36f\u0022\u003EDENIS O\u2019ROURKE (NZ First)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Housing: Does he agree with all of the views expressed by Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga about housing on TV3\u2019s The Vote on 11 September 2013?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u0022056847b35b3a45fda450e7f96da905e6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022056847b35b3a45fda450e7f96da905e6\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister of Housing):\u003C/span\u003E I have had a look at the transcript and there are 17 quotes from my colleague, and the bulk of them I agree with.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002206b34202a9fe4f768cd11a68a6065fec\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with Mr Lotu-Iiga that first-home seekers should lower their expectations and that $130,000 for a deposit is not out of their reach?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022541dec028b934103ad3e0f8dbb8fd50b\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The member Sam told me that he thought he could have\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022138bc950c5c248e382dcd44b57c69a30\u0022\u003EHon Members\u003C/span\u003E: Sam!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e8688ab14d84785a4d3aca227375233\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Sam Lotu-Iiga said that he could have expressed himself better, and that $130,000 is actually a big stretch for many people to get a deposit for a home.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eec91d69788d4a609e1c44df1b66f8d7\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree that the Reserve Bank\u2019s loan-to-value ratio requirement has killed off the hopes of most of New Zealand\u2019s young first-home buyers; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022622715a5981144b4842e11ddded5900b\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: No, I do not; because this Government has announced a trebling of the number of Welcome Home Loans that are exempt from those loan-to-value ratios. Secondly, this Government has expanded the KiwiSaver first-home deposit subsidy scheme, which will mean that twice as many New Zealanders, and particularly in high-cost markets like Auckland, will be able to get access to a bigger subsidy from the Government to get a deposit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002272fecadcea4448228fd73b4ecdc69ce5\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: Will he give an assurance to home seekers that as a result of the Government\u2019s housing accords and special housing areas legislation, at least 15,000 new houses will be available in Auckland City by the next election; if not, what will the number be?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f5f87e68f6374ed08ca1d08e037e2a87\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The numbers in Auckland are very clearly set out in the housing accord that has been unanimously agreed with the Auckland Council: 9,000 in the first year, 13,000 houses in the second year, and 17,000 houses in the third year. That is 39,000 homes. That is more than three times the amount per year that are being built.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222acc08d3443e4386b3f6b3a952ad017e\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I asked the Minister whether he would give an assurance, and all he did was to give a number of houses referred to in a report. I want to know whether he is going to give us an assurance\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222f568d4548bb4d77b77391af5ee1dabd\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Again, that is an attempt to debate the answer that has been given. The Minister has very adequately addressed the question, with exactly the numbers that are in the accord he referred to and that will be delivered over the next 3 years. The question has been answered.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022979fab6f90a54e378d3d8ab603d3454c\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: In light of the Minister\u2019s answer that he agreed with the bulk of the statements made by the Government spokesperson on TV3\u2019s The Vote programme, would he please tell the House which of the remaining statements by the Government spokesperson he did not agree with?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002215f8b0ba65b742caa55f0bd22d55903a\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: My colleague made the statement that 1,100 homes under $500,000 are available in his electorate. He told me he made a mistake: it was 1,100 homes in Auckland rather than in his electorate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d24fd13486424060b0ea100c8a2adccf\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: Does he dispute the BNZ-REINZ Residential Market Survey dated 14 March 2013, which says \u201CIn Auckland an estimated 11% of sales are to people offshore.\u201D, and is that a significant proportion of total homebuyers contributing to the housing bubble in Auckland?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b2139ee9cb8f4854874f14dd3cc5017c\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I have seen some of those surveys about trying to estimate the number of foreign persons buying homes. The interesting information I had was that they based it on whether people had foreign-sounding names. That is OK if you are a \u201CSmith\u201D; it is a bit dodgy if you are a \u201CKey\u201D. I suspect there are a few other people with foreign-sounding names who might be banned from buying a house if New Zealand First ever gets in Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002261092f45674a4355b109e80348e70912\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It was a pretty straight question. It asked fundamentally\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f744e3cc67914b5e9de63c637b562d92\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member will resume his seat. The question was answered very adequately. He asked about a particular survey, and the Minister then referred to other surveys and adequately addressed that question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e5b747c3ed6f44739695267b2dae63de\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e30ad4bd9f64cbbb41456b1bdef4619\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is the member raising a fresh point of order or is he attempting to dispute a ruling I have already given?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225a008a9d87d5408f95a6cac8e8269c13\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: I am asking for clarification. You ruled on a point of order that I had not stated. I would like to have the opportunity to state it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220cbe0ebb09434a6da5e93939a0be7e76\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member rose questioning the answer that was given by the Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224295d40d970e4d249cfd1fdbc56afda5\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: You did not hear the point of order before you ruled on it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022daafe5f5fa8e465f8760635079aec17b\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I will give the member one more opportunity to clarify his point of order, but I warn the member that if it is an attempt to use the point of order system to further question an answer that has been given by the Minister, then that is out of order. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002289461b23dbc34047ad1a60676342bf5f\u0022\u003EDenis O\u2019Rourke\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The point of order is simply this: the question was about whether sales to overseas owners were a significant proportion or not. That was not addressed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b7b49c976d3d43b18940e1e9f406118d\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It was very adequately addressed by the Minister saying he had seen results of surveys whereby the basis of the survey is the surname of a particular probable purchaser. On that basis, he said that many surveys were unreliable.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002212969ff2d00a4721abb143230c50acb6\u0022\u003EIndustry Training\u2014Under-representation of Women\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022 data-id=\u00225de17251e06f4035bfc40ce3ebe07358\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225de17251e06f4035bfc40ce3ebe07358\u0022\u003ECAROL BEAUMONT (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment: Is he concerned about the underrepresentation of women in industry training particularly in light of labour shortages in many trades and technical areas?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022 data-id=\u002210e76ad9d0c24e94b17406f601311700\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002210e76ad9d0c24e94b17406f601311700\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL (Acting Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment):\u003C/span\u003E It would be good to see more women involved in industry training. In fact, the number is trending up. In 2012 women made up 31.4 percent of industry trainees. Although more men than women are involved in industry training, the reverse is true at higher levels of tertiary study. The proportion of the adult population holding a Bachelor\u2019s degree or higher qualification is higher for women than for men. In 2012 more women than men were enrolled in Bachelor\u2019s degrees, Honours degrees, Master\u2019s degrees, and doctorates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b85dce8bcc48423988f8836e0dd18c6e\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: What efforts has he made to increase the proportion of women in industry training, and given that in 2009 it was 30.8 percent and in 2013 it had dropped to 28.1 percent, does he consider those efforts to have been successful?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002201f351dcf9324aaf8ca82d0c5337142c\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL\u003C/span\u003E: I am unable to confirm that last number the member gave, but I do know that the Minister has been working closely with the Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs and the Minister of Women\u2019s Affairs, who have been undertaking a number of actions in order to expand the interest that women have in industry training. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002201f8aea17b0b445b854f66b6468eb39d\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: Given that women make up over 50 percent of the population, how does the under-representation of women in industry training assist in achieving the Better Public Services result area No. 6 of increasing the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds with advanced trade qualifications or supporting the rebuild of Christchurch or achieving the Government\u2019s Business Growth Agenda of delivering vocational education and training that lifts skills?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cee6af1baa404c369cdfc434e78627a3\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL\u003C/span\u003E: Well, of course, that level of participation does not help those Better Public Services goals, because we would want to have more participation from women in the trades. That is why the Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs has been undertaking a number of projects in this area towards assisting improving those levels of participation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002270e67e1f231145878286b437e9cff1f4\u0022\u003EDr Megan Woods\u003C/span\u003E: Given that he received Treasury advice that women would be disproportionately affected by Budget 2013 cuts to student allowance eligibility for those aged over 40, is he concerned that his policies will shut women aged over 40 out of tertiary education and training opportunities?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225f94eb7c83d64d2192c51515dd42e68a\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL\u003C/span\u003E: I am not in a position to be able to comment directly on the suggestions the member has made, but what I can say is that the Government has been working assiduously in order to ensure that there is strong investment in this area, and that we are delivering results, with increased participation and interest from New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a5a372d8d92437490af4164b246480a\u0022\u003EDr Megan Woods\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table the Treasury advice to the Minister for Tertiary Education\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221fc9c7cf02ee4639842898ecf90a8ecb\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I presume that it is Treasury advice that it is available to all members.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a2de8d51a2242e1b2e8d64e86d8fd31\u0022\u003EDr Megan Woods\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I am not sure that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c0811c68d994f9eac755d1b2583dd1e\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! It is freely available. It is on the website. It is available.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cad5b4b4578d45a6a62d195ddc7059a3\u0022\u003EDisability Care\u2014Funded Family Care Policy\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u0022469970ba24654a489057eb22c0a5676f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022469970ba24654a489057eb22c0a5676f\u0022\u003ELOUISE UPSTON (National\u2014Taup\u014D)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: What progress is the Government making with its funded family care policy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022 data-id=\u0022add5e48eb80047dfabce3f2a247883b5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022add5e48eb80047dfabce3f2a247883b5\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E When the Government\u2019s $92 million funded family care policy becomes effective, New Zealand will be only the third country in the world to pay a wage to some family members who care for their adult disabled children. The new policy being implemented will enable around 1,600 disabled adults who meet the high and very high needs eligibility criteria to pay resident family members to care for them at home for up to 40 hours a week, if that is their choice. It is expected that from 1 October 2013, this year, needs assessment and service coordination organisations will begin assessing people for eligibility for funded family care.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a20719997cb476492a950a09177f3e4\u0022\u003ELouise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: What other progress is being made with the Government\u2019s funded family care policy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a83ea07a-806c-45ad-95bb-eb2c481cd0e2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fead180dceb14e6fad3d4906af43e00c\u0022\u003EHon TONY RYALL\u003C/span\u003E: The Ministry of Health has worked with representatives of the disability and carer communities to draft plain language funding rules that will set out the terms and condition for payment. Disability groups have been consulted on appropriate quality and safety monitoring that will be needed for funded family care, and advice and guidance materials are being developed to support eligible disabled adults in deciding whether or not to apply for funded family care. Information on how the scheme works and how people can be assessed for funded family care will be available in the next 2 years. This Government is contributing $92 million to the establishment of funded family care, and it observes that even in the best of economic times in this country, the party opposite could not find even $1 for funded family care.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00221cdefbb1156745e280fe7a0ae454e2f0\u0022\u003EWomen\u2019s Affairs, Ministry\u2014Advice to Cabinet and Response to United Nations Recommendations\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022 data-id=\u0022312faf2c55844f4396df787f7ef8ffa4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022312faf2c55844f4396df787f7ef8ffa4\u0022\u003ESUE MORONEY (Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Women\u2019s Affairs: Does her Ministry provide gender implications statements on proposed legislative or policy measures being considered by Cabinet?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022 data-id=\u0022047e98c31ed5417f93b2e6188110cbd9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022047e98c31ed5417f93b2e6188110cbd9\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW (Minister of Women\u2019s Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E This Government is fully committed to improving outcomes for New Zealand women. All Public Service departments are expected to integrate gender analysis into their policy development. A gender implications statement is required for all papers submitted to the Cabinet social policy committee. The Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs also provides advice to me, as required, on the gender impacts of specific papers going to Cabinet committees other than the Cabinet social policy committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e0c64a700e4d40eab94dc6ccb01029ce\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: So given that the answer to that question was no\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002248472881ece14b339dec3bc7eab8c6b6\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Just ask the question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002236af158033564488900c571924988e4b\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Minister think this mainstreaming approach is working when her Cabinet colleagues in the areas of labour, justice, and tertiary education have just demonstrated today that they are all pursuing legislation and policies that adversely affect women?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d877119a64294b80b15df297eac8ba04\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: I absolutely refute the member\u2019s assertion. In fact, if we look at this Government\u2019s Better Public Services, we will see that we are as a Government working across many portfolios towards reducing long-term welfare dependency, an area where women are overrepresented; boosting skills and employment\u2014again, that will positively affect women\u2014and reducing crime and offending. In case it has escaped the notice of the Opposition, women are overrepresented in our crime statistics as victims. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d144a3396f654d248ca5273638c8eb5d\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: Why is her ministry reporting that no action is being taken on 18 of the recommendations made to this Government by the United Nation\u2019s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, including the recommendation to improve representation on the family violence task force and the recommendation to determine the gender impact of collective bargaining reforms\u2014no action? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222fdbf7e9bff448edbb0456f030223afb\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women is reported on each 4 years. Each 6 months the Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs meets with people who are working towards this and who are interested in the outcomes. I think there were, from memory, some 46 recommendations. Some of those recommendations this Government\u2014this Government\u2014is never going to sign up to because they include quotas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e8728cf637154a4a94432de43c2e27d3\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. [Interruption] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ae7570e3b2874f93ae0e36d3d88b0028\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! This is a point of order. [Interruption] Order! This is a point of order and it will be heard in silence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220e1b2506923d4bd58a227746202037d7\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a document internal to the Ministry of Women\u2019s Affairs that tracks the current situation with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women recommendations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fad1c33ab45844f1abb71929a590dc7a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought to table that document. Is there any objection? [Interruption] Order! The member can object. I take that as an objection. There is objection. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221264cd320fda4c80b1176092b7419a35\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: Has she given any advice to the Minister of Labour over his consideration of intervening\u2014[Interruption] I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. It is actually quite difficult to get this important question out when Tau Henare is barracking across the Chamber. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022caad437bf8fb405484efefe9096cd337\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member will start her question again, please. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bd0cafe801da4ac78588bd7cdec575d6\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: Has she given any advice to the Minister of Labour over his consideration of intervening in the Kristine Bartlett case to ensure equal pay for women in low-paid occupations?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002278c73c276c4b44c6a5212a3cd8382ef3\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: No. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b223c4e69fbd4796b0dea4802e790e75\u0022\u003EVoting\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e2645fef6859445e90578d90eca6ca38\u0022\u003ECorrection\u2014Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u00229db0e8baadca439aa1eb1280fbd4ee90\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229db0e8baadca439aa1eb1280fbd4ee90\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Last night when the House in Committee was considering the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill the result of the vote on closure of Part 3 was incorrectly announced as Ayes 63, Noes 52. The correct result is Ayes 63, Noes 56. Also, the vote on Part 3 as amended was incorrectly announced as Ayes 63, Noes 56. The correct result is Ayes 61, Noes 58. The record will be amended accordingly. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002291f7217d2e2449f38eccbde8b9828799\u0022\u003ECopyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b48df275081f48b8b3e69d4905c3e3d6\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000213\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 18 September.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022 data-id=\u002208319186605d4d978d95dd372978db84\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002208319186605d4d978d95dd372978db84\u0022\u003EPeseta SAM LOTU-IIGA (National\u2014Maungakiekie):\u003C/span\u003E The Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill imposes a temporary ban on the parallel importation of films for commercial purposes. It does so for 5 months from the date that a film is first released to the public, and it will do so for only a further 3 years under this bill. The ban applies only to the importing of films for commercial use, and does not prevent consumers from importing films for their personal use. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003EThe ban was originally introduced in 2003 by the Labour Government for a period of 5 years to give cinemas enough time to transition to digital exhibition technology. Again in 2008 the ban was extended for another 5 years, as they had not fully transitioned to this digital technology. The Commerce Committee received and considered 10 submissions, including four accompanied by oral submissions. The committee basically recommended that the bill is passed without substantive amendment. The committee has agreed to extend this time frame, albeit for 3 years, and will allow retailers to parallel import copies of films earlier. So although over 60 percent of cinemas currently have converted to digital exhibition technology, during this period we are confident that the majority of cinemas will convert to digital exhibition technology. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002235b949e090054f7d9eace5443ad912f5\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: Are you sure? Have you got your numbers right this time, Sam?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219bcf2ff-a193-4361-9072-813a4e36683c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205a7689653f340ec815c7e5fd80178a3\u0022\u003EPeseta SAM LOTU-IIGA\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, we are. Our Government supports that transition, as it reduces the need for delays in film exhibition, giving consumers full access or earlier access to films. Keeping up with this technology is an ongoing challenge, as we discussed in the select committee, and the industry will face this like any other technology-reliant industry. We believe that a 5-month ban will continue to protect the exclusivity of cinemas for a limited period while enabling retailers to parallel import copies of films earlier than is currently possible. It is for these reasons that I once again commend this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022 data-id=\u0022f8a3a1ff51db4cb1b856f83d9d334e3d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f8a3a1ff51db4cb1b856f83d9d334e3d\u0022\u003ETRACEY MARTIN (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Assistant Speaker, kia ora. I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to address the legislation in front of us, the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill. New Zealand First supported this legislation when it was first introduced in 2003, and New Zealand First again supported the principal Act\u2019s retention in 2008. But at the first reading of this amendment bill, we recognised that the cinema community had to a certain extent reinvented itself in many areas to be able to market the cinema, as it once did, as an experience\u2014not just a place to go and watch a film, but a full experience for the consumer. So we were concerned that the industry might not need the protections that are outlined in the bill in front of us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EAt the same time we also acknowledged that many of those inside the industry, as has been mentioned by previous speakers, had made significant inroads into the evolution of digital delivery. Matakana Cinemas, the Te Awamutu Regent Theatre, and theatres such as those had made a significant financial investment in screens and projection equipment that are more up to date\u2014again, to enhance the experience. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EBut we were somewhat conflicted because, at the same time, New Zealand First expressed its concern for the New Zealand film exhibitors and the approximately 10,000 New Zealanders directly employed inside this industry. Last night we heard that there was a possibility of 163 to 165 jobs being lost should this extension not be left in place. However, it is recorded that there are approximately 10,000 New Zealanders currently employed inside this industry directly, and another 21,000 New Zealanders are affected or could be affected indirectly by the possibility that this extension does not take place. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EJust to address the word \u201Cban\u201D, which is part of this legislation, it is interesting how language can change the pros and cons of an argument. Perhaps if we were talking about this as a delayed release as opposed to a ban, I wonder how people\u2019s positions might have changed at the beginning of the conversation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EBut I go back to the fact that we expressed concern about the negative impact that the removal of such a staggered protection could have on those 10,000 New Zealanders. We had particular concern for rural cinema operators and their employees, as all too often we in New Zealand First find that urban arguments and urban solutions are foisted upon our rural communities, often with a detrimental effect. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EIt was due to these conflicting concerns that at the first reading New Zealand First withheld its judgment, and we abstained from the vote. Since that time\u2014even though we have not had a member on the Commerce Committee, which considered and listened to the submissions\u2014we have followed the progress of the committee, and we have read the submissions and the report to this House of that committee. What has become clear to us is that this is an evolution, not a revolution. This is a situation that needed to develop, and it was important that this particular industry was given that opportunity to do so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EThe financial investment required to step up all cinemas to this digital technology, particularly those in rural New Zealand, is very significant. We feel that it is appropriate to give this final extension, particularly because, again, as we often talk about, we are and have been in a recession. So it is appropriate to give this final extension to these operators to transition their equipment and their business plans through. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EI just want to touch slightly upon the minority views placed on the record by the Labour Party and the Green Party. I quote from the Labour minority view in the first instance. It says: \u201CThe Labour Party is concerned that if the public cannot legally obtain material in a timely manner through DVDs, subscription TV or online streaming, then they become sceptical of copyright law and use illicit channels.\u201D The Green Party also makes mention of that in its opposition to this bill. The suggestion is that if this extension, this delayed release, were to remain, it would encourage \u201Cillegal file sharing in the absence of legal alternatives.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First finds it a very long bow to draw that should these delayed protections remain in place, we will be driving New Zealanders to illegal acts. There is such a thing as delayed gratification. Let us remember that it is a 5-month delay period we are talking about here from the international, the worldwide, release date of a major motion picture. That means that when it is released in California, 5 months from that day you can buy it in a store from the DVD shelf. That is not a great hardship. It is a film. I think this is a First World problem if people are concerned about not being able to buy their DVD the day after a major release. So we think that that is a very long bow to be placed inside the minority reports. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EWithout taking up too much more time, this is a bill that needs to go through this House before 31 October. This will be the last time it goes through this House. We have no doubt of that. The industry does need to take note. This is very, very likely to be the final extension for the industry. The time has come to step up. It must transition through. New Zealand First will be supporting this bill through the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022 data-id=\u002278497232893f42fdbcfd81287fb54b6e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002278497232893f42fdbcfd81287fb54b6e\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National):\u003C/span\u003E Sat sri akaal, Mr Assistant Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to speak on the second reading of the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill. I am personally very passionate about watching movies at the theatre. This bill will help the small, boutique cinema halls to upgrade their technology. This bill is extending for 3 years the parallel importation ban on films after their release date, and I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u00229520afc87bc9469b86f566644aa73865\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229520afc87bc9469b86f566644aa73865\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: I call the honourable member\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b8733df13c745b483984f53565aae3b\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Dr David Clark.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264fb658642534fac88676bde4677d505\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: I was getting there, Ruth. I call the honourable member Dr David Clark.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u0022f55385e69aa6438b91e0b2d64e687638\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f55385e69aa6438b91e0b2d64e687638\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E I have been called a lot worse. I want to begin by saying that Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga spoke earlier in the debate and I would like to put on record from the outset that I do agree with the bulk of the member\u2019s statements. This has been said already, of course, today. But there are some statements that I struggle to agree with, and I do struggle a little with the way in which he has characterised the debate that has been had. I know that he will be struggling with the outcome that his party has come to on this because he is someone who believes in the value of markets. But there he is. He stands up and he says what he thinks needs to be said in this debate. But as with the debate on housing, and perhaps actually more pertinent in respect of the debate on housing, as my colleague Phil Twyford I think has quipped, no matter how much lipstick you put on a pig, it is still a pig. That is certainly true with the Government\u2019s housing policy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EBut we are here, of course, to discuss the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill, which has been reported back to the House. I sat on the Commerce Committee, which debated this bill. We found that there were arguments in favour of and against extending the protection offered to cinemas around the country. We, as a committee, have recommended in the end to continue with some level of protection, albeit a very clearly signalled final episode of protection and a shorter episode of protection. So the bill reduces the delay for parallel importing of films from 9 months to 5 months after a film\u2019s international release date. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ELabour\u2019s qualified support for the 5-month delay rests on the impact on provincial and rural cinemas that have less capacity to show multiple high-grossing movies simultaneously and less flexibility and ability to cut costs to remain competitive. It is fair to say that there are also other cinemas, perhaps arthouse cinemas and the like, in medium-size towns that are vulnerable here. I guess I am a little surprised at the stance the Green Party has taken, knowing that the stance it is taking, if this bill were to be successfully pushed through the House, would mean the loss of about 160 jobs, we are told. It would mean the loss of small community facilities. It would probably mean the wholesale destruction of arthouse cinemas in New Zealand. It seems a peculiar stance for the Greens to take, and it is sad to hear that they are not concerned to look after the educational opportunities that are in cinemas, that they do not value the community that builds around rural and small-town cinemas, and that they do not value the jobs that are in the industry. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EWe think that the decision to have, essentially, a compromise, a shorter period of time of protection, leading over to a period when the industry must adapt, is the sensible solution. It is a solution that takes the middle path by protecting the industry for a period of time while the adjustment is made. It is not like a very hard decision that means jobs are laid off without a transition period and without the ability to make adjustments. It is showing concern for the industry, for the community facilities, and for the jobs. So that is the point we reached in our deliberations. They were challenging deliberations. I think the discussions in the select committee were good ones, they were full ones, and they really went across all of the issues, so it is a little sad for me to hear that the Green Party does not seem to value those kinds of community facilities. They do not seem to value the jobs or the films that are shown in the cinemas in those smaller communities. However, that is where they stand and they have reached their decision. I am sure it was not easy for them to reach that decision, either, but I do feel it needs to be put on record that that was a different decision from the one that most parties reached. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EIt is also interesting, when we think back, that this bill was introduced under urgency. It was introduced under urgency in this House. We spent a lot of time debating why that might be, after it had languished on the Order Paper for an inordinately long period of time. The kind of relaxed approach this Government is now taking to it betrays that perhaps it was not quite as urgent as it was first projected to be. The speeches have been very short\u2014very short\u2014and they have contained very little detail or explanation of why this is such an urgent matter. In fact, Government members seem quite dismissive of the prospect of debating the bill. That is a little surprising, but I think it points to the kind of process that this Government is running through. It is trying to rush things through under urgency, as it tries to catch up on the lost time from bad organisation in this House. I think that is clear\u2014I think that is clear. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThis bill will expire on 31 October 2016, with the effect that the importing of a film first made available to the public after that date would be allowed immediately on the film being made publicly available. This is a time-limited bill\u2014it is introducing a time-limited measure\u2014and at that point in time we are expecting that cinemas will have adapted. They will have made the necessary adjustments. They will have switched to digital technology, if that is what is required. Also, we are recognising the changing patterns of consumption amongst ordinary Kiwis, who are increasingly looking at other electronic means of gathering these films, this entertainment, and the educational material that goes with it. We recognise that Kiwis and others around the world will find ways of sharing a community experience, as they adapt to online means of sharing and viewing this material. These forums\u2014online forums\u2014are developing all the time, where there is a sense of commonly shared experiences. But not all New Zealanders are there yet, and so in some ways that is why this bill makes a lot of sense, to continue to preserve that community experience for an interim period of time while the industry adapts and while New Zealanders adapt to the rapidly changing technology, and that preserves the opportunity to have those community experiences.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EIn our previous reading I noticed in many speeches Mr Faafoi\u2019s entrancement with The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, which came into the discussion. That was the first movie he ever went to see. We discussed Star Wars and other movies, but The Smurfs came up again in a speech by a member sitting opposite me here. I think it was Mr Macindoe if I remember correctly. He raised the issue of The Smurfs 2 being released this month and the effects, and some of us on this side would have liked to name some of the other characters in the House in order to highlight, perhaps, the levity with which this bill has been debated at times. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EI think some of the frivolousness in the speeches from Government members reflects the fact that for them this is not really an urgent bill. It is a bill that reflects the Government\u2019s inability to organise its time in the House. The fact is that it has come through late, it is now being rushed through after languishing on the Order Paper, and those members are not so attached to it one way or another. It is filling space. It is using parliamentary time, but it does ultimately achieve something that we find difficult to oppose, because it is a transitional measure.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ETo sum up, the Labour Party will be supporting this bill because we believe it provides an appropriate interim measure whilst the industry and community adjust to the changing nature of public entertainment and education in the film sector. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022 data-id=\u002230a3e522c911402ebd8bd4d3ebad03a1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002230a3e522c911402ebd8bd4d3ebad03a1\u0022\u003EDr JIAN YANG (National):\u003C/span\u003E Ni hao, Mr Assistant Speaker. I rise to take a very short call on the second reading of the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill. The bill imposes a temporary ban on the parallel importation of films for commercial purposes for 5 months from the date of the film\u2019s first release to the public. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022656487fe-e0a2-485c-8dc2-fe61b9aec128\u0022\u003EThe film industry is in the middle of a large-scale makeover as cinemas across the country convert to digital exhibition technology. The National-led Government strongly supports the transition to digital exhibition as it reduces the need for delays in film exhibition\u2014giving consumers earlier access to films. So I commend the bill to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022 data-id=\u0022f90d7f31c10949a884cb5dc2d01aace9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f90d7f31c10949a884cb5dc2d01aace9\u0022\u003EIAIN LEES-GALLOWAY (Labour\u2014Palmerston North):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to take a 5-minute call on the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill. Labour supports this bill, as it passed the Copyright (Parallel Importation of Films and Onus of Proof) Amendment Act in 2003, which this bill amends. The provisions in that Act are set to expire in October, so this bill continues those provisions. However, the bill reduces the delay for parallel importing a film from 9 months to 5 months after a film\u2019s international release. The bill will expire on 31 October 2016 with the effect that importing a film first made available to the public after that date would be allowed immediately on the film being made publicly available. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EThe original Act was only ever considered a temporary measure to allow the industry time to adapt, yet here we are today extending that time frame. Labour\u2019s qualified support for the 5-month delay rests on the impact on provincial and rural cinemas, such as the one in my own electorate in Palmerston North, which have less capacity to show multiple high-grossing films simultaneously and less flexibility and ability to cut costs and to remain competitive. Labour also has reservations that this may end up costing Kiwi families more on an outing to the cinema, and that if the public cannot legally obtain material in a timely manner through DVDs, subscription TV, or online streaming, they will simply use illicit means to fulfil their needs. The Government has reneged on a commitment to undertake a wide review of the copyright regime this year and has instead put it on hold. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003ELabour\u2019s 2011 manifesto stated that we would continue to participate in Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, but reiterated its commitment to retaining Pharmac, in particular, as a bottom line, which must not be traded away. We feel similarly strongly about intellectual property provisions. There is great concern that undue influence is coming from overseas to strong arm New Zealand into accepting intellectual property restrictions, particularly around parallel importing, and that that will end up costing Kiwi families more, whether it be a night out at the cinema, whether it be the cost of medicines, or whether it is being able to buy affordable clothing at The Warehouse, for instance. All of these things are under threat if the ability to carry out parallel importing is under threat. That is certainly one of the concerns that members on this side of the House have with some of the international negotiations that are being carried out at the moment. In fact, in many ways, if the Government is to restrict parallel importing, it is the very opposite of what we would traditionally think of as free trade. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EWe have concerns about this piece of legislation. We have concerns that the Government has not been able to organise the transition phase, and that here we are extending that transition phase even further. We have concerns that it is, in fact, hard-working, ordinary families in New Zealand who are going to be affected by this with one of those most simple pleasures of a night out at the movies potentially costing more and more and more. Of course, we have seen this in a thousand different ways\u2014the cost of living going up and up and up and wages simply not being able to keep up with that cost of living. This is just one more way in which potentially it is going to be harder for Kiwi families. So our qualified support for this remains firmly based on an expectation that, ultimately, these measures will be phased out. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022490ccdbf-7c22-4e12-98f2-f3aa08f8e676\u0022\u003EWe expect from the Government a robust defence of New Zealand\u2019s sovereign right to be able to carry out parallel importing right across a range of commodities and products so that we can keep the cost of living under control as much as possible. Of course, that should be balanced with clear efforts to improve wages for New Zealanders so that people have the money in their pockets to be able to buy the simple things in life, like a night out at the movies. Unfortunately, of course, through a suite of legislative changes we have seen this Government working towards a low-wage economy and doing its best to drive wages down. What we saw today during question time was the apparent lack of empathy for people on low wages and a clear view from Ministers and members of that Government that the issue of low pay is nothing more than a joke, and that is not good enough.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dbf9ac9d3c2b43f89038521a85907771\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Assistant Speaker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u002271180895256d445691a481cc86bb4a5d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002271180895256d445691a481cc86bb4a5d\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: I can hardly hear the honourable member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ad46ad20117d4fc492f9064ac23ff59d\u0022\u003ECatherine Delahunty\u003C/span\u003E: I will make up for that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225a916c08a9e541c3a0e9136e8a1bfdac\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: Good, thank you. I call the honourable member Catherine Delahunty. T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Ms Delahunty. I do not think the speaker was working properly.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022 data-id=\u00229ac6e9d4b5324d90bd856e8f706cd649\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229ac6e9d4b5324d90bd856e8f706cd649\u0022\u003ECATHERINE DELAHUNTY (Green):\u003C/span\u003E I will take a brief call on the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill because I was not on the Commerce Committee and my colleague Gareth Hughes did the substantive work on the bill. However, I have got some points to make, and one of them is that the Green Party loves the movies. The world has certainly changed since I was dragged hysterically screaming out of the Laurel and Hardy films and the Marx Brothers films. The world has changed a great deal, and comedy has changed. But we are strongly committed to film and theatre, we love culture in all its forms, and we support movies. But we have some concerns about whether this bill is the right way to go. We have some very big concerns about the need for a proper revision of copyright, and that is where, like the previous speaker, Iain Lees-Galloway, we feel that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is already having very negative effects on our public life and on our debates, in the sense that we cannot have the substantive debate that we want to have about copyright. We can reduce this to a simple issue, but there are actually darker themes behind it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003EI live in a rural community, and I love my theatre and I attend my cinema. But I want to make a comment that has not been made by any other parties, to my knowledge. For example, what is the real accessibility of the movies to one section of our community? For example, my partner has paralysis in his legs. There are theatres we have gone to where it is very difficult for him to get into those theatres. There are theatres in rural New Zealand and in urban New Zealand that are not fully accessible. As my colleague in the Green Party Mojo Mathers has pointed out, for the hearing impaired community many films available in the cinemas are not captioned. What has happened is that the illegal download has sometimes been the captioned download. We are not saying that that is right, but we are saying that for that community they never\u2014never\u2014get to go to the cinema in rural communities and see the film if the film is not captioned. I believe we are in a state of transition where we were moving towards digital and we are also moving towards accessibility, but very, very slowly for a very, very limited number of films, and there is a substantive section of our community who, for a range of impairment reasons, are not able to access these films, but at home they can. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003ESo, I guess, the Green Party is concerned that this extended transition is not actually helping the industry or helping the community to get their act together and make sure that we get full accessibility in all its senses. We do not actually support illegal downloads, but we know that they are happening. We know that people are doing it, and we know that they will continue to do that if there are continual limitations. That is not because we believe that everyone should have everything at once and they should not wait, but the reality is that the digital generation\u2014the e-generation, which I am barely part of\u2014has a different view. To some people, 5 months is a very long time, and they will access the stuff. But more cogent is the issue of accessibility for people with hearing impairments. That is a far more compelling argument, in my view. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220ee528dc-7870-4553-95ed-5ec0cab60f07\u0022\u003ESo although we are not supporting the bill, we do support a full review of copyright, a modern approach to these issues, full support for cinemas to be modern and competitive, and for DVDs to be available to people who cannot otherwise access the culture that many of us take for granted\u2014and we do. With those words, I would like to end my statement. I look forward to a better process, because this was a circus. Honestly, the urgency was a circus, and the whole process at the beginning was not good. We need to make sure that we can have\u2014not constrained by the phantom of free-trade deals that are not about trade or freedom\u2014the proper conversation we need to have. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022 data-id=\u0022febd6299f7b14bafa9a14d91721a6012\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022febd6299f7b14bafa9a14d91721a6012\u0022\u003EMARK MITCHELL (National\u2014Rodney):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to take a short call on the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill. Regional theatres are really important to the communities they are in. I was at one of our local theatres\u2014I have got two in my electorate, Whangapar\u0101oa and Matakana. My wife and I were at the Matakana theatre on Monday at a local fund-raiser. It just reminded me of the great experience that a local theatre can give you. It does not matter how flash the home theatre is, there is something pretty special about being able to go to your local theatre. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EAre they committed to making the transition to digital? Well, I believe they are, and I can speak only from experience. The Whangapar\u0101oa theatre is currently making the transition to digital and, as my colleague from New Zealand First Tracey Martin stated, Matakana is also making that transition. In fact, of its three theatres, two of them are now digitised, and the third one will be digital within the next couple of months. So it was great to be able to support them and make sure that they continue to exist, and I am very happy to commend this bill to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002229eb78fcc5414030a79149c64f33aaef\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the Copyright (Parallel Importing of Films) Amendment Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 104\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; New Zealand Labour 34; New Zealand First 7; M\u0101ori Party 2; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 14\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EGreen Party 12; Mana 1; Independent: Horan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00227e5704f9752a4c09aa14d0f22b8c27c6\u0022\u003EThird Readings\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e83c4fd3a7964e448f9bde4c55594679\u0022\u003EThird Readings\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022 data-id=\u0022fde2fc6e7d494b9cbae6c7c675cc31b9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002270fa4cbd-9380-4916-9f2a-78da059d220e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fde2fc6e7d494b9cbae6c7c675cc31b9\u0022\u003EThe ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson)\u003C/span\u003E: I call the Hon Minister Judith Collins to address the people\u2019s House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u0022c3dfabf1d293443981b5c3f403c433aa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c3dfabf1d293443981b5c3f403c433aa\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E Happy Suffrage Day to you, too. I move, That the Care of Children Amendment Bill (No 2), the Child Support Amendment Bill (No 3), the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 2), the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill (No 2), the Family Courts Amendment Bill, the Family Dispute Resolution Bill, the Family Proceedings Amendment Bill (No 2), the Legal Services Amendment Bill (No 2), the Property (Relationships) Amendment Bill (No 2), and the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Bill be now read a third time. The legislation will give effect to this Government\u2019s commitment to reform the family justice service so that it encourages less adversarial resolution of parenting issues. Our proposed reforms will provide greater protection for children and vulnerable people. Core features of the current system will remain, such as the ability to get immediate access to the court in emergency or urgent situations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThe reforms proposed in the legislation are the first significant legislative changes to the Family Court since its inception in 1981. The time is right for reform. Society has changed in the three decades since the Family Court was set up. The make-up and the dynamics of families have changed. A Ministry of Justice review of the Family Court in 2011 found that court processes were complex, uncertain, and too slow. There was a lack of focus on children and vulnerable people, and insufficient support for resolving issues out of court. The review also found significant reliance on court professionals, which can increase the time applications take to be resolved. The cost of operating the Family Court was increasing at an unsustainable rate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThe reforms reflect our increased understanding of the negative effect that adversarial court proceedings can have on children. They recognise that the Family Court should be just one part of a wider system that helps families reach agreement about care arrangements for their children. The majority of couples reach agreements between themselves, even now. This legislation recognises that for those who cannot resolve matters, it would be desirable to have other options, rather than heading straight to the court. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EIn many cases, the court is not the best place for helping families settle disputes. To reduce the number of parenting issues proceeding directly to the court, the legislation proposes establishing the new family dispute resolution service, known as FDR. Before commencing care of children proceedings in the Family Court, family dispute resolution will be mandatory for most parents. Exceptions include serious cases such as domestic violence or straightforward matters where parents want their agreements sealed by the court. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThe harmful impact of conflict on children will be minimised by family dispute resolution, with fewer cases expected to go to the court each year. Family dispute resolution will reduce the delays and expense that court processes can involve for parents. Family dispute resolution will be free for the estimated 60 percent of participants who will be eligible for pre-court financial assistance. For those not eligible, the cost of family dispute resolution will be less expensive than retaining a lawyer and proceeding to a defended court hearing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EAs well as family dispute resolution, the free and highly successful Parenting through Separation course will be expanded and will also be made mandatory for many parents prior to the Family Court proceedings. If couples fail to reach agreement in family dispute resolution, they can still apply to the Family Court. In cases where people do proceed to the court, they will be supported to navigate the court system independently for straightforward matters. Improved information services, a simplified three-track court system, and easy-to-use forms will be introduced. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EParents eligible for pre-court financial assistance may be provided with some initial legal advice prior to court entry. They may also be provided with some preparatory counselling to help them make the most of family dispute resolution. Currently, up to 3 hours\u2019 pre-court taxpayer-funded counselling is available to anyone on request. Under the reforms the focus will shift from dealing with private relationship issues to resolving parenting disputes and reducing conflict for the benefit of children. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EIn the court, Family Court judges will have more options to help resolve disputes. They will be able to refer parties back to family dispute resolution or Parenting through Separation if they believe this will help parents reach agreement. They will also be able to involve lawyers earlier in the court process where they believe that that will increase the chances of success. Providing more options for parents will free up the Family Court to focus on cases that require judgment. It will also target the use of professionals, including lawyers, to help resolve more serious matters. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThe legislation will give effect to this Government\u2019s commitment to protecting children and vulnerable people by improving the Family Court\u2019s response to domestic violence. New provisions in the legislation will make non-violence programmes more effective. There will be wider powers to direct people to attend non-violence programmes. There will also be an increased onus on providers to report on the outcomes of non-violence programmes and to identify any ongoing concerns about those who have attended the programmes. To strengthen the Family Court\u2019s response to domestic violence, the maximum penalty for breaching a protection order will be increased, from 2 years\u2019 imprisonment to 3 years\u2019 imprisonment. To improve the safety of those at risk, new provisions will allow people under a protection order to request provision of a safety programme at any time. The definition of psychological domestic violence will also be widened to include financial and economic abuse, such as denying or limiting access to financial resources. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EIn summary, this legislation will reduce the stress on families and children because disputes will be settled more quickly and fewer cases will end up in court. When they do end up in court, the interests of children will be the primary concern. The Family Court will be freed up to focus on the more serious matters that require legal judgment, such as those involving domestic violence. More protection will be afforded to vulnerable people and children at risk. This legislation creates a more comprehensive family justice service, which will better meet the needs of families today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EI would like to take the opportunity to thank all members of the Justice and Electoral Committee for the work that they have done in relation to this legislation, including the chairs of the committee\u2014there were two during the process of this legislation, Mr Tim Macindoe and Mr Scott Simpson. I would also like to thank all the submitters, because their submissions were listened to and there were significant changes to the legislation following the input of the submitters. I commend this legislation to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022 data-id=\u0022306f9e2d590d4b5fae49edc6ba48eb4f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022306f9e2d590d4b5fae49edc6ba48eb4f\u0022\u003EANDREW LITTLE (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E It is a great pleasure, of course, to address the people\u2019s House on this very important legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill\u2014legislation that will affect many people. I address the people\u2019s House not in purple, as the Minister of Justice has done, but, indeed, with a heavy heart, nevertheless, because these are not good bills. This is not good legislation. In spite of the Minister\u2019s best hopes for it, or the marketing spin that she, at least, puts on it, we do not anticipate that it will have any of the effects that she anticipates for it. I find it interesting that the Minister says that the legislation will put the interests of children at the forefront of the Family Court\u2019s consideration of family dispute issues. When there was a Supplementary Order Paper that proposed exactly that phraseology to make the interests of children paramount, Supplementary Order Paper 254, it was rejected by the Government\u2014rejected by the Government members. This is not legislation to put the interests of children first. It is not even legislation to put the interests of separating couples first. It is about putting the Government\u2019s balance sheet first and foremost. It is about putting the Government\u2019s income and expenditure accounts above all else. It is about cutting cost. That is what has driven this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThis legislation started with very noble intentions. It started out as a reform process to address the quite legitimate and well-expressed concerns about the Family Court, particularly concerns about delay\u2014we know that there were delays in some cases\u2014and about the fact that more court time and more judge time was being tied up in what might otherwise be described as trivial matters. They were matters, as the Minister of Justice described them in some of her contributions to the debate on the legislation, of where little Johnny or Jane should spend a particular weekend or a particular Christmas. It was quite proper for the then Minister of Justice, the Hon Simon Power, to convene a process, which was a very good process. It started with a meeting of interested parties here in Parliament in 2011. It followed that with a consultation process with those working in the field and those working in the court: the lawyers, judges, specialists, and families as well\u2014those who had used the system\u2014and it also included an expert advisory group. That was a very robust process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EBut what a pity that the outcome, once there was a change of Minister\u2014once there was a new Minister of Justice and Judith Collins took over\u2014was that the legislation did not reflect the work that was done through those very important consultative processes. What came back was a piece of legislation focused on the care of the children issue, which is important\u2014and it is nearly 40 percent of the Family Court\u2019s work\u2014but it was also about removing the responsibility of the State to ensure good and fair outcomes between couples who were separating and for the management and custody of their children.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EIt not only removed the State\u2019s responsibility but beat up on the lawyers and the professional advisers who have been involved in that process. How interesting it was that probably 80 percent of the submitters whom we had before the Justice and Electoral Committee were lawyers, judges, and also users of the court. Mums and dads and former partners came to the select committee and said that the person who got them through and who enabled them to understand what was happening, who enabled them to understand the agreements they were entering into and the orders that were being made by the court, was the lawyer\u2014the large number of parents who came and said that the person who was the most helpful was the lawyer for the child, because they were not wrapped up in the emotions of their client, they could hear and understand the children, and they could assist the lawyers representing the parents to come up with a sensible set of solutions. That is why the evidence before the committee was that between 75 percent and 80 percent of family disputes were resolved in discussions between the parties and their lawyers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EAnd what has this Minister done with the legislation now? In her desperate bid to get lawyers out of the picture and to prevent users of the court from having access to legal advice, including by screwing down the right to legal aid\u2014and that is getting harder and harsher even for those who get it\u2014the Minister thinks that suddenly, miraculously, couples who are in dispute will quite happily sit with each other and one other person in a room and will resolve their issues. It is a Pollyannaish view. We had a sort of address by Marjorie Proops from the Minister as part of the debate, who said that people should pull up their socks, pull themselves together, and sort it out. It is completely unreal and unrealistic, and it simply does not allow couples going through the devastating time and process of separation to deal with their issues. When people are making agreements that are lasting a lifetime, or at least lasting a large chunk of their lifetime, and lasting for the period of a child\u2019s life until they enter into young adulthood, then, actually, parents are entitled to have access to advice and to understand the legal ramifications of the agreements they are entering into. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EThis legislation will deprive them of that. They will be expected to participate in a forum where they will not have access to legal advice. They might have had a small amount of advice beforehand, but not when they are going through the actual issues and wanting to know the legal impact of what they are agreeing to. They will not have access to that. They will be expected to deal with the person with whom they want to end the relationship, or about whom they are grieving at the end of the relationship, with only an independent facilitator present, whose job then is to help them understand what they are doing and to also represent the best interests of the children. It will be an impossible task. It does not matter what accreditation regime the Minister puts in place through the ministry, or anything like that. It will not be a satisfactory situation for those who are reliant on the system to come up with an agreement to resolve their very difficult problems. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003EI think it is a great shame that on a day when we are celebrating such an important anniversary as the emancipation of women, the entry of women to the franchise, and the beginning of the process of empowering women in our communities, we are passing legislation whose most deleterious effects will be felt by women, who will lose the voice they have had and the assistance and the support they have had to deal with one of the most difficult situations in any person\u2019s life\u2014man or woman. They will lose that support. Not only that; they have already lost access to legal aid to get assistance through that sort of process, and many women will be left vulnerable and exposed and on their own. This is a shameful day. It is a shameful day for the Government, and, frankly, it is embarrassing to be member of a House that is passing legislation like this on a day like this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003ESo that is why we remain implacably opposed to this legislation. This is not about effective dispute resolution; this is about a Government desperate to cut costs so that it can bail out its rich corporate mates. The T\u012Bwai Point aluminium smelter, Warner Bros, Skycity, and all of the rest of them are lining up for a handout. This is a Government that is quite happy to take money out of the back pockets of the most vulnerable in our community\u2014to take resources out of those processes and forums and institutions that support ordinary people going about their daily lives\u2014so that it can present a surplus next year and look after its corporate mates. That is how cynical this Government has become. Well, mark my words, it is coming to an end. Our leader, David Shearer, has said that the train is leaving the station. There is a song about that. There is another song\u2014there is another song. The world is changing. There is a new world a-coming, and we are part of it. We will bring it about, and it will be about fairness and equity and a community that cares about its people, that looks after its people, and that uses the resources of the State wisely and to empower people. That is what we stand for. That is why we are implacably opposed to this dreadful legislation from this shabby, tawdry Government. We look forward to the day when this will be tossed out, and we will have better legislation that will look after families and look after people in their most difficult times and at their most difficult moments.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022 data-id=\u0022db5b0dbc04e74014b5ab5585532428db\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022db5b0dbc04e74014b5ab5585532428db\u0022\u003ESCOTT SIMPSON (National\u2014Coromandel):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora. It is a pleasure to rise in support of the third readings of these bills now divided from the former Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill. I also thank the member Andrew Little for what may have been his final speech as Labour\u2019s justice spokesperson, and I remind him that, yes, his leader has said that the train is leaving, but the leader is actually David Cunliffe, as I understand it, not David Shearer, as he mentioned. It just goes to show the depth of confusion and malaise and concern that exists in the Labour caucus when the justice spokesperson stands up a week after a change of leadership and still refers to the old leader, once removed, as the current leader. That just shows the mess that the Labour Party is in. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EI want to thank the Minister of Justice, Judith Collins, for bringing this legislation to the House. I would also like to thank the officials who worked very hard and diligently on this piece of work for us, at times under great time pressure to achieve deadlines. I would also like to thank the hard-working and diligent members of the Justice and Electoral Committee, who across the party divides of the House actually worked, I thought, in a very collaborative and useful way on this legislation as it went through the deliberations before the committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EIt is quite a complicated piece of legislation. It amounts to the first real, full reform review of our Family Court justice process since its inception some 30 years ago. The legislation now falls into the omnibus of divided parts. I am not going to go through those individually, but in preference I would like to just acknowledge the 386 written submissions that the committee received and also the 217 oral submissions that the committee heard in various places around the country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EMany of those submissions were from people who had personal and absolute horror stories to tell us. They told us, for instance, about the expensive, slow, drawn-out, ineffective, and stressful process that the Family Court system had provided for them. Changes made during the select committee process mean that as a result of the work of the committee, the legislation is, I think, better legislation than it was when it came before us at the first reading. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThe people who come before the Family Court\u2014those who told us their stories at the select committee\u2014often are people who are stressed, who are emotional, and who are at a vulnerable point in their lives. A relationship breakup and the subsequent sorting-out of details can be one of the most difficult things that people can confront in their lives. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EBut that said, the vast majority of couples who do go through a relationship split and the fallout that occurs as a result of that actually do sort out their affairs without the need to go to the Family Court. They do so because they are able as adults to come to terms with the changed situation in their relationship and they can work out a way through it\u2014the vast majority do. On this side of the House, we take the view that where people can sort things out for themselves, they should. Recourse to State-provided services and facilities should not be a course of first action for people who are going through relationship breakups. We do not subscribe to the view that the Family Court should be the first option in resolving relationship issues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThe reforms that we are considering today mean that the Family Court will be a better, more efficient provider of a service for those who actually need it. Let us have a look at why those changes are needed. The Family Court has for a long time been criticised by people who were involved with it as being adversarial, and for placing additional stress, in already testing circumstances, on people who are already vulnerable and under stress. People complain that it is not focused enough on the most serious cases, such as domestic violence, and people complain that it is negative for children who are subjected to the process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003ESo these reforms being considered today establish a new family dispute resolution process that will absolutely focus our family justice system very clearly towards supporting people to resolve their disputes outside the court system where appropriate. I think that is a good thing. Couples will be required to go through a Parenting through Separation programme, and at least attempt a family dispute resolution before applying to the court for parenting or guardianship orders, unless there is an exemption such as what might apply where there is a case of violence being involved. I think that is right and appropriate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003EThese reforms will support people to resolve disputes out of court where appropriate and they will ensure that the court, when it is needed, is focused on the most vulnerable. This legislation and these divided bills are good pieces of reform. They are needed pieces of reform. I thank the Minister for bringing them to the House. I commend these bills wholeheartedly for consideration by the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022 data-id=\u00228a9aea6cd60848e2b11635631c9f8d82\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228a9aea6cd60848e2b11635631c9f8d82\u0022\u003EDr RAJEN PRASAD (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Namaste, Mr Assistant Speaker. I am pleased to take a call in the final reading of the legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill. But I do it with some sadness, because this is the kind of measure in this area that ought to be supported across the House. There ought to be agreement across the House when we are trying to improve a system. These series of bills do not actually do that, and I want to go through the three major drivers to this legislation as we see it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EThe first driver here is the increasing costs in the Family Court system. Let me talk a little bit about that because it seems to have become a principle by which this Government operates. It says that if something we are doing is costing more, then by definition there is something wrong with it and we must reduce it, without actually having a look to see why that cost is increasing. So when we do that, the only argument we get from this Minister and from this process is that this is out of hand because it costs too much. And because it costs too much we must now find a system that actually destroys the very value of the services provided in the Family Court. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EThe Family Court is 30-odd years old and it has served us well. It is a well-developed system. That is not to say that it cannot be tweaked. It can always be tweaked. But in trying to keep a focus on only the financial driver for this particular area of change, what the Government has forgotten to do is to calculate the advantages of that as well. The Government has not done that. We have had no discussion about what the value is of the kinds of services that are provided in the Family Court and, through legal aid, to those who end up in this particular place. So it is a Government that knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing. The Government has not demonstrated its understanding of the benefits to those vulnerable people who find themselves in this particular situation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EThe Government has been very ready to spend large sums of money elsewhere. If we look at that\u2014I think the figure is $13 million. That is what the cost is of this service that is being is cut. If that is all it is, then why, in a country with a budget like ours, and in a country with a soul like we purport to have, has it become such a problem that we cannot actually provide the kinds of intensive services our most vulnerable children need\u2014it is mainly children whose parents are separating; it is the adults who make the mess, and it is the children who pay the price\u2014and actually get the right services there so that change can occur? Yet we are prepared to spend inordinately much larger sums of money to address some other presumed advantage. The Government has not explained that. The Ministers have not explained that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EI think that the financial driver behind this is hard to actually be convinced by. It is what the Government has done for a long time. It may just be that the real driver behind this is the Government trying to hide its own mistakes\u2014the mistakes it made in 2009, with the unaffordable tax cuts, etc. The long-term effect of that economic plan is that the Government now has to cobble together even small sums of money from very, very good programmes, just to balance the books. It is selling whatever it can sell. The Government is cutting programmes like this. In the scheme of things they are very cheap programmes\u2014not expensive at all\u2014and they are doing a lot of good; certainly doing no harm. Yet this legislation puts that aside. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EI cannot imagine Tim Macindoe actually being supportive of something like that, when I know he understands the needs of the children who find themselves in this position. I have respect for the member, who knows that providing the right amount of resources, the right kind of assistance, the right kind of dispute resolution procedures, and making sure there are no financial pressures actually resolves the situation. But no, this is not what the Government is doing. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EThis is the awful consequence of the Government\u2019s long-term policy. It has made so much expenditure that it need not have made, and should not have made. It is not producing the benefits, and now the Government is having to cut deep into many of the programmes that are for the vulnerable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EThe Government has become rather nonchalant about making cuts to programmes for the poor. It has done that all across the board. Whether under the guise of welfare dependency or inefficient programmes, etc., it has made all those cuts. And yet, the other day, when the botulism scare was on, the Government offered a couple of million dollars to the companies that were involved and that had to travel to China to sort that out. They did not even ask for that. They did not even ask for that, but the Government was very quick to make public moneys available\u2014a couple of million dollars. I heard the interviews with the owners of those companies, and they said: \u201CWe didn\u2019t ask for this. Nice to have.\u201D How about that kind of thinking when it comes to providing for our vulnerable people? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EThe second driver of this particular legislation is something that the member Scott Simpson talked about a few minutes ago, and it is this: the argument has gone that we know that many, many more people resolve their disputes themselves. That is true\u2014they do. But from there the logic is so lost. Therefore, the Government thinks that everybody must do that. That belies logic, because the very point is that the small number who cannot resolve their difficulties end up in this particular situation. Therefore, they are at the sharper end and therefore they do require the kinds of services that the Family Court currently provides. Yet, under the guise of that principle\u2014that so many resolve their issues themselves\u2014the Government says we now do not need to provide these services to these more vulnerable groups at the sharp end. It does not make any sense to do that, but it is a justification. It is an intellectually dishonest justification when the Government says that for those reasons it will take away all of these services. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EWell, one of the things that have happened is the change in family form over probably the last 20 or 30 years. The family form has changed. The nature of the family today is very different from the traditional families in which many of us were brought up. There are many, many different types of families, and they form and re-form all of the time. That is happening all over the world. Any cursory view of our family form statistics in New Zealand will show that family form is now different. One of the consequences of the change in family form is that there are more disputes. So it is not surprising that we are programmed to require our courts to actually provide assistance to those family forms. That is what explains the numbers. We have not become inefficient all of a sudden; there are simply more cases. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EWhat the Minister has done in this case\u2014because of some perverse attitude towards the law profession, and I do not understand this Minister\u2019s attitude to that profession\u2014is that she is actually not even listening to her own expert groups, which she brought together to give advice. She is not following that advice. So the logic of this is just not there to follow. This is an ideological trip of this Government. It actually is hostile to the vulnerable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EBut maybe there is something a little more insincere. I think the Minister and some others have been captured by a number of powerful people who can say \u201CLook what my partner did to me.\u201D, and that is because of the services that are available to them in the courts. That ought not to happen, and this Minister and this Government have got captured by them. I have heard those arguments as well by some people who want to fight with their partners in court, and when they lose they blame the system. Yet the system was designed simply to protect our children. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225db0a23e-1579-44c6-9194-76e34cf5ae99\u0022\u003EThis is an ideologically driven set of proposals. It is based on flawed logic. It is based on a rather miserly attitude to a small amount of money. And it will end up having to be fixed up again some place down the track. So for those reasons we have fought against this legislation, and we will change it when we are in Government. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022 data-id=\u002267df07ee682248e687ca2e1a710ee01d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002267df07ee682248e687ca2e1a710ee01d\u0022\u003EJAN LOGIE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E The Green Party also categorically opposes the legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill. The proposed package of reforms will be a significant change to the family justice system, the largest since the establishment of the Family Court in 1981. The reforms are stated to be driven by three concerns: one, that they will enable the Family Court to focus on the most serious cases; two, that the Family Court does not have clear processes, so it is difficult to understand and navigate, apparently; and, three, that the Family Court has seen its costs greatly increase in recent years, despite no movement in the total number of cases accessing its services. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EWe believe that this legislation is an erosion, rather than an improvement, of our court system. We believe that although the most vulnerable women and children are likely to bear the brunt of these changes, we will all pay. And on Suffrage Day it is particularly galling to see some cornerstone legislation for the protection of women undermined in this House. This legislation is what happens when the Government turns its eye to how it can reduce costs, rather than deliver to its citizens. This legislation is what happens when the Government forgets that it has an important role to play in preventing social disintegration. This is what happens when the Government considers short-term financial lines over long-term savings. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EThe Family Court was established in 1980 following the report of the Royal Commission on the Courts in 1978. The commission, through a very thorough investigation, recognised that families play a vitally important role in our society, and that a specialised forum was required to respond adequately to their needs. From this arose the Family Court as we have it now. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EYet, over time, so much has been added to the court. I think that when we consider some of the administrative difficulties and the complexity of the court, considering what has been added to its role over time may help us understand that. It stands in stark contrast to the changes that are being proposed. Since its establishment the Family Court has had added to its jurisdiction the care and protection of children under the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act 1989; powers of wardship, which were previously the preserve of the High Court; international child abduction law duties; the enactment of the Care of Children Act 2004; exclusive jurisdiction under the Property (Relationships) Act 1976, which was previously shared with the High Court; estates under the Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949 and the Family Protection Act 1955; jurisdiction under health and disability legislation, such as the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Act 1988, and the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003, and, of course, the introduction of the Domestic Violence Act 1995 gave the Family Court power to grant protection orders under this statute, which represents a considerable body of work for the Family Court. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003ESo it is no wonder that we need to update our legislation and the structure of the court. That is not in question here. The Government held a review. I guess, considering all of that, it made sense to have a review and to consult, and the Government did consult widely. It had 209 submissions, and 121 full responses were received. The Minister of Justice in 2012 released a set of proposals for change. These proposed changes are raised in the discussion paper, but they did not reflect, and this legislation does not reflect, the feedback of the community, of those with the most experience of the Family Court. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EWhat that review asked for was a Family Court review that provided better information on how to resolve disputes; a non-adversarial, child-focused family justice system; greater transparency around court processes and accountability of court professionals, particularly lawyers; consequences for those who mislead the court or create delay; and an increase in the skills and competency of family lawyers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EWe know what is in this legislation. What it does is set up a family dispute resolution process that is mediation and facilitation based, without representation. It will be mandatory, private, and non-judicial and will be a cost to those wanting to access that mandatory service. That is an undermining of our basic court process, that is not what was asked for by the review, and that is not what families in breakdown need.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003E As was pointed out earlier, in respect of the philosophy that families should be able to work these things out themselves, those that can, do. By far the majority of families do, and they do not come near the Family Court. The families who come to the Family Court in these situations are the families in conflict who have not been able to work it out themselves. It is absolutely essential for us as a State to be able to help those families out, unless we are to all pay for the cost of increased conflict and family breakdown. That is what this is potentially setting up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EAlongside this, although it is purportedly about increasing the rights of the child in this process, it actually limits the role of the counsel for the child. Counsel for the child will now be appointed when there are \u201Cconcerns for the safety and well-being of the child;\u201D and the judge considers an appointment of the counsel necessary. This is an erosion of that service. It is a displacement of children from their centrality in this legislation. We know that children are the most vulnerable when families are in breakdown. This will have long-lasting consequences. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EIt sets up that when lawyers for the child are appointed or in other situations part of the costs may now be passed on to one or both parties involved in the case. So here we are, saving money in the short term, considering the Government\u2019s Budget this year, next year, with no mind to the future cost, no mind to the harm and the pain of the families going through this process, and no mind to the potential for victims of domestic violence to get caught up in this system if they are not in a place in their life to be able to disclose that they are victims of abuse. They are going to be put in situations of facilitated discussion where we have no guarantee that the facilitator has skills or knowledge around domestic violence. The outcome of that is potentially very dangerous. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003EThis legislation is a travesty. It is particularly so, I say again, to have this in front of the House on Women\u2019s Suffrage Day\u2014120 years of women having the right to vote in this country. To see a piece of legislation that is so important to women\u2019s and children\u2019s safety in front of this House being undermined is embarrassing, and it is a sad day. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022 data-id=\u00228f7262f038e247ae96922d9ff5e853a8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228f7262f038e247ae96922d9ff5e853a8\u0022\u003EHon KATE WILKINSON (National\u2014Waimakariri):\u003C/span\u003E This legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill is about modernising our Family Court system. It is about bringing some 33-year-old legislation into the 21st century. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022136da8c4-afc7-483e-a39c-c66812f71774\u0022\u003EWe have heard that back in 2011 a review of the Family Court system was undertaken, and there were some serious concerns raised. There were concerns raised that the court lacked sufficient focus on meeting the needs of those children and on achieving sustainable, durable outcomes for families. It found that there were complicated court processes, lengthy delays. It found that it was adversarial and that it did place additional stress and strain on already strained relationships. It found that it spent too much time on simple, private matters that did not need to be resolved in the court, that it was complex to use, and that it was too slow to resolve those disputes. It was not focused enough on those most serious cases. This legislation is designed to address those concerns. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022 data-id=\u00229458c64886194bb88ab781866d16d4c6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229458c64886194bb88ab781866d16d4c6\u0022\u003EDENIS O\u2019ROURKE (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E I want to go through the stated aims of the original Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill and comment on the outcomes in these 10 amendment bills arising from it. Firstly, the aim was to encourage faster and less expensive resolution for broken families who have issues to resolve concerning the custody and care of children, by requiring parties to participate in the new family dispute resolution process instead of having to go to the court for determination, unless necessary, especially in cases of family violence. This had potential, but has been spoilt by the many other provisions of the reforms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003ESecondly, lawyers were not to represent parties in family dispute resolution but may give initial advice if on legal aid, or if paid for privately, of course. The problem here is that too few people who will need it will qualify for legal aid. The threshold is far too tough. So some will be well supported\u2014those who do qualify, and those who can afford to pay for a lawyer privately\u2014but there will be a large number who fall between these two situations, and that is the problem. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EThirdly, the Family Court was to focus on matters genuinely needing a court decision, where protection of vulnerable people and children would be prioritised. I have no problem with that, but has this been achieved in the legislation? The real issue is whether the alternative family dispute resolution system, as set up in the legislation, has been set up well enough to take the court\u2019s place. I have no confidence that that will be the case for far too many people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EFourth, parties were to take responsibility, where possible, for their own arrangements concerning the care of children. That sounds fine, but the issue here is not so much a statement of the principle of self-responsibility; it is the fact that people do need help through these systems. The worst aspect of these reforms is that the Government is not funding sufficient counselling before a dispute matures, in order to make self-responsibility practicable as a way of proceeding, in far too many cases. As I have already said, the test for legal aid to be provided is far too tough. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EThe point is that there are areas of significant legal challenge to be dealt with by parties who cannot be expected to fully understand them\u2014too many for the Government\u2019s \u201Cno lawyer\u201D provisions in these amendment bills. The Government just does not care about this. It thinks saving money is more important. This is a second-class justice approach, and the Government cannot now pretend that it is anything else. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EFifth, the original intention was to try to reduce the exacerbation of family disputes by making it not so easy to get to court\u2014because legal proceedings often make relationships worse\u2014but with the court still there as a backstop. Not only is it not so easy to get to the court now, but there are significant barriers to parties in the system as a whole. As it has turned out, the legislation will exacerbate, rather than reduce, areas where there is a power imbalance, by forcing parties into processes where one party will have the advantage of representation or advice, and another will not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EThis is not an improved system; it is a worse one. It is all very well to have a simplified and cheaper system, but this will be at the expense of the equality of the parties in the system, and it therefore risks compromising the system as a whole, reducing the success rate, and damaging the outcomes for the very people\u2014the children\u2014whose interests, the legislation says, are to be paramount. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003ESixth, the legislation would seek to be more responsive to victims of family violence. The legislation does expand the definition of psychological abuse, and it increases maximum sentences for this from 2 to 3 years and improves the delivery of mandatory non-violence programmes. These parts of the reforms are worthwhile\u2014probably they are the only parts in that category. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003ESeventh, the Government was open about its main intention to make the Family Court more efficient and cost-effective. It was always clear that the major objective was, in fact, to save money, and this permeates the reforms from start to finish. Sadly, this will, as I have already said, be at the expense of a fair and effective system that parties will have genuine access to and be able to use effectively. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EEighth, and last, the last of the stated aims was to speed up court applications by reducing the court\u2019s rapidly increasing workload. The reforms may well speed up the Family Court\u2019s workload, but they will not necessarily speed up the system for the parties overall. In the end, despite a very large number of amendments having been made to the bill as originally introduced, in New Zealand First our reservations and our concerns have certainly not been met. By far the biggest concern for us was the reduction in the use of lawyers for the parties and of lawyers appointed to represent the children, and, secondly, the reduction in the availability of legal aid, which is now available to only a limited degree prior to, but not during, any mandated dispute resolution process, and if the dispute goes before a judge. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First does not agree to penny-pinching of that kind, resulting in a lack of adequate legal representation and, with that, severely reduced legal aid entitlements. As a fundamental principle of justice, parties with a reasonable need, not the regulations, should decide whether they need a lawyer. Legal aid for advice before family dispute resolution is free for those under the income threshold for legal aid, estimated at about 60 percent of participants, so most parties are already legally aided out of necessity. But the availability of legal aid should not be the basis upon which parties decide whether they will have a lawyer or not, and there will, of course, be about 40 percent who may be unable to cope without legal aid. Although family dispute resolution is likely to be less expensive than hiring a lawyer and proceeding to a defended hearing in the court, these requirements are so tough that many people will simply not get a lawyer when they really need one, so there is a real problem of power imbalances being created as a result. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EThese reductions in legal representation and legal aid are the main reason for New Zealand First opposing the legislation. These reductions are likely to be a false economy anyway, because the costs in other areas are likely to increase. Fundamentally, if the quality of the process is compromised, the resolution will be illusory, resulting in another dispute later. Another particular reason for opposition is that the legislation prohibits the court appointing a lawyer to represent the child unless it is \u201Cnecessary\u201D. The concern is that lawyers would no longer be involved in the initial stages of proceedings under the Care of Children Act. The problem is that the legislation requires the court to have \u201Cconcerns for the safety or well-being of the child;\u201D and to consider an appointment necessary. That is far too tough. It should be the other way round\u2014the court should appoint a lawyer unless it finds that it is unnecessary to do so. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EThe Government says that parents are expected to represent the best interests of the child in the process, but, in fact, many are actually not able to do that, especially in the stressful situations they find themselves in. New Zealand First would have liked to see the fully Government-funded counselling service reinstated\u2014before disputes mature. Not all families will break up if they get counselling in that way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002247c29b78-eee0-4c91-afdf-7b07be780e1a\u0022\u003EFinally, we think that the imposition of interest on legal aid will cause hardship and serious hardship, which are the grounds for the legal aid agency setting aside the requirement to pay interest. It is a very high bar\u2014far too high\u2014and low-income people will suffer. And 8 percent is simple Government profiteering. Legal aid is paid for through taxation. The Government should not be charging interest at all on funds from these sources for these public purposes. The State should make a contribution. Charging interest is objectionable and wrong in principle, and 8 percent is nothing less than disgusting as an approach to legal aid. The State is not a banker. It should be providing a public service. For all these reasons New Zealand First will certainly vote against this legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022 data-id=\u0022d12e7bfb15754092a4e4c50d1375bc15\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d12e7bfb15754092a4e4c50d1375bc15\u0022\u003EPAUL FOSTER-BELL (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is a pleasure to rise and take a brief call in this third reading debate on the legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill. I believe that this legislation reflects the sensible balance and pragmatic solutions that are rapidly becoming a hallmark of our excellent Minister of Justice in this country. Other Government speakers have spoken about the sorts of sensible reforms that have been introduced. I do not think that the Government should resile from, or apologise for, taking care and being responsible with taxpayers\u2019 money and the investment we are making in our court system in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E Other speakers have spoken about the common-sense approach to taking children out of the stressful and harsh environment of a court setting, and settling more of these disputes through a family dispute resolution process. I want to focus on one particular aspect of this legislation, and that is improving the court\u2019s response to domestic violence, because I think this is very important. This legislation better supports vulnerable people, including improving responsiveness to domestic violence, and it does this by expanding the definition of psychological abuse in the Domestic Violence Act to include financial and economic abuse. It increases the maximum sentences for breaching protection orders, from 2 to 3 years, and it provides greater flexibility in the development and delivery of mandatory non-violence programmes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EI think these are sensible reforms that will make a very real difference to people who are at the greatest risk of being the victims of domestic violence. For this reason I commend this legislation to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022 data-id=\u0022cca65ffb79c84b389bceacd3023fc475\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cca65ffb79c84b389bceacd3023fc475\u0022\u003EHon PHIL GOFF (Labour\u2014Mt Roskill):\u003C/span\u003E The brevity of that contribution is reflective of the level of confidence in the equity of this legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill and what it is capable of achieving. It could also, of course, be indicative of the lack of knowledge of that member, Mr Foster-Bell, about what the legislation is about, because what he said bore no relationship to what this legislation has in it. Let us get one point absolutely clear. This legislation has one purpose, one purpose alone, and that purpose is to save money by cutting spending on the people who are the most vulnerable and the most needy and their ability to get justice in the Family Court system and under family law. It is about cutting spending\u2014the first, middle, and last of the objectives of this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003ENo matter how the Government dresses it up, this legislation is not justified by any evidence that it is necessary or that it will achieve the positive objectives that it claims. It is not supported by those who work in the system, who understand the system, who have been through the system, and who are knowledgable about the system. That is epitomised by the fact that the group of experts set up by the previous Minister of Justice, the Hon Simon Power, is utterly opposed to what this legislation does. When the Ministry of Justice came out and said that this legislation aligns with what the Expert Reference Group on Family Court Reform recommended, the expert reference group said that that was not honest, that was not correct, and that was not true. This legislation is based on a lie\u2014on the lie that it is sustained by what the experts, set up by the original Minister, wanted, when it is exactly contrary to what they believe. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EI want to say this: when I went through what those experts presented to the Justice and Electoral Committee and when I challenged the Minister in the chair, the Hon Judith Collins, to answer these challenges, she was silent. Well, she was not silent; she got up and she embarked on a speech replete with personal abuse, but she did not answer the key criticisms that the experts on the reference group made. Those criticisms were these. The expert reference group\u2019s submission said: \u201CIf this Bill proceeds \u2026 the very fabric of the New Zealand family justice system will be destroyed.\u201D This legislation, if it proceeds, will destroy, they said, the very fabric of the family law and justice system. That was an enormous challenge, and what did the Minister say in reply to that challenge? Nothing\u2014that is what she said. There was silence. The submission goes on and says: \u201CThe Bill is based on flawed policy development without statistical or research base justifying such fundamental and radical changes.\u201D The Government has moved forward with this legislation without doing the basic work to show whether or not the changes that it is making will work. There is a reason why the Government has done that. It is that the Government does not care whether it works. The Minister does not care about the damage that she will do to the most vulnerable people in our community, and that includes the children\u2014most particularly the children. She is interested only in saving money. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EIf I thought that the Government had no option but to cut in this area, I would think about whether the legislation was worthy of support. But what I do not understand is why this Government can spend $30 million on the multinational company Rio Tinto, which intends to pull out of this country anyway and destroy the jobs. The Government has got $30 million for that, but it has not got the money to ensure justice is delivered to the vulnerable in our society. The Government will pay money to Warner Bros\u2014$16 million on top of the $50 million - odd it has already got\u2014to produce a film that was going to be produced here anyway. The Government will spend those millions of dollars, but it will not provide for psychological reports for the kids who might be damaged because of the process of family breakdown. That is not fair. That is not equitable. That is not sustainable. The members on the National backbenches understand that\u2014you can see it in their body language. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThe Government has money to cut the income tax rates for the wealthiest people in this country, but it will withhold legal aid. As the regulatory impact statement\u2014this document in my hand, produced by the Ministry of Justice\u2014says, the Government will withhold money from those who need it. That is said in the regulatory impact statement comments, without any sense of irony. It says: \u201CThis option only affects those parties who, because of their low income, are eligible for legal aid.\u201D Of course that is whom it affects. It says that if those people cannot get legal aid, they are likely to be unrepresented. Well, boy, there were some Einsteins on the group that wrote that! Of course if they do not get legal aid they will not be represented. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EWhat will that lead to? Well, they own up to this. The Minister of Justice would not own up to it. They say this, in the very next sentence: \u201Cthe opposing party may have a lawyer. This could lead to the represented party\u2019s view being put more strongly and create or exacerbate power imbalances between the parties.\u201D Of course that is what this legislation will do. But the Minister does not care. She does not care that inarticulate people cannot have representation to articulate their case so that the judge can hear both sides of the story equally. She does not care that this legislation does not produce justice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003ELet us have a look at what that expert reference group said. I challenged her on each of these points, and on each of these points she remained silent. This group was made up of barristers with 30 years\u2019 experience in the Family Court, and psychologists like Fred Seymour, who has done incredibly good work to make the Family Court system work and is hugely respected. It is made up of judges and made up of people who the Minister of Justice felt were the most knowledgable, the most experienced, and the most skilled. They said that this bill is not based on empirical evidence. What did the Minister say? What did she say? Nothing. They say this is \u201Ccontrary to extensive, existing evidence of best outcomes for families and children;\u201D. It is contrary to the evidence that exists of what the kids and the families need to see justice done. What did the Minister say? She said nothing. They say it \u201Cwill create a two-tiered family justice system \u2026\u201D. How do they describe that? They say: \u201Cthe more vulnerable members of society will have limited access to the services to assist them in the resolution of family disputes \u2026 it is entirely foreseeable that inequalities arising from gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity will become entrenched, resulting\u201D\u2014not in savings\u2014\u201Cin increased costs to the health, education, child protection and criminal justice budgets.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThis bill will not even save money. It will create economic costs because when you have people not represented before the court, the court process slows down. It costs more money. It will create human costs because when people are in fundamental dispute and alienated from their partner who might be abusive, you cannot expect them to front up to that person in a committee or a court without representation. It is fundamentally wrong. And anybody who knows the working of the family law system and the Family Court in this country knows that that is wrong. We will come back into this Chamber and we will reverse many of the things that are put in this bill, because they are wrong. They are wrong in principle and they are wrong in practice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c699e7c6-53b9-470c-a14a-378cb6fc8a04\u0022\u003EThis bill does not deliver justice. It is a negation of justice. It does not deliver fairness and equity. It denies fairness and equity. It is not about the interests of the families who are in dispute and where their relationship has broken down. It is not about helping the children in that situation. It is putting obstacles in their way. This bill is entirely wrong and shame on the Minister for bringing it through this House, and shame on the National members sitting opposite who will vote for it to go through and extend injustice in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022 data-id=\u002217e44ff8ef2e43d6a7097c01b9bd06d8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002217e44ff8ef2e43d6a7097c01b9bd06d8\u0022\u003ECHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National):\u003C/span\u003E I am afraid I probably cannot meet the rhetoric of the previous speaker, Phil Goff, and his passion and criticism of the legislation. But I do not have any particular desire to do that, because I rise feeling that it is a privilege to be speaking on the third reading of the bills that were formerly part of the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill, introduced by someone who could only be described as a very dedicated and efficient Minister of Justice, who has held\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002298dbeffa-e059-49d5-8bbf-579cbaead9a3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002281fe2a619e9f48e8966cbe80b2293493\u0022\u003EScott Simpson\u003C/span\u003E: Competent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d5201156e174d67907dca65a9455a08\u0022\u003ECHRIS AUCHINVOLE\u003C/span\u003E: Very competent indeed. Thank you, Scott. I will be taking just a short call on this legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220bfa5b74-8933-458a-99d4-bbd75d9898d0\u0022\u003EThe legislation is to ensure that those moving through the Family Court procedure\u2014and no one should ever consider that there is much pleasure in that, I am sure\u2014are delivered better public services in an efficient, effective, and responsive manner. Someone told me recently that by the time you reach this stage in a relationship breakdown, the worst is over. The increased accessibility that is being provided by this legislation means that the focus can, in fact, be on resolving disputes and working to protect the needs of those at the heart of the family\u2014children. I believe that this legislation is a good step to ensuring that the Family Court continues on the path to being a place that solves problems, rather than, as is often the case, being a place that makes problems. I commend this legislation to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022 data-id=\u0022b3523279887d405c9e92a627779f646f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b3523279887d405c9e92a627779f646f\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO (Labour\u2014M\u0101ngere):\u003C/span\u003E I want to acknowledge and congratulate New Zealand today as we celebrate Women\u2019s Suffrage Day. It has been 120 years since women were given the right to vote. Today marks a very powerful example of the strength and power of a small nation like New Zealand doing the right thing, and leading the rest of the world. I think it is proper during this debate to pay tribute to the many women who suffered physically as well as emotionally during that struggle, and even today, I suspect, there is still a lot of that suffering. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI think it is also important to reflect and to acknowledge those men\u2014husbands, sons, fathers, and brothers\u2014who stood shoulder to shoulder with the women in the struggle to defend, to protect, and to advocate for this fundamental basic right all those years ago, and even today. In my mind the struggle of women is the struggle for political freedom. It is the struggle for the right to be respected and to sit at the highest table of decision making in this country. It is the struggle for economic freedom, where every woman receives equal pay for work of equal value. It is the struggle for basic freedoms\u2014simple things like the freedom to live where one wants to live, work where one wants to work, or to travel where one wants to travel. It can even be about simple things like eating what one wants. I think that for the most part women have experienced those struggles and they have a deeper understanding than most people. But I also think that the struggles are similar for M\u0101ori, Pasifika, ethnic communities, and all working communities, which leads me this debate on the 10 bills that were formerly part of the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E On the commemoration of women\u2019s suffrage, this Government is passing into law legislation that will again widen the gap of inequality between those who have economic and political power and those who do not. I suspect that those who will suffer the greatest as a result of the injustices and the inequality that these bills will throw up will be primarily women and children. The legislation limits access to court-funded counselling. It limits access to legal aid. It establishes a mandatory private, non-judicial process, which means that the parties to the process have to meet the cost, and the cost, I understand, from the recommendation from the advisers, could possibly be about $900. I suspect that if people have to pay that amount of money, then they are not going to be able to access justice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003ESo to sum it all up, the legislation means that vulnerable communities, particularly women and children and young people who may find themselves in disputes requiring legal support and legal aid will find themselves being denied access to justice. They will find themselves being outside the doors of our courts and of support. In my electorate we have the M\u0101ngere Community Law Centre. That centre, in addition to the others that service the Manukau region, experienced the highest need for legal aid, and yet we see that this legislation will limit the access to aid for people who require support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThere is also an example of the difficulties that I foresee happening. About a week or so ago a family home in Manukau was broken into by police in error. Today that family is still trying to resolve that, because the police have failed to admit to the error that they have committed, and the family is still waiting for the police to try to resolve that and pay for the damage that was caused. Luckily, the woman whose family this is knows a little bit about the law, so she was able to step up and say \u201CLook, somebody\u2019s done injustice to me.\u201D But I have to say that in that regard there were other families whose homes were also broken into by police while they were looking for the offender. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThe point I am making is that a lot of vulnerable families have difficulty accessing justice at the moment, and since the Government has come into power, over the last 5 years we have seen cuts to funding of the sources of support that people would normally receive\u2014legal aid, for example. That is the point I am making here. That is what this legislation is going to do. It is going to put more and more vulnerable communities, particularly women and children, in positions where they will need support but they will not be able to access support. They will need legal aid, but they will not be able to access legal aid. They will need justice, but they will not be able to access justice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThe point I am making is that if we are serious and genuine about supporting and giving strength to our communities, about ensuring that they have access to legal aid and to our justice system, then of course there has to be a cost to that. Of course we have got to pay for that. That is what society is about. That is what democracy is about. But I note that the Government does not care about that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI will give an example of the need for having support when people are in dispute. In the Samoan world, there are two processes that currently exist for giving support to people who are in dispute, because we know that if you do not provide that kind of support, then there is going to be harm caused generally to those people involved. Often the breakups that occur as a result of these disputes make it so difficult for resolution. The first example is the fautuaga o matua, fautuaga o aiga. It is the ability of parents, the ability of elders, and the ability of the collective to come together and give counsel and give advice in the form of a meeting, to enable the disputing parties to resolve their dispute. It does not matter whether it is a private matter. We know that without outside and external help, those in dispute will not be able to resolve that dispute by themselves.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI suppose people might recall the movie \u201CCrocodile\u201D Dundee, when Crocodile Dundee says \u201CIn this small village, if one has a problem, all we\u2019ve got to do is tell somebody else, and they will tell everybody else, and very soon we won\u2019t have a problem.\u201D There might be a funny side, but the reality is that the constant in the process is the need to have external assistance and support when there are parties in dispute. That is what happens in employment relationships, and it also happens in family relationships. Then there is ifoga in the Samoan world. If you have seen the movie The Orator, you will have seen a little bit about that and how that takes place. But, essentially, there is a need for external assistance, whether it be legal aid, whether it be lawyers, to help resolve the dispute that occurs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EIf you do not have access to that kind of support, then what happens to those in dispute? People suffer and relationships break up. Is that truly what we are about? On this side of the House that is not what we are about. We are about building strong, resilient communities, and those come only from strong, resilient families. We accept that as part and parcel of ordinary life there is always going to be dispute, and if you accept that, you also need to accept that as part of the resolution process, part of the reconciliation process, and part of the healing process, there is a need for legal aid, there is a need for legal assistance, there is a need for representation, and there is a need for justice. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI have to say that I agree with what has been said earlier by my colleagues, which is that this legislation, as it stands, denies the basic and fundamental right for ordinary and vulnerable communities in particular to be able to access justice. Shame on the Government for passing this legislation on the day that we celebrate women\u2019s suffrage! And the worst of it is that this legislation is in the name of a woman Minister, Judith Collins. I think that a lot of women will be holding their heads down in shame and thinking: \u201COn this particular day, when we when we should all be celebrating and being proud of our nation, this is her legacy\u2014denying women, denying children, and denying vulnerable communities access to justice.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022 data-id=\u0022598889c2c2f34e4f924303a13c5ac383\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022598889c2c2f34e4f924303a13c5ac383\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you for this opportunity to stand and support the third reading of the legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill. I applaud the Minister of Justice, the Hon Judith Collins, for working on legislation that protects our children and vulnerable people.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293e842da-b06b-4f08-88ce-cb568739e1b1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f4f05d6400b444699cfa99f5e1fa4e06\u0022\u003ELe\u2019aufa\u2019amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor\u003C/span\u003E: Did she write your speech?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225ea603308ed14cc989c7ba7114a1e730\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: What is that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293e842da-b06b-4f08-88ce-cb568739e1b1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022deed3d6e06d64bf7b2500009b3d6cb64\u0022\u003ELe\u2019aufa\u2019amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor\u003C/span\u003E: Did the Minister write your speech?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eaa763398e284108a111df13af455088\u0022\u003EKANWALJIT SINGH BAKSHI\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, she did, I think. I do not agree with the previous speaker, Su\u2019a William Sio, and what he said. I do not expect such language from him. I had a lot of respect for him, but what he has said I do not agree with totally. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226dc89bbf-c2ef-45c9-89e4-d2b5952d8d16\u0022\u003EThe legislation arising from the Family Court Proceedings Reform Bill implements the Government\u2019s decisions resulting from a review of the Family Court. The purpose of the reform is to ensure a modern, accessible family justice system that is responsive to children and vulnerable people and is efficient and effective. The legislation encourages faster, less adversarial resolution of family disputes, requiring parties with children to participate in an out-of-court family dispute resolution process and a parenting information programme before applying for the Family Court. It is another piece of work that is dedicated to safeguarding the vulnerable. I commend this legislation to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00227e48a86c15f14cfeaba64e22864bc4cf\u0022 name=\u0022division\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EA party vote was called for on the question, That the Care of Children Amendment Bill (No 2), the Child Support Amendment Bill (No 3), the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Amendment Bill (No 2), the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill (No 2), the Family Courts Amendment Bill, the Family Dispute Resolution Bill, the Family Proceedings Amendment Bill (No 2), the Legal Services Amendment Bill (No 2), the Property (Relationships) Amendment Bill (No 2), and the Protection of Personal and Property Rights Amendment Bill be now read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 61\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 57\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 34; Green Party 12; New Zealand First 7; M\u0101ori Party 2; Mana 1; Independent: Horan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EBills read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002222de98b2b37a4c2bade211fd5a1332da\u0022\u003ELocal Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ac634738222344fdb6b90d614be44f15\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022 data-id=\u0022bb5dfb9377e54cadb2e90df64317a0ec\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bb5dfb9377e54cadb2e90df64317a0ec\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (Minister of Immigration) \u003C/span\u003Eon behalf of the Minister of Local Government: I move, That the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a second time. The Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) will amend the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 to provide powers for local boards to delegate responsibilities allocated to them under that Act. Such powers were initially provided for through transitional regulations. These will expire on 31 October 2013. This bill replicates the expiring provisions and places them into the principal Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EThis bill provides a permanent and necessary solution to the issue of local board delegations in Auckland. There are 21 local boards throughout the Auckland region. They have a significant and wide-ranging role that spans most local government services and activities, including making decisions about non-regulatory local matters such as negotiating service delivery standards; developing, monitoring, and implementing local board plans every 3 years, and negotiating local board agreements with the governing body; providing local leadership and maintaining effective relationships with the governing body, the community, and special interest groups; and identifying and communicating the views of their communities on regional strategies, policies, plans, and bylaws to the governing body and the council-controlled organisations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003ELocal boards provide local communities with an important say in how the services and facilities that make their places unique are delivered. They also provide an important opportunity for local concerns and views to have input into the regional decision-making made by the Auckland Council\u2019s governing body. Only two of Auckland\u2019s 21 local board areas have populations fewer than 45,000 people. This figure is around the average number of people who live in cities and districts outside of Auckland. Elected bodies serving populations of this size need flexibility in how they structure their decision making. They need to be able to create committees and subcommittees and to delegate appropriate responsibilities to them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EAuckland\u2019s local boards are working well. They are contributing effectively to the governance of the whole region and the communities within it. Members of local boards feel empowered and effective in their roles, with 88 percent of existing local board members standing again in the 2013 local elections. The success of the local board model has prompted this Government to make it available in a modified form in other parts of New Zealand. Last year\u2019s Local Government Act legislation allowed for the Auckland two-tier model of governance to be copied exactly, in some circumstances\u2014that is, where a proposed metropolitan unitary authority has a population of more than 400,000, but it did not enable this for smaller populations. Further amendments to the Local Government Act this year will provide the ability for local boards to be established more widely where unitary authorities are established through reorganisation or amalgamation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EThe Local Government and Environment Committee received only one submission on this bill. That submission came from the Auckland Council and supports the legislation as drafted. The submission represents the views of both the governing body and local board chairs, and reiterates that local boards need to be able to delegate their powers in order to function effectively. All local boards have made delegations to council officers, and most local boards have delegated responsibilities to individual local board members and/or to committees. The unworkable alternative is that all decisions must be taken by a full business meeting of the local board. The select committee reported back that the bill should proceed unamended, and I thank the committee for its prompt consideration of the bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003ETransitional regulations currently covering local board delegation powers will expire on 31 October 2013. Auckland Council requested that in order for smooth and efficient local board decision-making to continue, there should be no time delay in the passing of the bill. It is concerned that without the ability to alter existing delegations after this year\u2019s local elections, it is likely that relatively minor decisions will need to be referred to full business meetings. This will cause delay and will impact on service delivery. Given the agreement of all involved and in order to maintain efficient and effective local government in Auckland, it is both practical and desirable that the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) be enacted by 1 November this year. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022 data-id=\u002236f814b9cc394b638d7347bbfccfe1ed\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002236f814b9cc394b638d7347bbfccfe1ed\u0022\u003EPHIL TWYFORD (Labour\u2014Te Atat\u016B):\u003C/span\u003E Labour is supporting this bill, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2), at its second reading. It is a pretty uncontroversial, technical bill. I mean, it is here in the House today only because of incompetence in the drafting by the Government of the transitional legislation for the establishment of the Auckland super-city. It is only because of the Government\u2019s incompetence that we are here spending taxpayers\u2019 money debating this bill, which should never ever have been brought before this House. It is fundamental that these local boards have to have the powers to delegate their tasks and responsibilities to the staff of the council. That is fundamental to their operation, and yet the Government was so incompetent that it put those provisions into transitional legislation that had a sunset clause. So we should not be wasting time on it in the House today, but it is an interesting postscript to the story of the establishment of the Auckland Council. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EAn amalgamation of eight local territorial authorities, the biggest local government amalgamation this country has ever seen, created the new Auckland Council, with more assets than Fonterra and Telecom combined. It was a new model of local government in this country, and I think that this is a good opportunity to just reflect on the story of that amalgamation. It started with the far-sighted and visionary work of the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance, set up by Helen Clark\u2019s Government. It was almost destroyed by the brutish and crude anti-democratic implementation\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229a751ea1ee7147aa8899c5a373ec19bc\u0022\u003ECarol Beaumont\u003C/span\u003E: By Rodney Hide.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b3d65cd0e774d9f8f319d04a8f5f3d2\u0022\u003EPHIL TWYFORD\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014of the royal commission reforms by Rodney Hide on behalf of the National Government. They did everything they could to subvert the intent of the royal commission. They replaced the royal commission\u2019s recommendations with an extreme, centralised model of governance, which took power away from communities and away from the regions, and put it into the governing body. They corporatised 75 percent of Auckland Council\u2019s assets and operations into these so-called council-controlled organisations, which do most of their business behind closed doors. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EUnsurprisingly, the people of Auckland were alarmed. They were alarmed at the threat to their assets, because it was very clear to everybody in Auckland over those years when the super-city was being set up that the way Rodney Hide and the National Government went about it was simply with the purpose of setting up the assets in these corporatised entities so they could be flogged off once John Banks won the mayoralty. That was clearly the plan, and, understandably, the people of Auckland were alarmed. So what did they do? They acted in the most rational way that they could in our democratic system and they elected Len Brown, a mayor committed to holding on to Auckland\u2019s assets and committed to embracing the community. He is a man whose political style is all about uniting people, not dividing them, and someone who embraces Auckland\u2019s diverse peoples and who embraces the youthful population of Auckland. It is Len Brown\u2019s inclusive and dynamic leadership as the first mayor of the Auckland super-city that has really snatched victory from the jaws of the National Government\u2019s best efforts to steal Auckland\u2019s democracy and sell off its assets. That is the story, so far, of the Auckland super-city. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EI want to remember the debates that we had in this House about, for example, the establishment of the local boards, whose ability to delegate their powers is the issue that this bill seeks to rectify. As I said, the National Government opted for a much more heavily centralised model than the royal commission had recommended, and it set up a proliferation of local boards\u201421 of them\u2014with very few real powers. They had no power to own property and no power to make by-laws or regulations. They are there simply as a kind of public engagement mechanism, to advocate on behalf of their communities. In spite of the best efforts of the National Government, actually I have to say that the local boards have been quite successful. The jury, I think, is probably out still as to whether it is a successful model for the Auckland Council, but, by and large, they have been successful for two reasons. One is the tireless efforts of good, committed community leaders on those local boards working on behalf of their communities, and there is the inclusive leadership of Mayor Len Brown and his council, which, for example, involved the chairs of all those local boards in the Auckland Unitary Plan committee, which has been working so hard in recent months. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe second thing that was such a point of controversy during the establishment of the Auckland super-city was the council-controlled organisations, which, in a breathtaking move by Rodney Hide and his National Government cronies, corporatised 75 percent of the operations of local government in Auckland\u2014extraordinary when compared with any other local authority anywhere else in the country. The predictions that were made in the editorial columns of the New Zealand Herald and by many other commentators have been borne out. Those council-controlled organisations have been largely unaccountable to Auckland Council. They have done much of their business in secret, and the hand-picked business appointees who are responsible for the governance of those entities\u2014for managing the publicly owned assets of the people of Auckland\u2014have acted largely behind a veil of secrecy. It does not surprise me that Mayor Len Brown has promised a review of those very badly named council-controlled organisations. Len Brown and his council have promised after the local government elections to do a review of those council-controlled organisations to determine whether or not that is the best structure for them, and to look, I think, at bringing some of them back in-house so they are subject to much more democratic control. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EWe argued in this House against Steven Joyce\u2019s insistence that Auckland Transport, which spends on transport more than half of the rates that Aucklanders contribute every year\u2014Steven Joyce insisted, against the recommendations of his officials in Treasury and in the Ministry of Transport\u2014be set up as a council-controlled organisation, and he legislated for it. The only local government transport organisation in the whole country that Parliament has mandated by legislation had to be set up as a corporate entity. That is wrong. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EIt is still our policy to change the law\u2014to legislate to give back that democratic right to the mayor and the councillors of Auckland, as the democratically elected representatives, to decide what the structure should be. Should it be a council-controlled organisation, or should it be run in-house? What do the people of Auckland prefer? We will carry out that promise when we are back in Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EThe third thing that I want to mention is debt. Financial prudence was one of the big motivations for the amalgamation. Rodney Hide trumpeted all the savings that he hoped to make. It was going to eliminate duplication and waste. He was much more reticent in this House about admitting that the IT system that his establishment authority imposed on Auckland Council would cost over the decade that followed close to a billion dollars\u2014just for the IT system. It was like pulling hen\u2019s teeth getting the Minister of Local Government in the National-ACT Government to admit the true cost of that IT system. Again, this is another example of Len Brown snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. His financial stewardship has allowed the debt to stay within a very reasonable level, while this Government has borrowed $50 billion. This National Government has borrowed more money than any other Government in New Zealand\u2019s history. If the mayor that the National Government had wanted to be elected, John Banks, had won instead of Len Brown, we probably would have seen a continuation of what he did when he tripled the debt of the old Auckland City when he was the Mayor of Auckland City prior to the amalgamation. He tripled the debt. Thankfully, under Len Brown\u2019s careful financial stewardship, we have seen a much better level of financial management.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003EFinally, I want to say that the leadership that we have seen from Len Brown and the Auckland Council over the last 3 years has been something that Auckland, our biggest city, and this country have been crying out for. For the first time since Robbie, Sir Dove-Meyer Robinson, in the 1960s, we have a mayor who has championed the need for a public transport system in Auckland. Len Brown, to his credit, rolled Steven Joyce and Gerry Brownlee, who for 3 years blocked Aucklanders\u2019 aspirations for a decent modern public transport system and a City Rail Link that will double the capacity of the existing rail network. That is a victory for Len Brown. That is why Len Brown has no credible opponent from the right wing in the mayoral contest this year. That is why he will be elected. That is the story of how Len Brown clutched victory\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022 data-id=\u00226956c68bab8c4d6a8f192a66db6b8b90\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226956c68bab8c4d6a8f192a66db6b8b90\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The time has expired. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022 data-id=\u0022a98f721bb9d14d7b8b17962d756d0fa5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a98f721bb9d14d7b8b17962d756d0fa5\u0022\u003ENICKY WAGNER (National\u2014Christchurch Central):\u003C/span\u003E As we have heard from previous speakers, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) is a non-controversial bill. It is supported right across the House. This bill is quite simple. All it does is amend the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 to provide the powers for local boards to delegate responsibilities allocated to them under that Act. These powers have already been in place and are working really well. They have been in place for the transitional regulations, but those powers expire on 31 October 2013. It is very interesting when the member Phil Twyford was talking about transitional regulations, because those transitional regulations were always an interim solution. They were there to give local communities the flexibility to work out and tweak the operations of local boards during the political reorganisation of Auckland. But now is the time for them to become a permanent part of Auckland\u2019s legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EI have to say that sweetness and light has broken out in the Local Government and Environment Committee, because this model has been working so well that we have unanimously supported it going forward. The confirmation of this legislation has been agreed to by the Auckland Council, and it has been agreed to by the 21 local boards and their board members. It simply allows local boards to get on with the business of representing and serving their communities. All communities want effective and efficient local government management. There is no doubt about that. It is very important that this is passed in the next few weeks so that those local boards in Auckland can get on with their job in a seamless manner. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003EThe success of these local boards in Auckland has prompted changes, so the Government has made this kind of model available in other parts of New Zealand. This Auckland model is a two-tier model. It can be copied. Originally, it was designed only for metropolitan unitary authorities with a population of more than 400,000, but due to demand by local authorities, further amendments in the coming year in the next Act will allow smaller councils to have local boards. They will be established more widely across the country. These changes deliver on requests from local government, and they will give them a broader range of reorganisation options to enable more efficient and effective provision of local government services and facilities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292824476-4e66-4052-8435-b049833d8b83\u0022\u003E It is possible that amalgamated local authorities may be able to achieve economies of scale in infrastructure investment and operation, and be better able to access specialist expertise and resources. We see that this is a real problem, particularly in smaller councils across the country. But it is important that even as they access these benefits, they do not sacrifice community input or identity at a local level, and this is where this two-tier model can be very successful, as we have seen in Auckland. As we go through this reorganisation process, the Local Government Commission, in consultation with communities undertaking any reorganisation, will determine the establishment of local boards, and whether that is appropriate, justified, and desirable. As I have said, this bill is non-controversial. All members of the Local Government and Environment Committee supported it. It is supported across the House, and I commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022 data-id=\u00223bd2a82d1c73450e8272a5101728e26e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223bd2a82d1c73450e8272a5101728e26e\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO (Labour\u2014M\u0101ngere):\u003C/span\u003E My colleague Phil Twyford is absolutely correct. We are here debating this Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) to try to fix the muck-up that this Government created when it rushed through the Auckland reorganisation. It rushed it through without proper consultation with the people of Auckland. It collapsed that particular process so that now all we are doing is simply amending something that should have been made permanent from the beginning. If the Government had had the foresight, if it had taken the time to keep its word by consulting the people of Auckland after the Royal Commission on Auckland Governance had completed its work, we would not be here. But we are, as a result of the muck-up that this Government created in its rush\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227863918e0ace4ec5b2303bc0b06c1154\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: They\u2019re always doing that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022120d95c0180b4c02bf9b096e1fc2f258\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: It is true\u2014to control Auckland. In its rush to seize the assets of that great region of ours, it just overlooked some of the simple things. If it had taken the time, taken the advice that was given to it, and read the royal commission\u2019s submissions, I do not believe that we would be here wasting Parliament\u2019s time and wasting the Speaker\u2019s time in adjudicating over this particular debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228fcaa48e5ac6405780c275b7a3b0592d\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: We should be at home.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a62d7b6eea8b40a8b65eedaba07ace2a\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: That is right\u2014when I should be at home, at this particular time. So, look\u2014absolutely, we have indicated that Labour will support this. It is a technical bill. It gives local boards the powers to be able to delegate their responsibilities\u2014as they currently have. Without that, local boards are going to have to continue going to the council to carry out their functions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EBut I think that my colleague Phil Twyford was correct that in debating this particular bill it is timely to remind this House about the background context that led us to all this. Some in this House will remember that this is also an example of National breaking its pre-election promise. I do not know whether you will recall that during the general election campaign in 2008 Mr Key promised the people of Auckland that if National was in power, what it would do was receive the royal commission\u2019s inquiry once it was completed, receive the options for consideration by the royal commission, and then it would comprehensively consult with the people of Auckland in accordance with the Local Government Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EThat was the promise made. What happened? The minute that National was in power, it refused to consult. It collapsed the process, and would not even give proper time to those who wanted to air their submissions. Again, we saw there that once National had the reins of power, once it was the Government, it did not care one iota about that promise that was made. It did not care one iota about the royal commission, and did not care one iota about the concerns of the people of Auckland. Instead, National imposed the structure on Auckland ratepayers. It was a structure that we believe was flawed. As my colleague Phil Twyford says, the jury is still out. It was a structure that was designed to corporatise the Auckland region. It was a structure designed to corporatise local government generally. That was perhaps one of the first shots National fired in this experiment, in attacking local government and local democracy. We have seen, since then, many, many other examples. Just to name a few\u2014the override provisions in the housing accord, which the Government recently forced Auckland Council to sign up to. If the council did not sign up, this Government would ride roughshod over Auckland Council. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228b85979dbe4b4d50bb176496aa801694\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: They threatened them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f201d0425f184e96bb889979a5c98671\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: That is exactly right. The Government threatened the people of Auckland. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002264bdc1a5cfd94ef6b6f60f7af43585bd\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, you\u2019re joking\u2014they didn\u2019t!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eae3995e1b5b4ef7b6720b8129b039ce\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: Absolutely, it did. It dared to threaten the duly elected representatives of the Auckland region. That is what this Government did. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EAnother example is\u2014people will recall\u2014the suspension of elections in Environment Canterbury. Another example of the way that this Government is behaving towards local government is the way that it is gutting the Resource Management Act\u2014gutting the Resource Management Act\u2014to reduce environmental protections, and to prevent the consultation process that enables the New Zealand public to have a say about whether it is important to protect the environment or whether we side with the Government and just go all the way for economic development, irrespective of what we do to the environment and to the future of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EIt is just a travesty that these guys\u2014this Government\u2014would turn up and give these speeches as if it was doing Auckland a favour, when in reality, we are helping it to fix a mistake and fix the wrong and the muck-up that they have made. So I would hope that this House will recall\u2014I know that certainly the people of Auckland will\u2014that this Government broke its pre-election promise. I believe that many in this House would have witnessed that the people of Auckland retaliated. Thousands and thousands took to the streets of Auckland and they marched\u2014men, women, children, church groups, trade unions, community organisations, M\u0101ori, Pasifika, the many nations of the ethnic community, teachers, cleaners, professionals, walking side by side. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI do not think that the Government remembers the protest of Aucklanders against this Government imposing its flawed structure upon them. This Government could not care less. It went ahead with it. It could not care a damn about the people of Auckland. It went ahead with the restructure and installed the corporate structure. But guess what? The people of Auckland retaliated again. They kicked out the Government\u2019s favourite, Mr John Banks, and installed instead the people\u2019s mayor, His Worship Mayor Len Brown. They kicked out that fella John Banks. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002293e842da-b06b-4f08-88ce-cb568739e1b1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240e8d4365f59415b9d2284c5c01f7433\u0022\u003ELe\u2019aufa\u2019amulia Asenati Lole-Taylor\u003C/span\u003E: And Rodney Hide.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002245b6523d1fd5428494ee6bf34f6d5b8a\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: That is right. Well, we remember this. The people of Auckland remember this, but I do not think John Banks remembers it, because it is the same John Banks who could not remember that he had a ride in Kim Dotcom\u2019s helicopter. He could not remember that he received a campaign donation from him. He could not remember that it came from him in the first place. We, the people, remember, Aucklanders remember, but John Banks does not remember, and certainly this Government here does not remember that it kicked Auckland in the guts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI would say that the only reason these guys flip-flopped around the City Rail Link is that they noted in National\u2019s polling that the people of Auckland were sick and tired of the Government bullying its way through\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229eec2461619f4078b449c6654dc05788\u0022\u003ESimon O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: Sick and tired of 20 percent rate increases.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c5ed5435cca464698a0a13241d0c807\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014sick and tired of the Government trying to bully its way through, treating them with disrespect. That is the only reason why the Government flip-flopped. It is because it saw the writing on the wall. Aucklanders are going to show this Government in 2014 that they have had a gutsful of its bullying tactics, that they do not want this Government to be in power. I would not be shouting from that side if I was that young man there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002290ba081113e64e5490c9a9cd327a5c76\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: What\u2019s his name?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002245a39cf3e9564446a1c7fe66d9d6b364\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: I cannot remember what his name is. I suspect that many in Auckland are not going to remember what his name is, either.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022106966ef-8cc3-434a-9dbe-dd76b708c2a1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b84aa9963cf64b719f7acf7bcffa3719\u0022\u003EAndrew Little\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s the member for T\u0101maki. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226b5ed654564041eea70bda8367fb45d4\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, well\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022403f5ad44a45440ebd5c1f5f2b999ef1\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s Rob Muldoon, isn\u2019t it? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223f63d232b66c4e40a02e0a2ad13b9d14\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: I thought that was Robert Muldoon, too. The member for T\u0101maki\u2014a fine member he is. I am saying \u201Cthe member for T\u0101maki\u201D because I suspect that many Aucklanders will not remember his name at all. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f2b8084ce05e40c79dbdec3bfac3e8a8\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: Rob Muldoon was better.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022de5157fa45124f4590c1d9726f75fa47\u0022\u003ESu\u2019a WILLIAM SIO\u003C/span\u003E: That is right. To come to the point, we are here because of the muck-up this Government created. We are supporting the bill because we should not be here debating this. It is a bill that should have been absolutely formalised right from the beginning. If the Government had done its homework about it, if it had taken the time to consult the people of Auckland, the people of Auckland would have told it what to do. Many of them did, but the Government never listens. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b398827c-6bf5-403e-90dc-ff03205302a5\u0022\u003EI think that come 2014 the people of Auckland are going to retaliate. They are going to retaliate. I know that many members sitting on that particular side are going to be worried come 2014 because the people of Auckland are sick and tired of this Government playing its silly games and bullying its representatives, its duly elected representatives. And the fine group of people who are standing for Auckland, particularly that mayor, that young man Taua\u2019aletoa Len Brown\u2014he is not as handsome as some of us here tonight, but nevertheless he is going to be the next mayor because he is the people\u2019s mayor. They trust him more than they trust that lot over there. So he is going to be re-elected this year. I am not so sure about that lot, come 2014.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u0022a4f1e75d321546eba17198697d6b133e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a4f1e75d321546eba17198697d6b133e\u0022\u003EEUGENIE SAGE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E The Green Party continues to support this uncontroversial Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2), and I am pleased to speak tonight on behalf of my colleague Denise Roche. As others have said, it needs to be passed before the local elections happen and the new councils and the local boards are sworn in, because, otherwise, the powers of delegation that now exist will not be passed to the local boards. It is appropriate that we are considering it on Suffrage Day, when we are celebrating 120 years since women gained the vote in parliamentary elections. It is worth noting that women were able to participate, vote, and stand for election in local body elections well before 1893. The Green Party would like to acknowledge and remember the first female mayor in the British Empire. That was Elizabeth Yates, who was elected Mayor of Onehunga in 1893. In the last week Green MPs have been out and about around the country, talking about suffrage and talking about our power to exercise our democratic right and how ordinary citizens, ordinary women, campaigned, lobbied, and put pressure on male MPs to achieve that major change in 1893. I would also like to acknowledge the Hon Lianne Dalziel, who gave her valedictory speech last night. I congratulate her and recognise her role in this House and in Cabinet, and wish her every success in her campaign to be Mayor of Christchurch, because I think that, if elected, she will bring a new direction to the rebuild in Christchurch, one that will be much more engaging with the community and empowering of the citizens of Christchurch. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThis bill is about making permanent these powers of delegation that the local boards have\u2014the 21 local boards in Auckland. As others have done, it is worth looking at a bit of the history there. When they were established, the Government, both National and ACT, promised that the Auckland Council, the board structure, and the council-controlled organisations would be about efficient and effective local government. There were lots of promises about trimming the fat of local government in Auckland, about it being a lean machine, and about retaining democracy. We do not think that it has worked as well as that, in the sense that where you have got major promises of being a lean machine, we now have the same number of people employed in local government in Auckland as were employed before several hundred staff were made redundant in 2010. So you had a huge amount of churn that was unnecessary, and Auckland Council has recognised that you cannot reduce the number of people working for the council without reducing services, so we need the people to do that work. We have also seen with the council-controlled organisations\u2014and I certainly agree with Phil Twyford about how inaptly titled they are\u2014a loss of democracy and a very secretive decision-making process, which we get in organisations like Auckland Transport; Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development; and Auckland Council Investments Ltd. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EThis bill is about a very narrow issue around Auckland. The bigger issue is about these council-controlled organisations, their limited accountability, and the lack of democracy in terms of the way they work and the fact that they are responsible for more than $25 billion worth of assets but they do not have enough accountability. So there should be legislation to change that. When Nicky Wagner spoke, she talked about the Auckland model being rolled out elsewhere. Certainly, the Local Government and Environment Committee was in agreement about this bill, but the Government\u2019s proposals to take yet another axe to local democracy will be strongly opposed by the Green Party because the proposals reduce democracy. Local boards have nothing like the powers of the Auckland councils that they replaced. Local boards have no ability to levy rates. They have no ability to make by-laws. They can prepare them, but they cannot actually sign off on them. Those further changes to local government will be an attack on localism, they will be an attack on democracy, and they will be an attack on the ability of councils to represent their communities, so we will be opposing those. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EBut going back to Auckland and the boards, last month Auckland University of Technology\u2019s school of social sciences and public policy released its first research from its super-city project. That was a report called Super City? State of Auckland. One of the authors was Professor Judy McGregor. She highlighted some of the problems we have got around the structures at Auckland Council. She said: \u201CWhile the Super City is functioning well in many areas, we are still seeing a lack of clarity about the roles of the Council as governing body and the Local Boards. There is also a perceived lack of accountability of Council Controlled Organisations\u2026It is critical that these relationships are sorted out, otherwise we may see more local communities wanting to break away and seek to regain control of local governance and rates revenue.\u201D If the local boards are to represent their communities well, they need to reflect the diversity of those communities. The Super City? State of Auckland report again said that the diversity of elected representation in Auckland was disappointing; that there were few M\u0101ori and Pacific Island members on either the Auckland Council or the local boards, a small number of ethnic councillors and a very small number of ethnic board members, nor are there many female directors of the council-controlled organisations. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EAt 31 March this year, in terms of those seven council-controlled organisations, only 15 out of 51 board members were women. That is only 29 percent. None of the board chairs were women. Not only are they unrepresentative in terms of lacking accountability and not being democratic, they do not represent the diversity of people in Auckland. There is obviously a strong glass ceiling still in place at the council-controlled organisation level. Similarly, there is an issue with women\u2019s representation around the council table in Auckland. Eight out of our 20 Auckland councillors are women. That is 40 percent. It is a bit better than the 34 percent of women representatives that we have in this House, but it is still a minority. On the local boards, we had 39 percent women representatives there. So we need better representation of women, of ethnic minorities, on the boards. We need a better arrangement around the council-controlled organisation structure\u2014much more democratic decision-making is needed there, removing that veil of secrecy. We need the Government not to proceed with its major attack on local government that it is planning in rolling out the unitary model elsewhere, because in a lot of the regions of New Zealand, it is not appropriate. So we support this bill, but we will be opposing the changes to local government that the Government is planning to introduce. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022 data-id=\u0022d41dc508e8584cd1a5d0957ad385362c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d41dc508e8584cd1a5d0957ad385362c\u0022\u003EHon PHIL HEATLEY (National\u2014Whangarei):\u003C/span\u003E I too rise to support this Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2), along with the support of the Green Party and the Labour Party. I thank them for it. The public listening in, members in the House, and you, Mr Deputy Speaker, will possibly be a bit confused\u2014I do not want to say you are confused, Mr Deputy Speaker\u2014and intrigued that you can have such long, verbose speeches from Labour and Green members, attacking the National Party, attacking the legislation, and yet supporting it. Right across the House we have essentially 121 votes supporting this bill, and yet the Labour Party and the Green Party are angry. I do not know why the Labour Party is angry. I know that the Green Party is angry by nature, but the Labour Party just seems to be generally angry indeed. But they do support this bill, and we thank them for that support. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbb83aab-9566-44c4-9029-8bda4aaca7f2\u0022\u003EThe bill amends the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act 2009 to enable Auckland\u2019s local boards to continue to delegate powers, as they have done up to recent times. So this is now fixed in stone, through legislation. They are quite able to delegate those powers. They have done it successfully to date. They will continue to do so. As for my vote, I am going with the Green Party, the angry Labour Party, the National Party, and every party in this House in supporting this bill. It is the right thing to do. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022 data-id=\u0022b5c033ef8c34463abe287fae94dbcf9a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b5c033ef8c34463abe287fae94dbcf9a\u0022\u003EANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E I am going to disappoint the previous speaker, Phil Heatley, because I am going to make it the third party that is going to speak not in anger but in an informative way. Firstly, I would just like to point out to the previous speaker how you spell the word \u201Cdemocracy\u201D. It is spelt \u201Cd-e-m-o-c-r-a-c-y\u201D. It is something that the National Party members should learn and take home and practise, because they do not seem to be able to get it off their lips. They just do not seem to understand the whole principle. They understand the principle of corporatising New Zealand. They understand the idea of selling out to their mates. They understand the idea of 50 percent of the shares in power companies going to 2 percent of New Zealanders. They understand about making sure that their mates all do very well out of the new corporatised New Zealand. But at the end of the day New Zealand itself is worse off in terms of\u2014what is the word\u2014democracy. It is democracy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EHere is a little history lesson for you. Back in 1989 there were 27 borough councils in Auckland. They were the Mount Eden Borough Council, the Mount Roskill Borough Council, the East Coast Bays Borough Council, the Papakura Borough Council\u2014all over Auckland there were borough councils. They merged them into a number of cities in 1989 to form Manukau, to form Waitakere, to form North Shore, to form Auckland City, and then the outlying districts of Franklin and Rodney. They did that so that you could get critical mass in areas and communities of interest, so that they could move forward in those particular communities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EHowever, there was a problem across the region, because Auckland did need to be supported in terms of its transport, its major infrastructure, and its connectivity. There was agreement. In fact, I know because I helped pass a motion on the North Shore City Council calling for regional cooperation\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c2388b5f7804625afc5243f1636aee4\u0022\u003EMaggie Barry\u003C/span\u003E: Where did you pass it\u2014on a lemon tree?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002245e603cea4b34493abf2422a4421a306\u0022\u003EANDREW WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: No, I did not pass it on a lemon tree; I passed it in a council motion. It was to call for regional cooperation in terms of transport, major infrastructure, and coordination in Auckland, but it did not call for the gutting of the Auckland democratic system, and it did not call for the Auckland councils to all be returned to 21 local boards. Basically, this was a back-to-the-future situation of going back to 21 local boards, which previously were 27 borough councils. Now, 3 years later, we have a situation where this Government wants to roll over that legislation and ensure that those 21 local boards continue to be able to delegate their powers and their responsibilities to committees, subcommittees, board members, and council officers. Unfortunately, we have to still support that in terms of the legislation because that is what we are faced with now in Auckland\u201421 local boards. It would be irresponsible of us not to continue to roll over those powers that were given to them through the transition authority, because otherwise on 31 October we would have democracy in Auckland crippled at its knees and the council not able to delegate some of its powers to various entities. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003ESo we will be reluctantly supporting this, but we will at the same time be giving you something of a history lesson. I will also advise, in doing so, that I can recall vividly an 800-page royal commission report, which had taken several years to prepare and which over 30 well-respected, internationally recognised consultants helped prepare and submit on. It had thousands of submissions from all sorts of entities and very, very learned people involved in local government and in terms of governance throughout New Zealand submitting on it. That 800-page report cost $4.5 million\u2014the royal commission went to the likes of Toronto, London, Los Angeles, and all sorts of places around the world to compare and come up with its recommendation as to how Auckland would be governed\u2014but it was thrown out, and about 9 days later the 800-page report was replaced by Rodney Hide\u2019s 34-page photocopied proposal for Auckland, which basically made a nonsense of what the royal commission was suggesting. What the royal commission was suggesting\u2014again, a history lesson for you\u2014was that, yes, certainly there was a problem in the integration of Auckland. There should have been an overarching council\u2014an Upper House, so to speak, which would be a bit like having an Upper House of this House\u2014that would control the big-picture stuff in terms of the transport, the roading, the infrastructure, water, and that sort of thing, but it would leave the community-based things at local council level so they could get on with running the communities of Manukau, of Waitakere, of the North Shore, and of the central isthmus, and get on with their business. That was thrown out and replaced by the 21 local boards. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EAs a result now, these 21 local boards are pretty well kneecapped entities. You have an example in the situation last week, for instance. The Devonport Food, Wine and Music Festival, which has been going for 24 years and was fully supported by the North Shore City Council for many of those years and, prior to that, by the Takapuna Council, will not exist in the coming year. It will exist no longer. What is the reason? The reason is that the new Auckland Council will not give it any community funding, and now it receives funding from only one local board on the North Shore, the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board. All the other boards on the North Shore have said that they have other priorities in their local board areas and cannot give funding for the food festival in Devonport, which has been going for 24 years. I have had emails from all over Auckland and, indeed, all over New Zealand, and I am sure that the MP for the North Shore, Maggie Barry, will have had the same response, saying what an absolute disaster it is that this iconic local festival is not going ahead, simply because the new structure set up by Rodney Hide no longer supports the likes of that festival. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EAnd there are other things, such as the SPCA Wag \u2018n Walk, which used to be in Milford. It has gone. It has disappeared. It has gone over the bridge because, again, the North Shore funding disappeared. It has been taken over the bridge. We used to have Movies in Parks on the North Shore. They have disappeared. Now only one local board on the North Shore, in the Kaip\u0101tiki area, is having Movies in Parks this summer. The other boards are not funding it, so, again, half of the North Shore will have it; the other half will not have it. Music in Parks used to be in all the local parks around the whole of the North Shore. Most of the North Shore will not be getting that this summer. Likewise, the New Zealand Body Art Awards, which started in the Glenfield Tavern about 12 or 13 years ago, this year managed to survive only because the likes of myself, George Wood, and George Gair\u2014three former mayors\u2014stepped into the Auckland Council offices and said: \u201CIf you stop funding the New Zealand Body Art Awards, it will fail.\u201D We managed to resurrect that. This is what is coming out of these local boards in the Auckland area. Basically, it is completely divide and conquer, and the whole of the Auckland area is now being run by 21 small, little local entities, all protecting just their own particular patch. This is back to the future. This is how Auckland used to operate pre-1989 under the old borough councils. I can assure you that if I have anything to do with it in the future, we will go back to some form of entity that allows communities of interest such as the North Shore, such as Manukau, and such as Waitakere, to again provide for their communities of interest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a536d3c2-6293-4216-b0bd-dfec1bd6f40c\u0022\u003EIt is not in the interest of the local communities at the present time, where you can literally go through a patched quilt of situations across the Auckland isthmus, where, as you drive through this local board, it does it this way; as you drive through the next local board, it does it that way; and as you drive into the next one, it is a different way again. That is not good coordination in Auckland, and that sort of thing has got to stop. However, we will support this so that these boards do have some powers. On the other hand, I can assure you that there are going to be reviews in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u0022fdd2673439ad4c2e9b31e54b3b33ec81\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fdd2673439ad4c2e9b31e54b3b33ec81\u0022\u003EPAUL GOLDSMITH (National):\u003C/span\u003E Look, the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) is a technical bill. It was an extraordinary speech from the previous speaker, Andrew Williams, who was talking about everything other than this bill, which is providing powers for Auckland local boards to delegate responsibilities, duties, and powers, and to continue on in the fashion that they have done for the last 3 years. It makes a good deal of sense, and I commend this bill to the House on that basis. Just quickly, drawn to question the success of the council over the past 3 years, I found the structures take you only so far. The critical ingredient is the quality of the leadership, and that is why the elections coming up in the next month are so important. I commend this bill to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022 data-id=\u0022b7bf8daae3d3420996f5658352545ce2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b7bf8daae3d3420996f5658352545ce2\u0022\u003EHon MARYAN STREET (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E It gives me pleasure to rise to speak to the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2). I want to pick up on a comment that the Hon Phil Heatley made earlier, where he said he wondered why people on this side of the House were so angry about a piece of legislation on which we all agree. Well, clearly we are not angry about the piece of legislation. We would not be agreeing with it if we were. I do not think anybody is naturally angry, which is what he was suggesting. Being naturally angry requires far too much energy for most people. I think when people are angry there is always a reason for it. When the buttons of local democracy in Auckland are pushed, the members opposite will always get an angry response. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EIt should be no puzzle to the Hon Phil Heatley. When local government matters come up, the dissension, the discontent, and the riding roughshod over democratic process that is the hallmark of this Government comes to the fore. It should not be any surprise to the Government. We have seen it do it in Christchurch. We have seen it do it in Auckland. This should be no surprise. When local government representation is denied to people, in the usual way, then they do get upset. People do get upset. We have been upset by it, and it should be no surprise if we start to sound angry about people having their democratic rights and their ability to participate taken away. So let us just settle that one. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThere is a perfectly good reason why members on this side of the House who come from Auckland do express anger about it. Having lived for nearly 30 years in Auckland, I feel the same way. But as I am no longer a representative from the Auckland area, but from Nelson, I will give over that right to my colleagues who still reside there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EWhat I wanted to say, apart from happy Suffrage Day to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, is that I am delighted in some of the early comments on the purpose of the bill. We know that it amends the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act to enable local boards to delegate responsibilities and duties and powers conferred on them under the Act. Currently, they are able to delegate those powers. This provision is in the Local Government (Auckland Transitional Provisions) Fees and Charges Regulations 2010, but those regulations expire on 31 October this year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EJust a few weeks ago I was in this House berating the Minister of Energy and Resources, Simon Bridges, for the complete ineptitude\u2014in fact, it was not his piece of legislation, but he was carrying it at the time. It was Gerry Brownlee\u2019s Land Transport and Road User Charges Legislation Amendment Bill where regulations had been disallowed, had been reintroduced, had had a disallowance motion put on them again, but I had withdrawn that disallowance motion because legislation was to come into the House in time for regulations that would see a rolling-over of an existing condition. That all happened out of time. Gerry Brownlee did not get one of those deadlines right, and as a result we were passing the legislation weeks after the time the regulations had actually expired. I would like to congratulate the Hon Chris Tremain on getting it right, and perhaps he could show the Hon Gerry Brownlee how it is done. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EThe purpose of this bill is that it amends the original Act to put those powers of delegation into the Act itself. Instead of having it just as regulation, this bill will amend the primary legislation. That is what Gerry Brownlee should have done, but did not. He chose not to, or was too lazy to, or did not know he had to, or for some other reason\u2014all of which comes down to incompetence in the end. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227df975cd-93d2-4f55-9bc5-d2790e28e043\u0022\u003EChris Tremain has done the right thing. The bill amends the Act before the regulations expire on 31 October. Whoopee! The Government has got it right. It has got the sequence right, and that is one of the reasons why I am absolutely delighted to support this bill. This means that the Act itself, which becomes effective from 1 November 2013, will be effective the day after the transitional regulations expire, which is great. That is as it should be. And it has been brought to the House for debate. So full marks to Chris Tremain. Go and tell your senior colleagues how it is done. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022 data-id=\u0022b9bace88bc5d4bdbbd789efbc6f469a3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b9bace88bc5d4bdbbd789efbc6f469a3\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY (National\u2014North Shore):\u003C/span\u003E I rise to speak in the second reading of the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2). Here we go. It has been harmonious. Even the Greens agree with it. It is uncontroversial. It will pass before the end of October. Everybody supports it. There is not much more to be said. I will no longer waste the time of the House by taking up any more time from the House. In fact, it is one of the few occasions when I have agreed with Phil Twyford. We do not need to linger on this, but unlike him I am not going to ramble on endlessly about irrelevancies and untruths. I will just leave it there, and commend the bill to the House. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022 data-id=\u0022243fc61b1cd848039fe91ec96b439c6e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022243fc61b1cd848039fe91ec96b439c6e\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Carol Beaumont, 5 minutes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022 data-id=\u0022d422835bb4b14a05b414b2e2e148c603\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d422835bb4b14a05b414b2e2e148c603\u0022\u003ECAROL BEAUMONT (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Can I also wish everybody a happy Women\u2019s Suffrage Day, including yourself, Mr Deputy Speaker, and start on this Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) by\u2014as another speaker has already done, but I want to do as well\u2014personally acknowledging the first woman mayor of the British Empire, Elizabeth Yates, who was the mayor of Onehunga. I work in that electorate. I am a list MP based in the Maungakiekie electorate, where Elizabeth Yates was the first woman mayor of the British Empire. It is a great achievement, and in fact it was in the same year that women won the right to vote in New Zealand that she was elected mayor\u2014so, 120 years ago. She is buried in St Peter\u2019s Church graveyard in the middle of Onehunga. So I think that is an important thing to acknowledge here on Women\u2019s Suffrage Day. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003EAs others have said, this is a technical bill and we do support it. It was reported back unchanged from the Local Government and Environment Committee, where only one submission was received, and that was from the Auckland Council, which sought the change. But I do want to reinforce what others have said: that the reason we are here is that the Government pushed through under urgency the Auckland Council legislation\u2014and I remember it well; I debated it late into the night with many others\u2014without having adequate consultation, without getting it right, and with many matters still left up in the air, not least of which was the issue of the power of local boards.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003EWhat this bill does is sort out a potential problem, which is the very important matter of allowing local boards to be able to delegate responsibilities to individuals and to committees. This is important so they can go about their job, because, as others have noted, what are called local boards in Auckland, which are part of the Auckland Council, are in fact organisations dealing with substantial numbers of people. They are the same size, generally, as the average district or city outside Auckland, so they are large. Only two of the 21 Auckland local boards have populations of fewer than 45,000 people. So these are not small organisations. They need the power to delegate to get on and do their job. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003EThe bill actually also identifies the things that they are not able to delegate, which it should do, particularly things like communicating the interests of people in the local boards\u2019 areas in relation to strategies, policies, plans, and by-laws, and they are not allowed to delegate the ability to promote, propose, amend, confirm, modify, or to revoke a by-law, adopt a local board plan, and so on. So we have no question about any of that. That is fine, but it is a result of the process that created the Auckland Council, which was the process around the Local Government (Auckland Council) Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003EI just thought I would talk a little bit about the local board in my area because others have mentioned that there still remains some uncertainty, and I think that is true. Boards were not given clear powers in the Auckland Council legislation, and there has already been reference made to the work that Judy McGregor and others have done in looking at the state of local government in Auckland. It is fair to say that it is a work in progress, that the local boards have been established, and that they have gone about trying to do their job. The local residents have tried to figure out what their job is, and slowly people are getting a better understanding of it, but it is certainly not all sorted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003EIn the area I work in there is a board that has two subdivisions. It is the Maungakiekie-T\u0101maki Local Board. I want to acknowledge the work that it does. I think residents in the area are slowly getting a better understanding of that work. But the board has been involved with others in the community around the Onehunga foreshore project, the Glen Innes Music and Arts Centre, increased funding for community grants and community events, the improved Onehunga Mall, the carpeting of fields in Waikaraka Park, the Mount Wellington War Memorial Reserve, and a range of other things.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223facbb72-b3b0-464b-b24d-e6de0616f323\u0022\u003E So I want to acknowledge the board members: Simon Randall, Bridget Graham, Brett Clark, Josephine Bartley, Chris Makoare, Alan Verrall, and, until the elections, Leila Boyle, who is not standing again. They have done a good job. Housing is one issue that is important in our area, and I just want to particularly acknowledge the work the board has done around a housing warrant of fitness. The local board has actually put up a proposal to improve the quality of rental housing in the board\u2019s area and to look at getting better outcomes for tenants. It is an area of high deprivation, or part of the area is. This warrant of fitness scheme will be the first of its kind in the country, and I want to commend it for that work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u00228ace3974cf064f72af8997242d82d737\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228ace3974cf064f72af8997242d82d737\u0022\u003ELOUISE UPSTON (National\u2014Taup\u014D):\u003C/span\u003E I commend the Local Government (Auckland Council) Amendment Bill (No 2) to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022aceb89d6acd24fe7900f87f852e3c774\u0022\u003EHeritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002215a501d7f810466fa1324f50fea03a2d\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000451\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 5 September.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022 data-id=\u0022e34793ac7de44bb8b7f5ffd028b41da7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e34793ac7de44bb8b7f5ffd028b41da7\u0022\u003EMAGGIE BARRY (National\u2014North Shore):\u003C/span\u003E The Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga Bill is a bill that we support wholeheartedly. It is going to help us protect our heritage for the future. That is something that the Government feels very strongly about. You know, Crown entities really do need to have something that is very strong about them. The Historic Places Trust has served us well for a number of years, but now it really does need to be updated. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EI think that when you look at what is happening around Auckland and in the area where I am, on the North Shore, Auckland has the volcanic cones that are going to be regarded as a cluster, and that is an excellent thing. I am starting really near the back of this bill, as it were, because it seems to me that there have been a number of concessions that have been discussed in some detail throughout the process. One of the things that did exercise the Local Government and Environment Committee was around the idea of how many buildings should be elevated to those of national treasures, if you like. We have got around that by looking at the way that you can combine them and still make safeguards there count for our very important heritage. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EWe want to lift the performance of the public sector. This is all part of that. We are also simply trying to streamline the archaeological consent processes. Applicants have told us, have submitted, and have written over a long period of time that there have been rather a lot of barriers that have been put up in front of people who just want to do something like extend a kitchen. Then there might be something that is found or might not be found, and then a lengthy and rather expensive situation can ensue when they are not allowed to continue on with the work that they need to do. Of course, it is very important if there are important archaeological sites, but if there are not, then it is important that things just get moving. So that is part of what this bill is doing. It is reducing costs for applicants, but it is maintaining the current levels of regulatory control. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EThere is a very important element that has been added in. I guess it is an update in the sense that with the New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, we need to consult more with the tangata whenua and also with the central government agencies. I think that when you are looking at the process of deciding what is important to the history of your nation, and to buildings and places, it is important that you give proper consultation to the people who need to be consulted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003ENon-invasive activities\u2014for example, walking across a site\u2014are not going to be considered exploratory investigation in the way that they once were. Again, this is a simplification of the way that we are approaching these sorts of things. I think it is very important that people are going to be able to access sites with assistance that is deemed necessary. Vehicles, machinery, equipment, and things of that kind need to be able to get on the site without causing too much of a problem, and this bill will enable that. I guess, too, increasing from 12 months to 18 months the time for Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga to develop general policy statements is going to increase the time for public consultation, which is good. I think that certainly in my electorate on the North Shore, Devonport\u2014\u201Cthe Republic\u201D, as they sometimes like to be known\u2014they are extremely engaged with the process of discussing their heritage and being a big part of the consultation process in their community.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EDebate interrupted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 6 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id2013091920d1b07c60f7412785328d17f0ca0e19000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"