"\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=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002225d0004407cb44029035df7d2086b32d\u0022\u003EWEDNESDAY, 1 JULY 2015\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f8725aae1d44422597d8e2d5af928e74\u0022\u003EWEDNESDAY, 1 JULY 2015\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000002\u0022\u003EMr Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000004\u0022\u003EPrayers.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002216877828c7fc4719a0e04af46e2dd06f\u0022\u003EMotions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00220fe64f3aa9a440dea70b519242f13827\u0022\u003EClerk of the House of Representatives\u2014Retirement\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u002249831a3eca004029b79f241f0f3bd93a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002249831a3eca004029b79f241f0f3bd93a\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave to move a motion without notice recognising the retirement of Mary Harris, the Clerk of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022206c4fdb90434787a56e9f6f0289c943\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=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd1653c967a24c35a6869874ad991227\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, we will ignore Mary, so there is no objection from anyone else. I move, That this House recognise the retirement of the Clerk of the House, Mary Harris, and put on record our appreciation and thanks for her years of service to Parliament. Mary was appointed Clerk in December 2007. She began her career in Parliament in 1987. Before coming to Parliament, she worked for the Department of Statistics, producing the labour force statistics in the household labour force survey team. She was a professional violinist, captained the Wellington women\u2019s cricket team from 1982 to 1986, and was vice-captain of the international 11 in the 1982 Cricket World Cup in Christchurch. She taught Brendon McCullum everything he knows.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003EMary has had a varied career within the Office of the Clerk, moving her way up to be the Clerk of the House via the Select Committee Office, Clerk at the Table assisting the Clerk, reporting services, Deputy Clerk, and finally, of course, Clerk. During her time here, Mary has been involved with a number of important pieces of parliamentary reform. She was involved in the development of services for MPs in the first MMP Parliament and in bringing Parliament into the 21st century, with the upgrade of the parliamentary website. She led the implementation of the Clerk\u2019s leadership development programme, has represented New Zealand and presented at numerous Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conferences, and has aided in the strengthening of democracy in the Pacific, notably the strengthening of the role of Parliament in Vanuatu.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003ESince Mary became Clerk in 2007 she has served three Speakers\u2014Margaret Wilson, Lockwood Smith, and yourself, sir\u2014all of whom speak very highly of her work and the leadership she has shown, in particular her focus on working with the Parliamentary Service to achieve common goals in the service of Parliament and parliamentarians. Mary\u2019s last day is on Thursday, and I understand that she will be spending some time after that cycling around Italy before returning to build a new home in \u014Ctaki Forks and to focus on honing her goal of becoming an expert fisherman. I know that we all wish her well for retirement, and that we look forward to a booty of great smoked fish being delivered to Parliament and tabled when we can at the next opportunity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022 data-id=\u002283550795b44e47668c585f2b419d7da0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002283550795b44e47668c585f2b419d7da0\u0022\u003EHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I am pleased, on behalf of the Labour Opposition, to support the Prime Minister\u2019s motion on the retirement of Mary Harris, Clerk of the House. Thank you, Mary, for your years of service to our Parliament\u201428 of them, starting in 1987. Your experience, as the Prime Minister said, has been in most sections of the Office of the Clerk, from the Hansard Office to select committees to the Deputy Clerk of the House, and then 7 years as the Clerk. Some of us were here under the previous Clerk, Dave McGee, who was considered the foremost authority on the workings of a Westminster parliament. They were always going to be big shoes to fill, Mary, but you have filled those shoes, and perhaps your preparation for facing the googlies of this place came from the fact that you were in the 1982 Women\u2019s Cricket World Cup, averaging 41 runs in that match against our old adversary Australia. I am told that Mary is a right-handed batswoman, and that is the only time that she has shown preference between the right and the left. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003EMary is our first woman Clerk and our first non-lawyer as a Clerk, and she has led the House through a great period of change, particularly technological change, with the e-committees. Some of us are still getting to grips with those changes, Mary. She embraced change, but not at the expense of Parliament\u2019s enduring values. She has shown a strong commitment to finding new ways for Parliament to be open and accessible to the people who elect it, and we are the better for it. With Mary\u2019s guidance there have been some important changes in the procedures for the smooth running of the House, such as extended sittings. Under her leadership, the Office of the Clerk has been described as a \u201Clittle gem\u201D\u2014I think that is probably a pretty good description of Mary herself, actually. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003EMPs have come to regard her as an impeccable and impartial source of advice, and, like her predecessor, she too is now widely respected in Parliaments around the world. For example, Westminster, the home of our type of parliament, sought her opinion on their governance arrangements earlier this year. An attribute so important in a Clerk is to have a phenomenal recall of long-forgotten Standing Orders, Speakers\u2019 rulings, and the House proceedings, and Mary has that recall, matched only by our Trev. Her patience is legendary, and it was hugely tested during the drama of the Local Government (Auckland Reorganisation) Bill, which saw the tabling of over 30,000 amendments, mostly from Labour, and mostly, I have to say, proved to be right. Nine hundred and sixty-two of those amendments were voted on, with all the work that the Clerk\u2019s Office and Mary put into that. Another less-known attribute is her ability to cover the distance between her office and the Chamber at breakneck speed, in a gown and high-heeled shoes, at the sign of any meltdown by members of this House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003EIn 2013 Mary was awarded the Companion of the Queen\u2019s Service Order for services to Parliament, which was so richly deserved. It has been a privilege to work with you, Mary. We thank you and we wish you the best in the next stage of your full and interesting life. There is life after Parliament\u2014I have just seen Eric Roy and he is 14 kilograms lighter. So you can look forward to fishing, cycling, whatever comes your way, but we thank you very much for the service you have given us.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022 data-id=\u002288d1a4fec09346eeb1d2bafaf5e4c382\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002288d1a4fec09346eeb1d2bafaf5e4c382\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader\u2014Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mary. On behalf of the Green Party, thank you so much for all of the years that you have made a contribution to this Parliament. You have done an incredible job in the time that you have been Clerk of the House and in the years before that. It has been a real privilege to work with you, and with the team that you have built. Under your leadership I think we have seen a great deal of growth and progress in Parliament. It has been fantastic to have a woman in the role of Clerk of the House, and I am sure that many more women will follow in time as a result of your leadership and example. Parliament is so much more accessible to so many more people as a result of your work, and that is what makes our democracy so great; that is why we are all so committed to it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EYou have always been very kind and very generous with your time and your knowledge to our staff, to our new MPs, and to new co-leaders, helping us navigate not just the process in this place but sometimes the very tricky politics that also apply in the process, and for that we are very grateful\u2014thank you. You have also never been afraid to tell it like it is to anyone who needs to hear it, including MPs, and even just last week you made it quite clear, and rightly so, that perhaps we MPs need to grow up and get over ourselves somewhat, and not be quite so sheltered any more. Maybe it is time for our bad behaviour to be made more public and used for satire. I think that was a great statement to make as part of your process of leaving this place. We are, after all, all here as examples to our country of leadership, and we have been very pleased that you have shown that leadership yourself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003ESo thank you, on behalf of us all, for all of your hard work. We wish you really well for whatever comes next, whether it is retirement or something else. There are a great many more contributions that you can make to our country, so thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003EWe want to acknowledge, too, that David will be taking on the role of Clerk, and we look forward to his work and to seeing how he will step into your shoes, too. They are big shoes; no doubt he will do a good job, as well, but thank you, Mary, for all of your work over these years. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022 data-id=\u0022edf01027d0cf4a269b63ace5899f2be1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022edf01027d0cf4a269b63ace5899f2be1\u0022\u003ETRACEY MARTIN (Deputy Leader\u2014NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Speaker. On behalf of New Zealand First, I rise to join with others in thanking Mary. I have not been here very long, but one of the things that I remember, and that I acknowledge and thank Mary for\u2014and I know that our new MPs will, too\u2014is the effort that she and her officers have put into supporting us. I have had the privilege to travel since I have been in this job, and one of the things that I have discovered, or rediscovered, is that, actually, politicians come and go, but it is the public servants and people like you who actually hold our democracy together. It is you\u2014sorry, you, Mr Speaker, also, but Mary and her team\u2014who makes sure that we follow the rules, because most of the time we spend our lives pushing against the rules and pushing those boundaries. We push you to your limits at times\u2014both you, Mr Speaker, and Mary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003ESo, Mary, just very quickly, on behalf of us all in New Zealand First, we want to acknowledge the many things and the many years that it has taken you to get to that position. As a woman and a feminist I want to acknowledge you smashing that wee glass ceiling. I hope it stays broken. David, that is nothing against you; we expect to have great things from you. But to you, Mary, all the best. Nothing interferes with life as much as work. I am sure that there are so many more things and so much more that you will give to us as a country once you return from your cycling holiday in Italy, because you will not be able to help yourself. You are that type of person, Mary. So thank you, thank you, thank you, from all of us here. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022 data-id=\u002253936f719254471d96f3e090cec64213\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002253936f719254471d96f3e090cec64213\u0022\u003EHon TE URUROA FLAVELL (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party):\u003C/span\u003E E te M\u0101ngai o te Whare P\u0101remata, otir\u0101, ki aku hoa o roto i te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa. Kua huri au ki taku Reo M\u0101ori ki te mihi ki a koe, Mary. E p\u0113nei ana taku k\u014Drero ki a koe i te mea, ko koe te mea i whakat\u016Bwhera nei kia taea ai e au, a M\u0101ori nei, te whakatakoto \u0113nei momo k\u014Drero ki mua i te aroaro o te Whare P\u0101remata e t\u016B nei. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EI taku taenga mai ki t\u0113nei Whare, \u0101, ar\u0101 noa i te taha o te Mana Whakaw\u0101 t\u0113tahi e noho ana. Ko t\u0101na mahi he whakap\u0101keh\u0101 i ng\u0101 k\u014Drero M\u0101ori \u0113ngari, i noho h\u014Dh\u0101 nei te Whare i te mea, ka k\u014Drero ana au i taku k\u014Drero i Te Reo M\u0101ori, \u0101, ka tatari ake kia k\u014Drero P\u0101keh\u0101 te tangata n\u0101, h\u014Dh\u0101 katoa ana ahau ki te tatari kia whakaw\u0101ngia taku Reo M\u0101ori. I h\u014Dh\u0101 katoa te Whare n\u0101 te roa o te k\u014Drero \u0113ngari, ka puta te k\u014Drero a te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori kia whakamanahia t\u014D t\u0101tou Reo i roto i te Whare. Ko koe te mea i whakat\u016Bwhera nei te kuaha kia taea ai e au te t\u016B ake ki te mihi ki t\u0113n\u0101, ki t\u0113n\u0101, ki te k\u014Drero i te Reo o ng\u0101 m\u0101tua, o ng\u0101 t\u016Bpuna. N\u014D reira koinei au i whakaaro ake, he pai k\u0113 te mihi ki a koe i Te Reo M\u0101ori. N\u0101 runga i t\u0113r\u0101 me te mahi i oti i a koe i ng\u0101 r\u0101 o mua, \u0101, anei te whakatinanatanga o t\u0113r\u0101 o ng\u0101 mahi. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira, koinei te mihi o te ng\u0101kau o te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori, kaua n\u014D m\u0101ua ko taku tuahine a M\u0101rama \u0113ngari, he mihi an\u014D hoki n\u014D mai i a T\u0101 Pita Sharples, i a Tariana Turia i te mea, an\u0101, ko r\u0101tau i noho nei i raro i te korowai o te P\u0101ti M\u0101ori. Ko koe t\u0113r\u0101 te ringa \u0101whina ki a r\u0101ua, otir\u0101, ki a m\u0101tou katoa i te taenga mai ki roto i te Whare P\u0101remata; koutou ko David, t\u0113r\u0101 David kua puta \u0113ngari, ar\u0101, ko t\u014D hoa i t\u014D taha i n\u0101ianei, \u0101, ko ia te tangata ka kawe i te r\u0101kau. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EKo t\u0113tahi \u0101huatanga kua kite nei au i ng\u0101 tau i noho nei au i roto i te Whare P\u0101remata, ko t\u014D ng\u0101wari ki te whakatau i ng\u0101 take. K\u0101re i puta he riri, k\u0101re i puta he raruraru ko t\u0101u, he ng\u0101kau ng\u0101wari, \u0101-k\u014Drero, \u0101-tinana, \u0101-wairua. He \u0101huatanga \u0101taahua t\u0113r\u0101! Ko te wahine, \u0101, ko te wahine t\u0113r\u0101! Ka mutu, i roto i Te Ao M\u0101ori ko ng\u0101 mea p\u0113n\u0101 i a koe he tohunga tonu. T\u0113nei kupu ko te \u201Ctohunga\u201D, ko \u0113ra ko te nuinga ka whakaaro ake, \u0113 ko te t\u0101ne \u0113ngari, ko te tohunga n\u0101 te mea m\u014Dhio nei ki te wh\u0101nuitanga o te m\u0101tauranga. Ko Te Ururoa i noho mataku nei ki te pukapuka Ng\u0101 Whakatau a Te Hunga Whakaw\u0101, me Ng\u0101 Whakataunga T\u016Broa o Te Whare M\u0101ngai. M\u0113n\u0101 he raruraru i puta, \u0101, kua haere tika tonu ki a koe. Ko t\u0101u mahi, ko te \u0101whina i a m\u0101tou. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EN\u014D reira, e kore e mutu waku mihi ki a koe, otir\u0101, kia haere i t\u014D haere me te m\u014Dhio an\u014D hoki, \u0101, ko Te Reo M\u0101ori i t\u0113nei r\u0101, kei te k\u014Drerohia i roto i te Whare P\u0101remata o Aotearoa, i whai w\u0101hi koe i roto i t\u0113r\u0101 \u0101huatanga, me ng\u0101 mea i k\u014Drerohia ake nei \u0113ngari, ko au t\u0113nei kei te k\u012B atu, \u0113, ko Te Reo M\u0101ori kua mana n\u0101 runga i te \u0101huatanga o \u0101u mahi i ng\u0101 tau kua hipa ake. T\u0113n\u0101 koe, t\u0113n\u0101 koe\u2014kia ora t\u0101tau katoa, he wai!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E[I acknowledge you, Mr Speaker of the House of Parliament, and indeed all of you, my colleagues in it. In paying a tribute to you, Mary, I turn to my M\u0101ori language. I address you in this manner because you are the one who opened up the way to enable me, M\u0101ori, to place these kinds of statements before Parliament standing here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EWhen I arrived in this House here, hello, there was a person sitting beside the Speaker there. His job was to interpret contributions in M\u0101ori, but the House remained bored because when I made my address in the M\u0101ori language and waited for an analysis of my M\u0101ori language, the House was totally bored because it took a long time. But on the other hand, the M\u0101ori Party issued a statement that our language in the House must be empowered, and you played a pivotal role in opening the door that enabled me to stand up to acknowledge that person and that one, and to speak in the language of the parents and forefathers. And that got me thinking how fitting it would be to acknowledge you in the M\u0101ori language and, furthermore, the work that you did in the years past, and here is the embodiment of that part of your role. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003ESo here is an appreciation from the heart of the M\u0101ori Party; not just from me and my sister colleague here, M\u0101rama, but also from Sir Pita Sharples and Dame Tariana T\u016Bria, who were here as well, under the cloak of the M\u0101ori Party. It was you who provided advice to those two and indeed to all of us when we arrived here in the House of Parliament; you collectively and David, the one who left and David, your colleague sitting there beside you now, who will take over from you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EAn aspect of you I have observed in my years here in the House is the ease you portray when settling issues. There are no outbursts of anger, nothing is a difficulty; you are a person at ease conversationally, physically, and spiritually. What an admirable trait that is. Being a woman is merely being that! What is more, people like you in M\u0101oridom are regarded as genuine experts. This word \u201Ctohunga\u201D, according to a majority view, is for men who are recognised as experts in their field because of their profound understanding. I, Te Ururoa, lived in fear of the book called Speakers\u2019 Rulings and the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives. If there was a problem, I would go directly to you, your role being to help us. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003ETherefore my tributes to you are endless, in that you will embark on your journey knowing full well and at the same time also that the M\u0101ori Language today is being spoken in the Parliament of New Zealand, and that you were involved in that phenomenon, and the things that I alluded to\u2014yes, indeed. But I say to you that the M\u0101ori language has been empowered because of your deeds in the past years. Thank you, thank you\u2014and to us all, let us have a song.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EWaiata\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EK\u0101ti ake! Waiho m\u0101 t\u0113r\u0101 waiata koe e kawe ki ng\u0101 t\u014Dpito katoa o te motu, \u0101, kia hoki mai ki te w\u0101 k\u0101inga kua m\u014Dhio koe, \u0101, e tika ana t\u0113r\u0101 waiata m\u014Du, m\u0101 wai r\u0101 te marae e taurima?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003E[Enough! Let that song take you to every extremity of the country, and when you come back home you will understand that song sung for you, who indeed will tend to the marae.] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ec266512-9fe8-47da-883e-48f046ee5059\u0022\u003EWho will look after the marae? It will be truth; it will be honesty; it will be integrity; and, above all, it will be love for one another. Haere i t\u014D haere, e Mere [Go forth on your journey, Mary.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022 data-id=\u0022ca7084a66aba49cfb69558bdaeec5b4f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ca7084a66aba49cfb69558bdaeec5b4f\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE (Leader\u2014United Future):\u003C/span\u003E I want to share the sentiments expressed by others in tribute to Mary for all that she has achieved as our Clerk over the last 8 years, and the 20-odd years beforehand that she was a servant of this Parliament. I have often thought that there are a couple of essential attributes that a good Clerk requires. One is an absolute poker-face\u2014to be able to listen to all of the debates in this Chamber, absorb their content so that the Speaker can be advised to make appropriate rulings, but never, ever betray a hint of prejudice or interest one way or the other in the course that the debate is taking. Mary, over the years you have proved to be absolutely inscrutable in that regard, and I think it is a tribute to your professionalism, your impartiality, and your skill that at a time when passions have mounted greatly in this House you have been often the one calm voice of order amongst us, so thank you for that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EI think that the second attribute that a Clerk needs to possess is an extraordinary ability to assess the situation and to offer advice to the individual member, either privately or through the Chamber, seeking assistance on a particular point, again without ever revealing how stupid, trivial, extreme, or otherwise you think the question that you are being asked may be. I think all members would feel that you have provided advice that has been professional, that has been thorough, and that has often saved MPs from themselves in particular situations, and, again, for that we are grateful. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003EBut I think you have demonstrated a third skill as well. It is fashionable outside this place these days to try to reduce the traditions and the history and the flavour of Parliament to being somewhat of a fiction. We have seen a succession of occasions over the years where external influences\u2014philistines, in the main\u2014have tried to treat Parliament as just another Government agency or just the same as a large corporate. Often it has been the Clerk, in particular Mary, who has stood against that degree of barbarism that has intruded into this place to try to uphold the good and proper traditions of a free and democratic Parliament, to try to say that there are issues that MPs need to be steadfast on, even if they may feel a little bit ambivalent themselves about doing so. I think your guidance, your determination, and your absolute commitment and love for this place have shone through on each of those occasions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003ESo we will inevitably be the poorer for your departure, and it is little solace to us, as we slave through the Order Paper, to know that you will be on a cycling holiday in Italy or fishing in the \u014Ctaki Forks. That is great for you and I am delighted that is the case, but Parliament will seriously miss your wisdom.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222f26460ea640449394337f79e622f7fc\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Jealous?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ee1ca620be5a4b2697bb16922cfd6b95\u0022\u003EHon PETER DUNNE\u003C/span\u003E: I am a little jealous, actually, yes. We will seriously miss your wisdom, your guidance, your input, and your steadfast hand quietly on the tiller of State. Having said that, can I say to David, like we probably said a few years ago when Mary succeeded, that you have big shoes to fill. We have every confidence in your ability to do so, but I am sure that only an email or a telephone call away will be some guidance and some assistance if you need it as you transition into the role. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f555a23a-d230-4f03-80ba-a44e6ec8bd29\u0022\u003ECan I just conclude by making this observation: over the years this Parliament has been extraordinarily well served by its officers. I think often we take them for granted. Today is an occasion to pay tribute to one of our best. Mary, all the very best for your future. I hesitate to use the word \u201Cretirement\u201D, because I am sure it will not be that. You have friends here who will continue to show an interest in what you are up to, love to hear from you, and look forward to whatever the next turn in your extraordinarily varied and interesting life may be. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u0022fab32ab14f64462485254ddd9405d85d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fab32ab14f64462485254ddd9405d85d\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E On behalf not only of myself but of all ACT members who have served here with Mary, I would like to pass on our admiration and gratitude for Mary\u2019s relentless professionalism and, most important, wish her very, very successful fishing. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u00223d0a83c67f764ba384909cfba1384014\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223d0a83c67f764ba384909cfba1384014\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS (Senior Whip\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E I can assure Mary that we are nearly there, and her legendary poker-face will be able to relax in just a moment. It falls to me on behalf of the Opposition whips, those who have served on the Business Committee, the Standing Orders Committee, and all of the other committees around the House that make this place tick over to thank Mary for her years of service to the House. During that time, as has already been mentioned, there have been significant changes, and Mary has often been one of the advocates for the change and the modernisation of Parliament: the greater role of the Business Committee, the introduction of extended sittings to reduce the unnecessary use of urgency, a more themed and structured approach to the way we deal with annual reviews and estimates debates\u2014all of those things are areas where Mary has been at the forefront of advocating for change whilst also ensuring that the traditions of the House have been appropriately upheld.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EMary has been a staunch advocate for the rights of members of Parliament, even when that has not necessarily been popular. There is always a tension in the House between efficiency and the rights of the minority to be heard. I think Mary treads very carefully down that fine line to ensure that the House operates as efficiently as possible whilst also ensuring that the very important work that we do here is respected.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EMary is one of the first people I heard argue that by design Parliament is inefficient and that that is the way it should be, because that is, in fact, the nature of the democratic process. Mary, we have respected your impartiality, the even-handed way in which you have dealt with all members on both sides of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI did contemplate what the most appropriate way to end this contribution would be. I thought maybe I could use a visual aid. I thought I could seek some advice from the Clerk on whether, in fact, a visual aid would be appropriate, but then I decided that that would not be so good. I thought maybe I could seek some advice on whether, in fact, I could table it, but I also decided that that would not be appropriate. So, instead, we simply present these flowers to you, Mary, on behalf of the Opposition, to say thank you for your years of service. You have well and truly earned a break and an opportunity to smell the roses. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u0022c05e70facc9049cf905897b400a32a1d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c05e70facc9049cf905897b400a32a1d\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Leader of the House):\u003C/span\u003E I want to make a few comments as Leader of the House, and unlike the general comments that have been made in the House this afternoon, which I agree with, I want to make those comments on a more personal level. I think the working relationship between the Leader of the House and the Clerk is probably similar to, if slightly less than, the relationship between the Speaker and the Clerk. I have appreciated the Monday morning meetings, Mary, where you have given us gentle guidance on what the Government was hoping to achieve in any particular week. You will see that there is no poker-face there at the moment. That is largely because we on this side of the House have a lot of bright ideas that need to be contained. But one of the things about your term as Clerk, which I think cannot be stated enough, is the way in which you have quite quietly but very firmly protected the privilege of Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EI think the privilege of Parliament is a concept that is often misunderstood. People seem to think that it is about how often you travel, what sort of arrangements you get for your accommodation, etc.\u2014all those peripheral things to the work\u2014when, in fact, it is about the protection that is provided to members of Parliament so that they can go about their representational work in the strongest way possible. There will always be those who want to pare that back. Over the last few years, there have been a number of occasions when the Privileges Committee has had to look at very difficult issues, and your guidance through that process\u2014and the guidance of your office\u2014has been very, very helpful, and I think it indicates, too, that in the role of Clerk, you have seen yourself as part of a continuum. Others have talked about there being big shoes to fill at the time you took over, and they are saying the same things to David, but the reality is that there was a seamless transition between yourself and the previous Clerk. And I hope that you will have left the office in a state that means that the same will occur this time round, and that will be a great tribute to you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003ECan I just note that you were the Clerk who enabled the filming of Parliament. These cameras were not in here at the start of your tenure. That has been successful. Te Ururoa spoke about the translation service. That has been successful. Others have talked about procedural changes that have occurred during your time. So you have a very significant legacy that you have left us, but, above all, what you have left us with is a strong sense of the obligation that we all have to represent, as best we can, the people who sent us here. For that we thank you, and we wish you all the best in your retirement and in all the endeavours that have been spoken of so far, and in the many others that I am sure are to come over the years. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u00228245314380504562bc74ef134e2b08d1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228245314380504562bc74ef134e2b08d1\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Honourable members, I thank you all for those contributions. For me, this is a sad motion, for two reasons. One is obvious: Mary, I have treasured your counsel and your sage advice, and I will miss it. The second reason is that because of your physical position in this House throughout this motion, I have not been able to watch those facial expressions on that poker-face. Was it a display of frustration at the fuss that is being made, or was it a display of pride and a sense of achievement for what you have done for our democracy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EFor your information, Mary, your personal assistant, Andie Lindsay, was aware of this motion today. She did not advise you of it, and she told me just before question time that she expects a very severe rebuking\u2014and, in fact, she asked me personally to her funeral next week. But more seriously, Mary, you are a private person, you do not seek any prominence whatsoever, and you would have hoped that your retirement would pass through this House almost unnoticed. There was absolutely no chance of that. You go with our best wishes, and we thank you for your services to the democracy of New Zealand. [Applause] Members, you beat me to it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00226f52d9a27779475494ebf32fff1b1d1b\u0022\u003EOral Questions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ad2cea4be2cf4f3f97e09783caf73715\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00220c33f0ff0136425ba4e115a14d9effc0\u0022\u003ESocial Bonds\u2014Mental Health Services\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022 data-id=\u0022989268060b50463a95118785a50380ad\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022989268060b50463a95118785a50380ad\u0022\u003EHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E My question is to the Minister of Health. How much has been spent by the Government on the Social Bonds Pilot to date?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022 data-id=\u00225634c632b0c04ae59d3ba49485c94d2b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225634c632b0c04ae59d3ba49485c94d2b\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would just like to point out that the question on the Order Paper says \u201CHow much has been spent by the Government on the Social Bonds Programme to date?\u201D, so that is actually inviting a very different answer to the one that you just asked.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u00223c90c5ae08bc4519ba9153f35a5c4a6f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223c90c5ae08bc4519ba9153f35a5c4a6f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I am going to invite the member to ask the question again. [Interruption] Order! The member will repeat question No. 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022 data-id=\u0022fa0fd8f3ce86478d868f87fc718564e8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fa0fd8f3ce86478d868f87fc718564e8\u0022\u003EHon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader\u2014Labour)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: How much has been spent by the Government on the Social Bonds Programme to date?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022 data-id=\u002287cbbd5f790d4786927fa297df6b6041\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002287cbbd5f790d4786927fa297df6b6041\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E That is a totally different matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022426ecbd50fe24f3281ddf1b8108b18b2\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: Well, answer it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220f95ccfd3d91437b82096f7f191cdaf8\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: I am about to. The Government\u2019s programme on social bonds commenced in 2012, with policy development led by the Ministry of Health, which produced a feasibility study and a business case for Cabinet in 2013 and the commercial procurement process, which commenced in 2014. Commercial negotiations on the first social bond, which will target better employment outcomes for those suffering mental illnesses, are expected to be completed later this year. I am advised that the total cost to date is $1.35 million over 3 years, which is approximately 0.0015 percent of the total social spend over that period.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002278346855b82341b09912a6f75b2a6571\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: Is payment by result with cash for outcomes once the service has been delivered and measured still a key component of the social-impact bonds pilots?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022365e778bd2014a33a113f4acee39067b\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, it is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222614e3b16f7840748385041742bde297\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: If payment for results is still a key component and the first project does not start until the end of this year or the beginning of next year, what are the Budget allocations from 2015 to 2017-18, amounting to around $29 million, actually for?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b91d3f1fd3464330b3e0c76391f17bca\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: As we have canvassed many times, there are four potential pilots there, the first of which is going to be this pilot around employment outcomes for people suffering from mental illness. We have been quite transparent. You can have a look at all the papers. We are so transparent about it that it is actually all up on the Ministry of Health\u2019s website, so go and have a read.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d88ec104a1d4d68bcfe2b470da6de5e\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I asked what the money was actually being spent on if it was still a component.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228fb625699a124d229e5a8dfc324682dd\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: If the member is asking whether the question was addressed, the question was addressed. The way forward is further supplementary questions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220ded451bca4b4861b26389d7b58c5390\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: Does he recall being advised just a few weeks ago that for the social-impact bonds pilots it could be up to 7 years after service delivery commencement before outcomes are delivered and measured? Why does he need $29 million over the next 4 years?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c33d7ed682344b69b3d0b2f7007ea114\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: We get a range of advice on this. In the end, the delivery of the results and the timing of those will be tightly contracted for. So the member does not need to worry: we are not going to wait 7 years for results. We are going to pay once we get the results, and they will be in much shorter order than that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022429e4d8188cf48ddbd56421d866b255c\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: Are ANZ and Westpac, the two Australian banks that are looking to get their hands on the $29 million payout, prepared to wait 7 years for their cash, or has he backtracked on the payment for results, and will he now be giving them expenses from the commencement of this service, in total contradiction to the social bond project he and Bill English announced?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d4bf503e3360481584b445fb5f9d4946\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: The first thing is that we have not named any financial institutions. It is subject to commercial confidentiality. The second thing is that the way the model works is that a bank will be a facilitator between an NGO and a source of finance to bring the whole deal together. In the end, though, we are not paying until we get results.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022152bfac5918843599ee9e6468103a7e7\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: Is he saying that the Government is prepared to spend $29 million over the next 4 years to procure for untried projects, while at the same time 20 district health boards in Budget 2015 received the same amount\u2014$29 million in funding for mental health\u2014to provide services for the entire country?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e16edb0d09e4faba020613d50e4c87d\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: No, that is not what I am saying at all, and the member knows it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225505af6e8c3249c8aedf01add1d72114\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: If he is so confident in the process being used to set up for the social impact bonds, why did a reputable organisation like the Red Cross withdraw from the process due to a lack of data availability about how it is going to work?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec11a10a9b9343828d8fab776e5c9991\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: I do not have any information, particularly about the Red Cross, but there is a range of providers who are very interested in this. The programme will suit some and it will not suit others.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022758dcaf3-9976-43ac-8593-79f66ee4da22\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002272f61b79b0ac439ba434d3c3ec27978d\u0022\u003EJoanne Hayes\u003C/span\u003E: What support has the Minister seen for social bonds?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223a6dcb4888c040fe8a1a0bc19a7cb187\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Social bonds have attracted widespread interest and support around the world, with around 100 social bonds in development or under way. Political parties from the centre left have been particularly enthusiastic. That includes the UK Labour Party, which announced the first social bond in 2010; the New South Wales Labor Party; and President Obama and the US Democrats. In fact, I am aware of only one centre-left party in the world against innovation in the social sector, and, of course, there are no prizes for guessing\u2014it is the New Zealand Labour Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250469f832ed9418ca332b967cf5afcba\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table an update on progress and the next steps to the social sector reform leaders group, headed \u201CSocial bonds pilot\u201D\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221488de8d2fa94636847b43cc3df927f7\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The source and date is? [Interruption] Order! If the member carries on like that, I will not even put the leave. I need the source and the date.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7a3fbe7c8344b3497f2631cdd0c6b29\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: There is no date on it. I gave you the source, Mr Speaker. It is a report to the social sector reform leaders group.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229ad0b6d7464042f3b2241d4e67b6deba\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Is it publicly available?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022238c1c194aae4dfcb58ae676fe94d660\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: No, it is certainly not publicly available.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b43106d83a1946a993f055858c1006a9\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I will put the leave and the House will decide. Leave is sought to table it. Is there any objection? There is no objection. It can be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000086\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=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002236c8c596-d890-4cca-9767-1eeb5c9ce710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002287dd260ba9b24607a6538f7bdbb63aa4\u0022\u003EDarroch Ball\u003C/span\u003E: Will he give his guarantee that the social bond programme, once fully established within health, cannot be rorted whereby results are manipulated just for profit; if not, what measures will he put in place to prevent this from occurring?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a24deaf795d24291ace3d0bba2ce8b12\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: The point is that through very tight contracting we are going to ensure that that cannot happen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022540924c034c843b5ad0bf1324ab46540\u0022\u003EInterest Rates\u2014Performance and Government Expenditure\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022 data-id=\u00228b8567b6d0544b84b2629fedaac3e773\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228b8567b6d0544b84b2629fedaac3e773\u0022\u003EMELISSA LEE (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: How is the Government\u2019s programme of fiscal management helping keep interest rates lower for longer?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022 data-id=\u002273bb46d1e6af443ba5e45a87d5d024a8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002273bb46d1e6af443ba5e45a87d5d024a8\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance) \u003C/span\u003Eon behalf of the Minister of Finance: Government spending is firmly under control. Core Crown expenditure has fallen from 34.1 percent of GDP in 2008-09 and is expected to drop to 30 percent of GDP next year. We have stuck to a $1 billion allowance in Budget 2015, but we are able to spend $1.5 billion per year on new initiatives because we have identified around half a billion in savings and reprioritisation each year. We have come from an $18.4 billion deficit 4 years ago to see steadily rising surpluses into the future. As the Reserve Bank has noted, that fiscal restraint is one of the drivers of current low inflation, which is helping to keep interest rates lower for longer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228fc4fcb87b014361b11116224a5edb2b\u0022\u003EMelissa Lee\u003C/span\u003E: How do low inflation and lower interest rates help New Zealand families to get ahead?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022da091733d8924d0db799d1b5ddbb99ec\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: In a low inflation environment, interest rates stay lower for longer. Mortgage rates are low, particularly when compared with floating rates of almost 11 percent in 2008. This means a family with a mortgage of $300,000 would be around $240 a week better off due to lower mortgage costs. Low cost of living increases\u2014currently just 0.1 percent over the past year\u2014mean that any pay increases go further. Average annual wages have increased by $5,700 in the past 4 years. Treasury forecasts that they will rise by a further $7,000, to around $63,000 a year, by mid-2019. So if we take the 8-year period as a whole, the average wage is expected to rise by almost $13,000, or over 25 percent, while low inflation of around 15 percent over the same 8-year period means that New Zealand householders and families are better off.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222bdbf0554e014bb88bb3561bc9725560\u0022\u003EMelissa Lee\u003C/span\u003E: How do lower interest rates support New Zealand businesses?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e43f179c61364969a28dbaf6ea535abf\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: Having low interest rates and solid economic growth creates stronger business investment. Annual business investment increased by 13 percent\u201413 percent\u2014over the past 2 years, to record highs, and it is expected to increase by a further 15 percent by mid-2018. It is only when businesses invest another dollar or hire another person that we see economic growth, more jobs, and higher wages. That is why this Government is focused on getting the conditions right to encourage businesses to grow.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002218f9e3ea-81c5-4414-af48-d6bb843a9227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1ec62e966064adc9ce8a60b988f4a67\u0022\u003EMelissa Lee\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has he received on the outlook for New Zealand businesses?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022472e81e6f1864c83a9fe374cf010cb63\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: Yesterday the ANZ released its Business Outlook survey. This showed business confidence declining from recent highs. There are many challenges for business, and the global outlook, it has to be said, remains uncertain. However, employment intentions remain positive, with a net 15 percent of businesses intending to hire new people and a net 21 percent of survey respondents reporting positive residential investment intentions. Meanwhile, commercial construction intentions lifted to 32 percent. The ANZ noted long-term price trends favour New Zealand\u2019s exports, interest rate and exchange rate buffers, and strong net migration, as New Zealanders come home or do not leave, which all moderate economic headwinds. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c27c47d72e314fbea8b2762b4462e236\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: Is he concerned that the Reserve Bank\u2019s statement of intent highlights that population growth, low mortgage interest rates, and increased investor participation are creating a significant risk in the Auckland housing market; if so, why has his Government failed to make a dent in any of the supply and demand factors in the housing market, which means lowering interest rates is simply adding more fuel to the Auckland housing market?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df539baba04d4eadaaec51fc9398c3d0\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I am not sure that I would be running the line that low interest rates were bad, but the member is simply wrong because we now have\u2014officially this week\u2014the highest rate of house consenting and, therefore, construction in Auckland in a decade\u2014in a decade. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e2e8466999946049083a7bf37ca07fa\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019ve been reading Nick Smith\u2019s press releases.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c95edf2e17445b58543ff03c1c76e2c\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: I am reading Mr Smith\u2019s press releases, but it is actually Statistics New Zealand\u2019s survey that shows consenting of housing in Auckland is the highest in a decade, and Mr Twyford should chew that up and swallow it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cbc37df2-57ae-4536-94ed-a2e39eecd585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c2b8ffa3fe247e4a7b434cacc12520a\u0022\u003EPhil Twyford\u003C/span\u003E: Is it not the case that had his Government acted to prevent the Auckland housing crisis sooner, the Reserve Bank would not have had to lift interest rates in the first place last year or introduce loan-to-value ratio restrictions, punishing homebuyers all over New Zealand for this Government\u2019s failure to do anything about the Auckland housing crisis?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fcd46e3c4d184c5aa4f2983326a65e07\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: The difficulty was that we did not get elected until 2008, and in the 8 or 9 years prior to that, after the metropolitan urban limit was set up in Auckland, the previous Government twiddled its thumbs for 8 years and did absolutely nothing. In fact, it waved through its fellow travellers like Mike Lee and so on and said that they could actually continue to restrict housing in Auckland. This Government has moved very significantly, and there is now the highest house consenting in a decade, Mr Twyford\u2014read my lips.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022fb355dd8274b4b5dafecf97b9c58c697\u0022\u003EUnited Nations Security Council\u2014New Zealand\u2019s Credibility\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022 data-id=\u002229dd8395e69146f2b891f31b52fe3ad9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002229dd8395e69146f2b891f31b52fe3ad9\u0022\u003EMETIRIA TUREI (Co-Leader\u2014Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does he stand by his statement that \u201C\u2026 we believe that New Zealand can make a positive difference to world affairs and provide a unique and independent voice at the world\u2019s top table\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022 data-id=\u00228ea845f00e564b86872979abcfcf57be\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228ea845f00e564b86872979abcfcf57be\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ec4d7bcc84ea4c2f843da9489fa79135\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Prime Minister\u2019s Government, as its first positive action as president of the United Nations Security Council, join the 135 other Governments globally that recognise the sovereign State of Palestine; if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f030a33abe54ea7904c6f66e6b5a263\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: In answer to the first part of the question, no. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002255def6b18627422186cba9a1fc69d743\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: Will his Government make a positive difference to world affairs by increasing New Zealand\u2019s refugee quota beyond 750 per year, which currently places us 90th in the world, per capita?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022494c8b03a1064e8888088cde788ac090\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Not at this time, no. It will next be considered in 2016.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b2f1f007d954d03af8d16be1822c5ab\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: Does making a positive difference to world affairs include giving preferential treatment to Saudi Arabia by pursuing a free-trade agreement, even though it has beheaded over 100 people this year alone and has one of the most appalling human rights records in the world?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220707b943560c459fa48ff5e95c3232b5\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: As the Government has said on numerous occasions, we engage in free-trade agreements with countries with which we do not always share a like-minded view when it comes to human rights, but we think that by trading with them, it does give us a better platform to have those discussions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f7e957cc42d240a3bb9eb3b4e0688c05\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: Is his Government making a positive difference to world affairs when New Zealand\u2019s contribution to the United Nations Green Climate Fund is just 60c per capita\u2014lagging behind Sweden at $60 per capita, Britain at $19, the US at $9, and even Australia at $8?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efb95ffbb0e74e10bbe03226c2340d1e\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: In answer to the first part of the question, yes, we are having a positive impact in the world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d71560a940c249a293511a19cdc0d496\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: When New Zealand chairs, later this month, the open debate on the security of small Island States, will the Prime Minister make a positive difference and convey his concerns that New Zealand\u2019s net emissions are projected to rise 50 percent in the next decade, putting those small Island States at even greater risk from the effects of climate change?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022385c115d8e11407493b8c921d829f828\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: Well, during that open session, there will be a debate about climate change, and New Zealand will be talking proudly about its record and the contribution it has been making.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1b1a0b35bff43258d7fe0253b2dee2b\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: How does the Prime Minister expect New Zealanders, let alone the rest of the world, to accept that New Zealand will provide a unique and independent voice at the world\u2019s top table when his Government has already failed at these four global challenges: Palestine, the refugee crisis, human rights, and climate change?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220083bcaa-f44d-4b70-97de-d091a209b88c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c94cd80dad6147e192f1c4a467c21696\u0022\u003ERt Hon JOHN KEY\u003C/span\u003E: The member lives in a very, very negative world. If she took off her negative downgrading of New Zealand attitude and stopped being so down in the mouth and actually read Amnesty International\u2019s press release, she would find it is actually very positive about New Zealand\u2019s contribution.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d6a6ab03b18345fa997b33aebd527a0e\u0022\u003EChild Health Services\u2014Free GP Visits and Prescriptions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022 data-id=\u00226afafc1ffe5940d4945fa6eee045090a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226afafc1ffe5940d4945fa6eee045090a\u0022\u003EPAUL FOSTER-BELL (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Health: What steps is the Government taking to improve access to Primary Care for New Zealand families?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022 data-id=\u0022e0c1d1aae6c54ad6a459cd24b0342a4b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e0c1d1aae6c54ad6a459cd24b0342a4b\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN (Minister of Health):\u003C/span\u003E Fantastic news: from today, all New Zealand children aged under 13 will be eligible to access, as well as free prescriptions, free GP visits at any time of the day or night. Over 400,000 children will benefit from this announcement. Yesterday their parents had to pay to take them to the doctor and get a prescription; today it is free. That is on top of 35,000 under-sixes who already benefit from free GP visits and prescriptions. This policy will see about $120 million spent over the next 3 years in order to deliver high-quality health care for under-13s. The Government is committed to supporting families, and we want to ensure that children get the best possible start in life.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002214ce703f3f2a4b6ea722af3c791376da\u0022\u003EPaul Foster-Bell\u003C/span\u003E: What impact will this policy have on other areas of the health system?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a309f216e5aa4414af45c328ffc0c857\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Free GP visits for under-13s were rolled out in the Northland District Health Board 9 months ago\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220ee1adfe046c40fba8005688cac83f8b\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: How do you define a GP visit?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221d8458a632f475394a5966ac9f28cea\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Shh\u2014listen! That is good. Preliminary results from that district health board\u2019s hospitals indicate that emergency department presentations by children aged between 6 and 12 have fallen by 10 percent since the policy was introduced, and the number of prescriptions filled has risen by 18 percent. This shows that parents are getting their kids treated sooner, which means better health outcomes for those children, with fewer presenting later and sicker, which, of course, also takes pressure off our emergency departments and hospitals.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247b24f621ded4c05852dc26411594f49\u0022\u003EPaul Foster-Bell\u003C/span\u003E: What other pleasant surprises are there for people who support the policy but who are concerned about its uptake?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222d9814101dea4e78af637b8a067b628c\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: I have seen concerns raised by serial health correspondent Mrs A King of H\u0101taitai, stating that although she strongly supports this Government\u2019s policy, she was worried that the uptake of the policy would not be very high. She will be thrilled to know that although the level of uptake for the free under-sixes policy launched in 2008 was a solid 70 percent of GP practices, the day one uptake of the free under-13s policy is a remarkable 96 percent of GP practices, covering 98 percent of children, with 95 percent of children also receiving free ACC consultations. I am delighted to be able to put Mrs King\u2019s concerns to rest, and I encourage her to continue with her liberal praise of Government policy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022249b9d9e0d4e4b5dbc44eecfc2f0b606\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I can assure you that my late mother-in-law, Mrs A King of H\u0101taitai, never wrote any of those letters.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226965dc99b56f423abc79c31129b38f1a\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is hardly a point of order, but a fair response.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022357caa784eae46a09a92f75e2bcb31c7\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order. Mr Speaker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227cb9c44910464d5297cadb2c447fc8d2\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I haven\u2019t called the member yet. [Interruption] Order! This is a point of order. I expect to hear it in silence\u2014the Rt Hon Winston Peters.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022290cf11768a945c8a6436977a99b6a43\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister seemed to be quoting from an official document about the uptake on day one. I wonder whether he would table it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228027b62002d64fae9d20efef1c9db313\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That matter is easily resolved. Is the Minister quoting from an official document?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022603ae58e-47c4-46f9-bfc8-8355a48988ad\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b01d4aa01a63414c88f0f8390dacea7e\u0022\u003EHon Dr JONATHAN COLEMAN\u003C/span\u003E: Well, yes. We will be able to put that as an official document on the Table\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d79ef746c8654bd3b9e882ad43590428\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! It is a simple matter. It does not need further debate. If it is an official document and if the call has been made for it to be tabled, it will be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000136\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=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002235ea4a80de5747749136122604f9a6b1\u0022\u003EEconomy\u2014Commentary\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022efd357a0e073443991a249e06a59f412\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022efd357a0e073443991a249e06a59f412\u0022\u003EGRANT ROBERTSON (Labour\u2014Wellington Central)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with ANZ economist Cameron Bagrie when he says the New Zealand economy is \u201Cheading off-piste\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022 data-id=\u002227ea1bae05764bb884a0b53d9302e780\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002227ea1bae05764bb884a0b53d9302e780\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE (Associate Minister of Finance)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister of Finance: I agree with a number of points in the ANZ Business Outlook that the member is quoting from, although not necessarily that one. I agree the medium-term outlook for the economy remains solid, despite some recent headwinds in agriculture and from overseas. I agree the economy\u2019s fundamentals remain strong, long-term price trends are favouring New Zealand exporting and positive net migration as more New Zealanders stay or return home from overseas, and confidence is remaining firmly positive despite coming off recent highs. I have to say that if Mr Robertson thinks the economy is off-piste now, in 2008, when we came into Government, it had fallen off the mountain and broken both legs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a28b24c74f154f58ad9d427c847c3106\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Does he believe business confidence turning negative for the first time since the Canterbury earthquakes means the economy is on the right track or the wrong track?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022428d9dc53d4d4ca385ec1f46964da8fc\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: I think the economy is on the right track, and it is demonstrated by the fact that we have now had 17 consecutive quarters of GDP growth\u2014that is, 17 consecutive quarters of GDP growth. I appreciate Mr Robertson is of the type who likes to panic at the first sign of a change of numbers, but this Government is concentrating on focusing on encouraging investment and growth, and with 17 quarters of continuous growth I think there has been a fairly strong endorsement of the Government\u2019s approach.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224545d20cd44f4a269e8f91c87cd6cd6d\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Westpac employment survey for June, which shows the proportion of workers who have received a pay increase over the past year is the lowest for 5 years and the number who expect to receive a pay increase in the next year is the lowest for 6 years, mean that the economy is on the right track, the wrong track, or just right off the trail?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022255eca60064143e2ae1e23296e2ba776\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: I think to consider that you would have to consider the inflation rate over the same period, and the inflation rate is actually at historic lows of 0.1 percent. So to suggest that there should be bigger pay increases for everybody would be damaging to the economy when you have a very low inflation rate. Most pay increases that we are seeing are related to productivity, and actually pay increases are running ahead of inflation, as distinct from, say, 2008, when although nominal pay was going up, it was going up slower than inflation, so therefore people were going backwards.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002269979fc716814a4192923e84d414469d\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Does the value of exports falling by 5 percent and dairy exports plummeting by 28 percent in the last year mean the economy is \u201Cheading off-piste\u201D, or is this the trail he planned all along?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d4080b1091e4302b0e6d9593ec141db\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, the actual trend in exports has been strongly positive over the last 5 years. Yes, it may not have escaped the member that dairy prices have got softer. When dairy is 23-odd percent of your exports, that is going to lower the overall rate. The good news for the member is that other industries such as kiwifruit, tourism, wine, information and communications technology, international education, and so on are steadily growing. Although they have not completely offset the decline in dairy, they are actually a sign of a broadening and diversifying New Zealand economy, which I thought the member was in favour of.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f38cf1599f4d49d48b012036ad2af793\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Is it not true that, as the Prime Minister actually admitted yesterday, the economy is now being propped up by a Christchurch rebuild that is peaking and an Auckland housing bubble that can easily burst, and does he really think those two elements are a stable base for economic growth in New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e4fde2e80a3648ac9c5273fa8b681903\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: I think the member is both wrong in the way he quotes the Prime Minister and wrong in his assertions\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b2567d3e-a09c-47b4-bd50-2f5bb4049762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d72366059cce4d508b59e43a8ee1cced\u0022\u003ESue Moroney\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s what he said.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a244152-977c-48d2-bf53-4f3a369a27a9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d9f883d444644a30bd5286720a23fdb5\u0022\u003EHon STEVEN JOYCE\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I saw the reports as well, and actually both the Prime Minister and the Minister for Economic Development, I do believe, pointed out a number of other strongly growing industries. Given the member\u2019s question, he probably forgot the previous answer, so let me run through some of those for him. The information and communications technology, the high-tech manufacturing industry, the red meat industry, the wine industry, the kiwifruit industry, the education industry, and the tourism industry, to name seven or eight, are growing strongly, and I think as a country we should be proud of them and not try to run the place down.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022d39392805dce4db8b5f319f73d06a3c4\u0022\u003ETrans-Pacific Partnership\u2014Consultation with M\u0101ori\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022 data-id=\u0022dbb00f7c486a4f1396b712ed451f67ec\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dbb00f7c486a4f1396b712ed451f67ec\u0022\u003EMARAMA FOX (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Trade: How many M\u0101ori organisations have been consulted during the last 5 years of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022 data-id=\u0022a9b08b4a207141afa4d305d42c298237\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a9b08b4a207141afa4d305d42c298237\u0022\u003EHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON (Attorney-General) \u003C/span\u003Eon behalf of the Minister of Trade: I am advised that there have been numerous instances of consultation with at least five M\u0101ori organisations including Federation of M\u0101ori Authorities, Ng\u0101ti Kahungunu, the M\u0101ori Medical Practitioners Association, a Ng\u0101puhi group, and Te Kupenga Hauora M\u0101ori. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been active in engaging with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including M\u0101ori organisations, which have received both briefings in person and regular email updates over the past 5 years. In 2009 hui were held on the proposed expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement to include a wider range of participants. In addition, the New Zealand international treaties list, which includes an item on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is circulated every 6 months to 143 iwi contacts.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b81bb50d5b549b8b7d744f758daf8fe\u0022\u003EMarama Fox\u003C/span\u003E: What analysis, if any, has been undertaken on the implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement for the Treaty of Waitangi?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a3e506131aa646dcb0d84f3766154918\u0022\u003EHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON\u003C/span\u003E: I am not aware of any direct analysis at this time. Of course, the proper time for that kind of analysis will be if and when any legislation to give effect to it is introduced to this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002255662cc2c0f24d9485f5304589032fb7\u0022\u003EMarama Fox\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister guarantee that New Zealand will not ratify the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, as the United States has suggested, which is contrary to the rights affirmed in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Wai 262 claim, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002241146229-4d11-415b-a4ac-f4e2b923e95d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022369262409cbc4384b737e7913a0bd81e\u0022\u003EHon CHRISTOPHER FINLAYSON\u003C/span\u003E: I challenge the basis of that question. It is a huge leap of logic to say that an international convention breaches Wai 262\u2014it is not the claim but the report\u2014the Treaty of Waitangi, and anything else.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c45cb0132f4d4fe2aaf50870f32f70c8\u0022\u003ETransport Investment\u2014National Land Transport Programme 2015-18\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022 data-id=\u002258100080ceb24b0bb9351aa1959075fd\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002258100080ceb24b0bb9351aa1959075fd\u0022\u003EDr PARMJEET PARMAR (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Transport: What recent announcements has he made on investment in New Zealand\u2019s land transport network?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u0022850f5ffba5f44be2b601c1f07535767d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022850f5ffba5f44be2b601c1f07535767d\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E Yesterday I was pleased to welcome the release of the National Land Transport Programme. The $13.9 billion programme of investment over the next 3 years is the largest investment in land transport in New Zealand\u2019s history and is a 15 percent increase on the previous 3 years. The programme is nationally consistent and regionally responsive. It will deliver on the Government\u2019s priorities of increasing economic growth and productivity, improving safety, strengthening regional transport networks, lifting investment in public transport and cycling, and ensuring great value for money.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b76b13895c5f49f487b74e156d24f6db\u0022\u003EDr Parmjeet Parmar\u003C/span\u003E: What are some of the highlights of the 2015-18 National Land Transport Programme?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022adb2f52b9d3c48d69479eee8e2324a7c\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: There are too many highlights to list in the time that I have got, but I can tell the member that $6.3 billion is planned for investment in the State highway network over the next 3 year; $4 billion is planned for investment in local roads, which is a 6 percent increase; $4.2 billion is planned for investment in Auckland\u2019s transport system and services; almost $2 billion is planned for spending on public transport, a whopping 21 percent increase; and investment in cycling will more than triple. All of these investments will help drive long-term economic growth through improvements to key freight and tourism routes, access to markets, journey times, and the easing of congestion.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258eae615-ef83-4df5-bace-6749bdd312a8\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1e9d92cbacc4b9d9e3eaca0a361dbb5\u0022\u003EDr Parmjeet Parmar\u003C/span\u003E: How does the 2015-18 National Land Transport Programme support regional New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223223655a60fc4bcbb67a18061d47bab0\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: It is a strong statement of the Government\u2019s commitment to regional New Zealand. The Government\u2019s accelerated regional roading package will be significantly advanced, with $197 million being made available to replace, for example, the Whirokino trestle bridge in Manawat\u016B, replace the Taramakau road and rail bridge on the West Coast, make safety improvements to the Loop Road on Smeatons Hill in Northland, and make safety improvements to the Mt Messenger and Awakino Gorge corridor in Taranaki. We will also be making a strong start on our commitment to upgrade 10 single-lane bridges on Northland\u2019s Twin Coast Discovery Highway over the next 6 years, and with funding approved already for the Matakohe, Taip\u0101, and Kae\u014D bridges.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022431c5a4a17e64038acdb4177aa7bf95d\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: In terms of total investment in all regions thorough the National Land Transport Programme 2008-09, compared with just last year, 2014-15, why is it that there is a massive drop in the Bay of Plenty, a massive drop in Northland, and a massive drop in the West Coast, if anything he says is halfway true?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221d53a47759dd45819a6650433263a2e4\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: I do not necessarily accept that, but what the member will know well is that this National Government has seen unprecedented investment in Tauranga\u2014some $750 million completing the Harbour Link, the Tauranga Eastern Link, and very shortly, for example, the overpass near Bayfair. We are going to keep going because we are absolutely committed to supporting the great local MPs in that region.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f13eb16908ec4be486a25e1e6b46fc04\u0022\u003EGrain Industry\u2014Imports and Biosecurity\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022 data-id=\u0022fa82139c09ec4db9950e5c7b321ab628\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fa82139c09ec4db9950e5c7b321ab628\u0022\u003ERICHARD PROSSER (NZ First)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Primary Industries: Is he concerned at the threat posed to New Zealand\u2019s grain industry by the huge volumes of grain being dumped into New Zealand due to EU/Russia sanctions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022 data-id=\u0022601440fa12854888a2de41a98aca6ab3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022601440fa12854888a2de41a98aca6ab3\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW (Associate Minister for Primary Industries)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister for Primary Industries: I understand the concerns of any industry hit by fluctuating global commodity prices. However, there are both positives and negatives in this situation. There is a lot of grain available right now because of Russia\u2019s trade sanctions. Some New Zealand farmers will see this as a low-cost input opportunity. Lower prices will be helpful to those who use maize as a supplementary feed, and some comfort to those facing drought conditions. Although not relating to my ministerial portfolios, any dumping claims may be addressed through the appropriate channels of the anti-dumping legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b74a3a87b1814485b591ae6bcd7a25dd\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: Is he aware that the huge volumes of imported grains being dumped here because of the EU-Russia sanctions is being made into cheaper stock feed than that being supplied by New Zealand\u2019s grain producers; if so, what is he doing to ensure the livelihood of the New Zealand grain industry?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d57735cdc3a4e4d903b56b5d15588ae\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: I believe that the member is suggesting that we should implement trade barriers in response to this particular situation. In general, we are a trading nation and we do not believe in artificial trade barriers\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022364cf230aa404b5ab295ae32321eb1aa\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would ask you to review that supplementary question. There is no way that the Minister could say that she believes\u2014and thereby read out a prepared statement; she has to answer any question in that same way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e45030c2b10c4471aefcb15e17973a84\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! I have no idea whether it was a prepared comment or not, but the issue was, in effect, that feed manufacturers are using the cheapest option. The Minister has got every right to respond to that. The Hon Jo Goodhew, if she wishes to continue.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f1d7750e4444f539b3b95657978f004\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: It is a fact of life that our world-leading farmers compete against many other countries. Some of them even use subsidies and other trade barriers. That is why this Government places such a strong effort on securing new trade deals, which we have recently seen from Korea and Taiwan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022690d9aaacb0b4f24afb90e5487b1acc2\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: Is he aware that some of the 37,000 tonnes of maize imported from Bulgaria in the first quarter of this year was found to be infested with Noogoora burr seeds at the Ministry for Primary Industries\u2019 Te Puke biosecurity transitional facility; if so, is he aware that it is an offence under the Biosecurity Act to propagate, sell, distribute, release, or spread Noogoora burr in the Bay of Plenty, where it was found, and in Canterbury, where 95 percent of New Zealand\u2019s grain crops are grown?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002218329cfb9f2a4feaab68d4a928e32d0c\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: I can understand any concern about Noogoora burr, because it is something that would concern farmers. However, that is why we have a very strict biosecurity regime in this country. Grain importation into New Zealand is highly regulated. Only approved importers are granted import permits by the Ministry for Primary Industries, and all imports must be accompanied by phytosanitary certification. However\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207dc4112-8a19-4dd6-a57c-878b47f8a9b6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226ef4d0bacf7149aeb440e1133a67586e\u0022\u003ERon Mark\u003C/span\u003E: You\u2019re reading out a prepared answer\u2014answer the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002275f072ffb3b64fa08acbad9ba6e4f869\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: I am answering on behalf of another Minister. It is the reason I am well prepared with notes. However, all grain consignments must be examined\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002202574a8d67da440bafe6bf35f826d747\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Would the Minister just complete her answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bbe7f9e55dbb4fc0929b0a170632cf59\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I would like to. All grain consignments are treated upon import, and none of the seeds will be viable after that processing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002217c328e21b9f4afcb5c36c163c445ee8\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table two photos of Noogoora burr - contaminated maize at\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221caf9bafe79a4d67a830da7c1ef38773\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Can the member just start the point of order. I cannot quite hear what he is seeking to table. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002291c1a0a4ca5247eb8f5d25767418d13d\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table two photographs of Noogoora burr - contaminated maize\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca5ca4b4031c45f691a0989db7ef2cc5\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! All I now need is the source of those photographs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002298e43f9858ba4b61ba76aa54803b8674\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: They were sent to someone in our office. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221ab0f262463f4f4493444ac36b40c3a4\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002215cef8678af34c5bb53fdedf27e078a5\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: They were sent to someone in our office, by an observer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226862b465566e4d00a86add586f906f62\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: On the basis they may well be informative to members, I will put the leave and they can decide. Leave is sought to table those two particular photographs. Is there any objection? They can be tabled.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EPhotographs, by leave, laid on the Table of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e92e5c49dee44435a89065468c39ba05\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: Is he aware that Noogoora burr seed is poisonous to cattle and pigs; if so, can he assure farmers that the supplementary grain-based imported feed they buy is free of Noogoora burr?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224e3bc25becc84b2180160ea34cfd99f5\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I certainly can assure the member that because of the treatment of this imported grain when it arrives in New Zealand, in fact the processing means that the farmers can be assured those seeds will not be viable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dab9cfb96dc748be85c430e106b797b9\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table a document, an AgPest fact page advertising that Noogoora burr seeds are poisonous to stock, particularly pigs and cattle.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220dd196ee5dab4b0a88fc30a48fe95f82\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Again, I did not catch the source and the date of the document.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022310a76ebfc584dc0a6c00dcca3dbccad\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: The source is AgResearch. Again, it is a paper prepared by my office.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227720e127f4844bb8a4e2155f646597e2\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I presume if it is an AgResearch paper, it is easily available to members if they want it. I will not put the leave.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f823228f8f054f62b867c25c0752c959\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Minister confirm to the House that any New Zealand grain or cereal exported to Australia has to be denatured, because Australia\u2019s tolerance to contamination is zero, yet there is absolutely no such requirement like this for grains imported into New Zealand, and how does the Minister reconcile that confirmation with the principles of free trade?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002260200136-9d63-4a82-b4f5-c00411adb1fd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022004f87eece8045e49890a2c90b4f13e4\u0022\u003EHon JO GOODHEW\u003C/span\u003E: I have prepared answers to importation requirements as opposed to any answers that I can give you regarding grain going to Australia, so I am not going to attempt to answer that question, because I do not know the answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002224f35e7239b640a489b45a019aabf2b9\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table two documents. One is a Bay of Plenty Regional Council brochure describing Noogoora burr as an\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dfc915f3c5df4da29533ddf69b01b57c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! No, that is freely available to members if it is produced by a regional council. The next document? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bbd4d40b8e4e4cdcadd5e1baa1ee1d4c\u0022\u003ERichard Prosser\u003C/span\u003E: It is the same source. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002216cdaf2477ab416a859e3bdd129e1ee6\u0022\u003EPartnership Schools\u2014Financial Performance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022614cc560746b4085b9e0303dd0bf44d2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022614cc560746b4085b9e0303dd0bf44d2\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS (Labour\u2014Rimutaka)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Education: Does she stand by her statement \u201CI am satisfied that all the contract funding to partnership schools will be spent on meeting the contracted outcome for each school, which is to deliver educational achievement\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022 data-id=\u00224c979ec5e8bf4f11a4a470d048c98f36\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224c979ec5e8bf4f11a4a470d048c98f36\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA (Minister of Education):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, I do stand by my full statement, which I gave in this House in February last year: \u201CI am satisfied that all the contract funding to partnership schools will be spent on meeting the contracted outcome for each school, which is to deliver educational achievement. In exchange \u2026 partnership schools get greater flexibility to raise student achievement, are subject to a higher degree of scrutiny \u2026 and have greater accountabilities than schools in the mainstream system.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226fdf9efe83474a70ad37c471c6ca1b98\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: How can she claim that the funds being given to partnership schools are being used for education, when He Puna Marama Trust received $3.9 million in Government funding to the end of last year, yet its audited accounts show it spent only $1.4 million on education, leaving $2.5 million unaccounted for? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c043992abbf8423b88f75d009f661f84\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: I think that the member is quoting selectively from the accounts. The first distinction to make is that He Puna Marama Trust is a trust that is the sponsor of Te Rerenga Par\u0101oa Whangariki Te Rerenga Par\u0101oa, and that is only one of the entities that it is responsible for. It also is responsible for 5 to 6 early childhood centres. It also runs an academy, and it is responsible for delivering outcomes, and I am happy to read to the member the 100 percent of National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 1 achievement that that school delivered. I will need to find the specific\u2014something like 93 percent for National Certificate of Educational Achievement level 2, which is what it is contracted to deliver. [Interruption] To educational achievement\u2014at nearly 100 percent on all three. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f58cf59bc8104699b814f3fb0dba336d\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: Does she think it is a good use of taxpayers\u2019 money to provide He Puna Marama Trust with a grant of $1.8 million to set up a school, given it leased premises that the accounts show is costing it only $68,000 a year? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223b0e8e9b18e04524affdd70f0da53bf7\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: I am very happy to answer that question, because the member has failed to grasp, for some considerable amount of time, that partnership schools are set up on a different funding basis. It is cashed up, based on the inputs\u2014[Interruption] Good, are we all following along here? Yes. So it is based on the inputs that we fund\u2014schools\u2014and is benchmarked against decile 3. But I can see that the Opposition actually does not want the intrusion of facts on its shouting. That is what happens with partnership schools. We take the formula provided for mainstream schools. We benchmark against decile 3. We cash it up. We provide it with a contract. That contract is specific and public, and then we report the outcomes, and perhaps the Opposition would like to shout with glee for the number of kids who have gotten great educational qualifications that otherwise they might not have gotten.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002262139b1a81264249a2f7d5c1599b5773\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: If the partnership schools are indeed \u201Ccashed up\u201D, as the Minister explains, where has the extra $2.5 million that He Puna Marama Trust was given to run a partnership school gone? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022699cfcdd403b411bbcdcab9773ae3a44\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: A number of the partnership schools have been leasing properties while they prepare to build. That is the case in the particular school whose accounts the member is selectively quoting. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a4609457a3da4eaaa13b0eb4597dac1a\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: How is it fair that charter schools are being allowed to make multimillion-dollar surpluses, or have multimillion-dollar amounts unaccounted for, while just down the road students and teachers are having to put up with classrooms that are increasingly covered in black mould, and other schools throughout New Zealand where parents are being asked to subsidise their kids\u2019 education that the law says is supposed to be free? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229bba92bfd0634befbb779e6b051d0d18\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: It is quite inaccurate for the member to suggest that there are funds that are unaccounted for. They are accounted for, but the member just does not like the way they are using their funds. They have a long-term contract. They have cashed up inputs based on the same benchmarking. They have all made different choices that this House has heard about before. Vanguard, for instance, has put over 50 percent of its funding into the employment of staff. Other schools have made choices about lease versus purchase properties. In the end, our interest is to ensure the well-being of the students and the education quality the schools are delivering. That is what the annual reporting represents. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002271dc2ec1a5454247850710483c65322b\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: How many months has it been since she gave the Whangaruru charter school 1 month\u2019s notice, and given the Prime Minister\u2019s statement that if charter schools failed, the Government would be quick to close them down, why is that school still operating?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219538c1891b74563aa1b44e9957c5f07\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: Because of both the operation of natural justice and its contract. I gave it a month\u2019s notice, during which time I commissioned a review by Deloitte and the Education Review Office\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229a9143d428ca4f9cb37466905ce27f30\u0022\u003EChris Hipkins\u003C/span\u003E: In January.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022205dca830c9b43c5997363958eceb363\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: No, I gave them that in March. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7e2e5b7512143feb25ad3dac0c16dfd\u0022\u003EGrant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: More than a month ago.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226e1ead03-bf7f-496a-a02f-ce52859c58c1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a98cf6a5f5bc4e4aada1826b182215bb\u0022\u003EHon HEKIA PARATA\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, if you will just follow along with me, I will explain the process. So then I commissioned a report by Deloitte and by the Education Review Office, which I have received. Now I am in a process with that school, working through it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c3f38f68532b4d16af029fce0d95e0dc\u0022\u003ESecurities Market\u2014NXT Launch\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022 data-id=\u00229277b720248441cfa0ad97f6d8dde5e3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229277b720248441cfa0ad97f6d8dde5e3\u0022\u003EBRETT HUDSON (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Small Business: What actions has the Government taken to encourage small businesses to list on the New Zealand share market?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u0022fb874065e3284fedaf0f4fba25b15406\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fb874065e3284fedaf0f4fba25b15406\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister for Small Business: Recently the Government welcomed the first listing on the New Zealand Exchange\u2019s new securities market called NXT. NXT is a simpler, lower-cost securities market aimed at making it easier for smaller businesses to list and raise capital. Many small and mid-sized businesses require capital injections to innovate, grow, and, ultimately, create jobs. This new market will help firms do that. Last year the Government\u2019s Financial Markets Conduct Act reforms came into effect. Through these new laws and regulations we made it possible for new businesses to access alternative, flexible methods for raising capital while opening up new investment opportunities for New Zealanders. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022adeba058b4374037a89aa88b031a8390\u0022\u003EBrett Hudson\u003C/span\u003E: How will the NXT market make it easier for small and medium sized firms to raise capital?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c7368d272fb4959bdcc76f99a5fe520\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The new regime allows for simple, tailor-made listing and disclosure requirements, and will help firms to list publicly without needing to be prepared to list on the main NZX board. These reforms are just another part of the Government\u2019s ambitious Business Growth Agenda, aimed at building confidence in our financial markets and giving small businesses the assistance they need to raise capital, grow their business, and, ultimately, grow our economy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00221ff9703b1c91401897b54e4e7997ce5e\u0022\u003ESwamp Kauri\u2014Monitoring of Exports\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022 data-id=\u00222e7ca5adfeca46da990f5f413dff8acf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222e7ca5adfeca46da990f5f413dff8acf\u0022\u003EKELVIN DAVIS (Labour\u2014Te Tai Tokerau)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Primary Industries: Is he aware of reports that local wood manufacturers have been refused the opportunity to buy swamp kauri from Kauri Ruakaka mill, which was formerly called Oravida and is allegedly involved in exporting raw swamp kauri, and what is he doing to ensure that this irreplaceable resource is managed responsibly?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022 data-id=\u00223b93d0f7c0cf4448841275524ca13d3d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223b93d0f7c0cf4448841275524ca13d3d\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH (Minister for the Environment)\u003C/span\u003E on behalf of the Minister for Primary Industries: Firstly, the Minister was not aware of such reports, but he notes that there are about a dozen operators from which local manufacturers could get wood and that the Government does not interfere in commercial arrangements. Secondly, the Ministry for Primary Industries disputes claims that this mill is exporting illegally. Thirdly, advice from the Ministry for the Environment and the Northland Regional Council is that, generally, the resource is being managed responsibly. There have been some occasions when extraction from indigenous wetlands has occurred. In those events, there have been prosecutions under the Resource Management Act. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227dd492c7c7734bfe924d41434d5f5830\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: How can Northlanders have any confidence that any new investigation, such as the one referred to in question No. 9 on 17 June, will not be another whitewash, like the 2012 swamp kauri investigation, which promised \u201Ccloser monitoring of swamp kauri sawmilling and export participants\u201D yet has failed to stop raw logs and slabs from being sent out of this country illegally, thereby denying Northland desperately needed jobs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002201d5c353ddf64b80993892ace4f4f06a\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I would invite the member to talk to his colleagues, because in 2004 the previous Government relaxed the law and made changes to the Forests Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022950656161caf434fb758c1a7b34993ff\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: 13 years ago. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002257c347bff7394cba8f0e0b3f3a0de316\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: Indeed. Mr Parker, who interjects, was one of those who actually reduced the reporting requirements for swamp kauri that was being exported. The Ministry for Primary Industries remains of the view that the law is being followed. If the member genuinely believes it is not, why does he not test it in court? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022794d9c42fd6248d18df9eee4ec430675\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: Has he discussed the issue of swamp kauri exports with Judith Collins, whose husband, David Wong-Tung, and good friend Stone Shi are directors in the chain of shell companies that owns the Ruak\u0101k\u0101 mill, the ultimate ownership of which is obscured by a lawyer\u2019s nominee company?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022867bd40065464a58aeeeaf2103bd368d\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: In so far as there may be some ministerial responsibility. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222dda91985a334c8eaa9a6d2bf45c7c91\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I thought that this member was above getting involved in that sort of murk. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224c3fd9331eef4913bf0c174dff2dd391\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I did ask a question, and it was not addressed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220dfcb35e405d4273aa0a8c9b766050a4\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, and I said that the Minister could answer it in so far as there was ministerial responsibility. There was very little connection there with ministerial responsibility. I allowed the Minister to answer it the way he did, and that is acceptable. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222bdb563acfb8467397bc15bb395a84f8\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: Is he denying what is well known to locals in Northland: that swamp kauri is being exported illegally and that his ministry\u2019s lax enforcement of the law is because people high up in Oravida are major donors and players in the National Party; and there are the photographs of the logs, all being exported illegally?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002286c28be40c134548a8fccfb775c9b271\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Again, I will invite the Minister to answer if he sees ministerial responsibility. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002261600078d72a41c8b72256aebb641d95\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The law in respect of the export of indigenous forests was passed in 1993, with that member\u2019s support. It was softened in 2004 by colleagues adjacent to him, with his support. My advice is that the law is being followed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ce2535358fb4e31879f83475df6dfc9\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. He cannot get up and accuse me of supporting a law when I was not a member of the Government. He did it on both occasions\u20141993 and 1994. We all know that. He is just telling lies. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002207a89cc6187c47fca387369ea7d27369\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] No, I do not need further help with that. That is certainly not a point of order. I will invite the Minister, if he wishes, to add further to his answer in order to complete it before we go to further supplementary questions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002247e058f9f58e4a28898b5842bfe2ca90\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I would invite the member to check the Hansard as to how New Zealand First voted in 1993 on the Forests Amendment Act, and, again, as to how the party voted in 2004 when the law was changed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226630e471f8bb48b382f876775ac77b26\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Further supplementary question\u2014[Interruption] Order! [Interruption] Order! There is now too much interjection in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed3f7e79f4e941cf8fec74d497609a27\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: What does he make\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227e4acd830c5746808e569d61962f28c2\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! We have now got to the stage where I have asked for fewer interjections and they have carried on. Mr Davis will now ask a supplementary question. If I hear an interjection coming from anywhere in the House, that person will be leaving the Chamber immediately.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022863fb1a2eada4677a11050ea4805cb1f\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: What does he make of a comment made to Northland Environmental Protection Society head Fiona Furrell by a transport company involved in the transport of illegal swamp kauri, which says: \u201CYou\u2019ll never stop this while National is in power.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba8aff9c7ece4026bf01813bbca3deab\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I would invite the member to check the parliamentary record and the law changes that were made to the Forests Amendment Act in 2004, which removed the requirement for the Ministry for Primary Industries to have to check that processed product was, in fact, processed in New Zealand. I invite the member to have a look in the mirror.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d5fcd46afa2c49e4bb9e7bacbb0a78d1\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Minister saying that it is just mere coincidence that the Oravida company gave $30,000 to the National Party before the last election?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c45326b796cf4d609e60924947dd1ae2\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! There is absolutely no responsibility for that. I will rule that question out, but before I cancel it altogether, I will give the member an opportunity to re-ask a supplementary question that is in line with Standing Order 380.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b15edc39755948a18c3af30561cb272a\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: Why is the Minister saying that these logs are finished products when anybody with half a brain can see that they are not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6714218b29446ddbfdea2e4537fc8b6\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: The law that was passed defines stumps of kauri, including up to 4 to 5 metres of the lower portion. If either that member or his colleagues adjacent think that there has been a breach of the law, I challenge them simply to test it in the courts. The advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries is that the law is being complied with.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a0afbcabd45d4c4cbcdd055f3f0b85bc\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: Given the players in the illegal export of unprocessed swamp kauri are confident that it will \u201Cnever stop \u2026 while National is in power.\u201D, what options do the people of Northland have to ensure that their taonga is used to benefit the people, not National\u2019s mates?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221c0f01d3bb9c4af7a7fec5dd48b41a43\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The Hon Dr Nick Smith\u2014and, again, just respond to the latter part of the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e978865e-57e5-41d6-a7f6-b49daae78630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002299fb0eb6107444dab8dd9bbcc22fcf41\u0022\u003EHon Dr NICK SMITH\u003C/span\u003E: I just simply remind the Parliament that it was in 2004 that the law in respect of exporting indigenous timber such as swamp kauri was relaxed, that this Government has made no changes to that law, and that the advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries is that that law is being followed. In respect of the Resource Management Act, there have been some breaches, and where it has been breached, the Northland Regional Council has prosecuted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022827fd601c5b44563a0d89cf3b988f45e\u0022\u003EHon David Cunliffe\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would ask you to reflect upon the rulings that you have given in this question. You have ruled in scope the Minister\u2019s repeated references to law changes that predated both his Government and two reviews undertaken by his Government, while at the same time you have ruled out of order questions that go to the current ownership and management practices of the company currently exporting\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022625f53c13ff54fd8aa544df97fc39154\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I do not need assistance from anybody. The question that I ruled out of order was about an alleged donation to a political party. No Minister is responsible for that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002257d2afdea59246f8af0e199838538ebc\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: On the question of alleged donations, I seek to table the document that sets out the two donations that the National Party\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022883f30a5417d42bfb4aab34225786e0d\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! [Interruption] Order! The member will resume his seat immediately. That information is publicly available to any member who wants it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00220f2cdcb0f2a7421f89b04cd042da33b7\u0022\u003ETransport Funding\u2014Rail Projects\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022 data-id=\u0022ccce4d257fff49a8adfa9cd5f3c5bf29\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ccce4d257fff49a8adfa9cd5f3c5bf29\u0022\u003EJULIE ANNE GENTER (Green)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Transport: What percentage of the National Land Transport Programme announced yesterday will be spent on new rail infrastructure?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002231a1503f4c9c40b8b1942903626d2fe9\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Before I call the Hon Simon Bridges, I have been advised that this answer may be longer than normal.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022 data-id=\u002227b10bd7b4144ab1bc42bd1e817f62fc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002227b10bd7b4144ab1bc42bd1e817f62fc\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E In answering this question, it is very important to understand some context. The Government historically directly funds rail infrastructure, and that has certainly been the case under this Government. Investment in rail infrastructure typically does not come from the National Land Transport Plan. Of course, the National Land Transport Plan is funded by road users through petrol excise and road user charges, so investment primarily goes on matters directly related to road users. In rail, of course, the Government has directly funded over $3 billion on capital expenditure, including the biggest single investment in rail in decades in the form of Auckland rail electrification. In the 2015\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1cb24a0d0cd46d7bb0cac2ed2acf596\u0022\u003EJulie Anne Genter\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I respect and I acknowledge that you advised that the answer would be longer than usual, but I know that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022766bc73ab0b14f4c83b7ea5e860f572e\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: So what is the point of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fd02acb2187a49a182f800928668787c\u0022\u003EJulie Anne Genter\u003C/span\u003E: The Minister is not addressing the question. He is\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022173110a62ea9489e81ee5e94b1ab3474\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I would be grateful if the member would show some courtesy to the Minister and to the House. I announced at the start of the question that it would be a longer answer than normal. As I am listening to the answer, it maybe is a reason why a percentage will not be given. If the member would only listen to the answer before raising a point of order, I think we would all be far more grateful. Would the honourable Minister wish to continue with his answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fe69b350fe0b47fe8f15d80ce82136e9\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: In regards to the 2015-18 National Land Transport Plan, we are investing over $2 billion in public transport regarding rail, some $380 million going on passenger rail subsidies, $40 million on park-and-ride infrastructure, and $172.6 million towards other rail infrastructure\u2014about 1.5 percent. Of course, in Budget 2015 there is a further $210 million for KiwiRail and another $190 million signalled for thereafter. The member should stop being tricky, should stop cherry-picking the statistics\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efff15fa700c48d9b58bba0715c42b4c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Now the answer is quite long enough.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c100d03bd104f45a9fb727aa025fb42\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. This is a question that is on notice. It is a very straight question that the Minister has not answered\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002256f9efc4959e47fab2e3e438af009d4f\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! So what is the point of order?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002267b86014355741cb872a2d87a6236561\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: That he has not answered the question of a very clear\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6306566e2184bc28388c9df1017041c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member has not been listening like I have been listening. In my opinion, that question has, without doubt, been addressed. It may not be to the satisfaction of the member, but then she can make progress by further supplementary questions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fd9a12159a44e43b45ec56758901cdf\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I was listening very intently and I want to ask you: what, then, was it that we missed about the percentage?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022638736c686a74c7da711bfe01900a1b0\u0022\u003EHon Gerry Brownlee\u003C/span\u003E: I think quite clearly what the member missed is that the National Land Transport Plan does not necessarily carry the funding for rail because it all comes from the excise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bc1268116cea4be589d5558e7704aa51\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I appreciate\u2014[Interruption] Order! The member\u2014[Interruption] Order! The member will resume his seat. What the member now needs to do is go back and study Hansard, and he will get the same answer that I heard too.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d2284d8b5ec483ba1bc41e2cc86556f\u0022\u003EJulie Anne Genter\u003C/span\u003E: Given that rail is a form of land transport, and rail improvements can vastly improve the road network and take pressure off the road network, why will his Government not fund high-value rail projects from the land transport budget?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a369f726fc3e46c18a7e5ca14432d97c\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: I think we have got a very proud record of backing rail. That is why we have spent over $3 billion on capital expenditure, that is why we have put the biggest single investment in rail infrastructure in many decades in the $1.6 billion electrification in Auckland, and that is why we have spent over half a billion dollars investing in Wellington rail. We back rail, and we are trying to make it as sustainable as possible so it has a very long future in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c7e62b1b56404d06a8e05309e98ffd7f\u0022\u003EJulie Anne Genter\u003C/span\u003E: In light of that answer, will he guarantee that under his Government electric trains will not be downgraded to diesel trains on the North Island main trunk line?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219875dd0f5c5478488823c891e87102c\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: Of course, that is an operational matter for KiwiRail, and no decision has been made on that. This Government is busy not engaging in stunts like that member but actually working hard to make KiwiRail sustainable in every sense of that word\u2014yes, environmentally, but also economically and socially.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2526551722745358c87478d1d90915b\u0022\u003EJulie Anne Genter\u003C/span\u003E: So is he seriously saying that as the Minister of Transport and Associate Minister for Climate Change Issues, he is going to do nothing to ensure that New Zealand preserves and extends its fleet of electric freight trains?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022badb0a39-849c-462a-b32f-77fc017c9fc2\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002207e0ab8787874960af3a842dfba0a383\u0022\u003EHon SIMON BRIDGES\u003C/span\u003E: I have already answered that, but let us be very clear. In regard to diesel trains, they are some 70 percent more fuel efficient than trucks, and so, actually, I think we have got to make sure that we make rail as a business sustainable in every sense of the word so it does have a long future here. That also means\u2014and I appreciate this is not something the Green Party takes seriously\u2014making it economically sustainable so that it is a profitable, sustainable company.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258f935f1-6646-40ab-9d99-17029396850c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228df91fdd8b2d44e98d7d3a98f5cb3fe0\u0022\u003EJulie Anne Genter\u003C/span\u003E: I seek leave to table an analysis of the National Land Transport Plan announced yesterday done by the Parliamentary Library, which shows less than 2 percent\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed3ee6a0b3aa4897b613022a52b8e92c\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! No. Such tabling does not provide information. It is being used by the member simply to make a political point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002287e43c12e19b4eababd85f731b723bb0\u0022\u003Euestion No. 11 to Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000282\u0022\u003EQ\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022 data-id=\u002268d43c63af9c4e47b925d1883315804d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002268d43c63af9c4e47b925d1883315804d\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u2019CONNOR (Labour\u2014West Coast - Tasman):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Just in regard to question No. 11, put by colleague Kelvin Davis to the Minister, the Hon Nick Smith replied, and I say that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b392fc0419f54b0c916bc74dbe279263\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Can I just have the point of order, please.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022471dee54-f59e-4497-b3d3-c39044ce7169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228c94351201fb4773bd43f84c8f2fe40a\u0022\u003EHon DAMIEN O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014the Minister misled the House\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u00222056a9d5246f4a30b596c1698fa79681\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222056a9d5246f4a30b596c1698fa79681\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! That is a serious allegation being made. [Interruption] The member will resume his seat. The member knows full well the process if he thinks that has occurred and it is not via a point of order. I think it is, from memory, Standing Order 359.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 12 to Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022 data-id=\u002282f927dc5ba04e5f97a89c455fb3fa68\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002282f927dc5ba04e5f97a89c455fb3fa68\u0022\u003EDr RUSSEL NORMAN (Green):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I wanted to\u2014[Interruption]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226dfe5c3d2f634878a0737d2f14f51158\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member, the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor, will stand and withdraw and apologise for that comment. [Interruption] Then the member will immediately leave the Chamber.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003EHon Damien O\u2019Connor withdrew from the Chamber. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eb49ee66-7ca7-472d-a4a1-b099fd594dfa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d32f6b8ed5914901a70cc5360164dcc9\u0022\u003EDr RUSSEL NORMAN\u003C/span\u003E: This is to do with the answer given by the Minister of Transport to question No. 12. I would ask you to look at the record of the Hansard, because the question on notice that was written down was a very simple, straight question and in the answer the Minister attacked the member asking the question, accusing her of being tricky and various other things. I think that is completely unreasonable, and I would ask you to intervene when a Minister does those kinds of personal attacks on a very straight question and, actually, hold the Minister to account for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022 data-id=\u0022da508184bf9f430897fb6485bdc06099\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e4b09a29-dfd3-42c0-8585-11463bd6077b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022da508184bf9f430897fb6485bdc06099\u0022\u003EMr SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is a very fair point of order that has been raised. The Minister\u2019s office advised my office just prior to question time it would be a longer answer than normal. The Minister, I think, genuinely attempted to answer the question. His last comment was to accuse the member of being tricky. That was a very unnecessary and, in fact, an inflammatory remark. As soon as it occurred I brought that answer to a conclusion. Answers like that from any Minister show a level of arrogance that does not show them in good light in this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a03967afd611458d89d7c746f130bcf6\u0022\u003EGeneral Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00222f529ad1fba44beaa21c8b7163305815\u0022\u003EGeneral Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u002290b932bcf10d4bb69b8bba3424753629\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002290b932bcf10d4bb69b8bba3424753629\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS (Labour\u2014Rimutaka):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business. It says everything about the National Government\u2019s priorities that in a week when it has been hocking off State houses up and down the country it is wanting to find $11 million to buy a luxury apartment in New York for the diplomats working over there\u2014hocking off State houses that everyday New Zealanders live in, although it can find $11 million for a luxury condo for the diplomats living in New York. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI want to know why Murray McCully does not replace Nick Smith and Paula Bennett in the housing portfolio, because then we may actually get some action on improving the state of State housing in New Zealand. If Murray McCully can bring peace to the Middle East, as we are now being told, why can he not sort out the New Zealand housing crisis? That is what we want to know. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EIf the Government cannot find money for the cold and mouldy school buildings up and down the country, why can it find millions of dollars for charter schools, which miraculously goes unaccounted for and no one can explain where it has been spent? If the Government cannot find money for teachers, nurses, the police, and the myriad of other public servants who, basically, have had their wages frozen for the last decade or so, how is it that it can find money for a wage explosion at the highest levels of the Public Service, where the managers are getting massive pay rises? If the Government cannot find the money to keep its promises to the people of Northland to build them 10 more bridges, why can it find $26 million for that great vanity exercise for the Prime Minister that is the referendum on the flag, which New Zealanders have said they do not want? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThis is a Government full of self-importance that has become so arrogant and out of touch with New Zealanders that it seems to think there is one set of rules for the Government and another set of rules for anybody else. We have got Te Ururoa Flavell, who thinks that he can interfere in the programming decisions of M\u0101ori Television when there is coverage unfavourable to him and to the Government; we have got John Key, who sends the police in to raid media outlets when they behave in ways that are unfavourable to the Prime Minister; and we have absolute contempt from Government members when it comes to them doing their job, which involves releasing information. They ignore the Official Information Act, they ignore parliamentary questions, and they simply do whatever they want, with absolute contempt for the people of New Zealand, who deserve better. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ELet us return to where I began, with the fire sale of State houses. John Key promised New Zealanders before the last election\u2014and it was a promise in National\u2019s campaign\u2014that there would be no more asset sales if the National Government was re-elected. Nobody saw the fine print\u2014except for the millions and millions and millions of dollars\u2019 worth of State houses that it is going to hock off in a fire sale. First of all it said it was going to be to the community and voluntary sector because it was closer to the communities that those houses are there for. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThat was the first promise. But oh no, the community and voluntary sector did not want them and could not run them, so now the Government is talking about hocking them off to the Aussies. Hocking them off to the Aussies is what we have come to under this National Government. We are not going to own anything if this current Government continues in office for very much longer. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe Government\u2019s State house sell-off has been a boon for private property developers, who are picking up ex-State houses, demolished State houses, and vacant State house land at fire-sale prices, or, in some cases, they are even being given them, and they are making huge returns on the redevelopment process. What, of course, does the Government end up getting out of it and what does the taxpayer end up getting out of it? More private houses, but not more houses for people who cannot afford to buy their own home. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ELet us not mention the surplus. Let us not mention that surplus, which was the cornerstone\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022008b978536fb43369e4543ec94d4e8ef\u0022\u003EDr Megan Woods\u003C/span\u003E: Don\u2019t mention the surplus!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fe9683ff253840978da651cbe0e05234\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Do not mention the surplus, the cornerstone of the National Government\u2019s re-election campaign. The Government did not say it was going to deliver a surplus; it said it had already delivered a surplus. The surplus has not arrived, it has not eventuated, and it is not even on the horizon. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThis is a Government that has completely lost its way. It has its priorities all wrong. It is not a Government that is there for ordinary, everyday working New Zealanders who are trying hard to get ahead. It is a Government that is interested only in the top 2 percent. It is not interested in all the New Zealanders who cannot afford to live in luxury New York apartments or the New Zealanders who do not earn massive managerial salaries in the State sector\u2014salaries that have blown out under this Government. No, it is not interested in those New Zealanders. It is time we had a Government for all New Zealanders and not just those in the top 2 percent.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022 data-id=\u0022bfa1467148a144afa99198147bc22740\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bfa1467148a144afa99198147bc22740\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE (Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery):\u003C/span\u003E That was an audition before Parliament by Chris Hipkins. This has been the week where we have seen the dance of the deputies. Earlier this week we had the issue of Ron Mark, New Zealand\u2019s answer to George Speight, having a go at ousting Winston Peters. Everyone thinks it is Tracey Martin, but it is actually Winston Peters he wants to get rid of. Ron is one of those men who has got a lot of experience with a lot of parties. In fact, just 18 months ago he would have been part of any party that would take him, and we know that from discussions he had in all sorts of places around the country. So here we have, this week, poor old Tracey Martin coming under the pump from Ron Mark. The question is: what has Tracey Martin done? The answer is nothing, which is probably the reason why Ron is in that sort of situation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EBut the most fascinating thing is that meanwhile, over in Labour, all of the deputies are starting to line up. We are seeing the parade of talent on the horizon. It is extraordinary, and hot off the press we hear that one of the hot contenders now is Carmel Sepuloni, making quite a strong bid. She is one of those experienced people who came back into Parliament just recently after a short burst some time ago only to announce to the whole Parliament: \u201COh, the Committee stage\u2014that\u2019s new. When did that happen?\u201D. It is that sort of discovery that could be useful for a Labour Party deputy leader, because they might accidently discover a little bit of caucus loyalty as well. Then there is the bolter from Christchurch\u2014Megan Woods. I have to say, Megan, that that Kardashian-esque makeover screams ambition. Day after day this member comes into the House, gives very cogent, very passionate, and very\u2014you would say\u2014well-structured but completely irrelevant speeches. She offers her argument with the most beautiful enunciation and, frankly, day after day, week after week, she wins the 7th form debating prize over and over again. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EIt would be wrong of me to be too harsh on the next contender. I have to say a couple of things, though. Nothing screams leadership ambition like Hollywood headshots on the front page of a weekly magazine. I have to say: did not Jacinda Ardern carry it well? I have to say that a lot of people on this side thought she carried that well\u2014in fact, so well that most people did not recognise her for some weeks after it was actually published. There is a problem here, because so far this year there have been over 19 questions asked in the House on the issue of small business.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f57c5df534a8434fa5e07389d1367f3d\u0022\u003ESimon O\u2019Connor\u003C/span\u003E: How many?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022deda91d9ef06455daa2d7e4bce3364d1\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: There have been 19 primary questions asked in the House by the National Party. They were patsies, set up for the Opposition spokesperson. And what did we see? Utter failure\u2014utter failure. Today there was an absolute sitter, and what did we get? Not a thing\u2014nothing at all. So my advice to Jacinda is to break away from Grant Robertson and his strange sort of machiavellian, Walter Mitty - type world, strike out on her own, and see what might be possible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003EThen there is the other candidate, the omnipresent and \u201Comni-positional\u201D Phil Twyford. One minute he is here in Wellington putting his arm around Grant Robertson in commiseration, and next minute he is in Auckland anointing David Cunliffe with the red rose of socialism. This guy is everywhere. No one can do a 180 like our friend over there: \u201CThe Government should sell State houses. The Government shouldn\u2019t sell State houses. The private sector should engage in social housing. The private sector shouldn\u2019t engage in social housing.\u201D Then we heard the classic today: \u201CInterest rates are too high for young people to buy houses. Interest rates are so low now that young people can\u2019t buy houses.\u201D This man has got so many positions and so many twists and turns to him that it will be no surprise that after the deputy leadership vote is taken, even when he loses it he will not believe it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f1af13c3e8cd4c9692024c9133f42ead\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: Gerry!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e6b4dc55-3561-49a8-a871-ae005354ef90\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e9455f69143d4898a588e0a703bc7592\u0022\u003EHon GERRY BROWNLEE\u003C/span\u003E: I save the best till last. So where does all that leave the Labour Party in its deputy leader quest? Well, I look across at my old friend Annette King. She sits there loyally beside Mr Little\u2014almost in agony sitting next to Mr Little. She is supposedly warming the seat for someone else. All I can say to her is that I am moved to predict: hang in there, baby; soon you will be a queen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022 data-id=\u0022251ce36276334144824e52587115f0f5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022251ce36276334144824e52587115f0f5\u0022\u003EMARAMA FOX (Co-Leader\u2014M\u0101ori Party):\u003C/span\u003E That was quite entertaining. I was thinking to myself, before I got up, I wonder what I am going to talk about in terms of this wonderful relationship accord, this mana-enhancing relationship that we have. Then I listened to all the mana-enhancing statements that were coming from my good friend Mr Brownlee in reference to our Labour Party colleagues. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003EActually, you know what? We have been able to do some things by being in a confidence and supply agreement. We were able put our hand on our heart and say that from this recent Budget there was $1 billion that the M\u0101ori Party could say we had influence over, to get gains for our wh\u0101nau, and that is why we are here. That is why we are in this agreement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003EI was asked on the weekend: \u201CMarama, why do you do it if you disagree with so many things?\u201D. Yes, there are some things we disagree with but we do it because we would rather be in and making a difference, than sitting on the cross benches, throwing stones and doing nothing. So what are some of the things we have agreed with? I have mentioned some of those today. Today we get to take our babies to the doctor for free if they are 13 years and under. Everybody is jumping up, putting their hand up, and saying: \u201CBut that\u2019s our policy.\u201D To be fair, our policy was for the under-18s, and we would like that to be the thing. We could not get that all the way through but we could make a change through the Ministerial Committee on Poverty, get a change, so that today under-13-year-olds can go to the doctor for free. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003EBut there is one thing in recent weeks that we categorically disagree with, and that is the way in which these special housing areas have been determined without first having consultation with iwi, and that is what I want to talk about today. This morning we were in an extended sitting. The M\u0101ori Affairs Committee, a very hard-working committee, sat this morning to discuss the Treaty claims and settlement bills that are before the House. The Minister at the time referred to the right of first refusal, and given my generosity of spirit in the limited time available to us at the time I gave some of my time to my colleague Peeni Henare, who wanted to extend some of his time. So here I get my chance to address the right of first refusal. This is where we categorically disagree. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003EWe believe that if you are going to have mixed-tenure areas on which you build a lot of houses that then get sold to private interests, and are not being used for State housing, that land is then open land that should be referred to iwi for right of first refusal. There is certainly some deficit theorising going on here. If the Minister does not think that the iwi are capable of building homes to the capacity that is needed in the Auckland area and therefore does not discuss with them the right of first refusal and the opportunity for those iwi to build homes that will help their people\u2014not just because they can put people in them, but also because they can have apprenticeships and those sorts of things in a culturally intelligent and responsive way in order to build communities with community input\u2014then that is deficit theorising and believing at the outset that iwi do not have the capability. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003EYou need only to look, as the Speaker did a few weeks ago when we went to Christchurch with Kai Tahu, at the amazing opportunities that can come when communities come together and work together with iwi to develop housing areas that are culturally responsive, culturally intelligent, and supply homes for all ranges of people, and where green spaces and w\u0101hi tapu are also acknowledged. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3d9fd88-4715-419d-be08-e1c4eda7d09e\u0022\u003ESo that is the content of my k\u014Drero today. Yes, we are here in the Government, working alongside it because we want to make a difference, and we can do that in a number of ways with Ministers, but we also have the independence and the right to disagree when we fundamentally disagree about something, and on this we disagree. We will continue to uphold the rights of iwi, and we will continue to push the rights of iwi as long as they knock at our door and require us to do that\u2014I tell you now. 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=\u0022c432e9c3f69e4eb19a6f1f97dcd2ec6f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c432e9c3f69e4eb19a6f1f97dcd2ec6f\u0022\u003EHon MAGGIE BARRY (Minister for Senior Citizens):\u003C/span\u003E July 1: it is a great day to take the temperature on the health of New Zealand. A very impressive list of measures has come into being today. Free prescriptions and free general practitioner visits for all children under 13\u2014that is going to impact positively on the lives of 750,000 New Zealand children. That is outstanding. How you treat the most vulnerable at both ends of life\u2019s continuum is, I feel, a measure of a successful society. So I am very pleased, on a personal level, to see that we have a number of measures coming in today to really impact well on the end-of-life care of many New Zealanders. This John Key - led Government believes in targeted, timely funding of life\u2019s fundamentals and in the difference that it can make not only to quality of life but also to the quality of life that is passing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EFrom today, an additional $13 million in funding will help hospices and rest homes to provide better-quality palliative care for those who are in those last stages of life. This is the first year of a $76 million commitment, and over the next 4 years some $16 million of that funding will be going into the Auckland area\u2014for example, into my own electorate of North Shore, I am very proud to say, which is already an outstanding example of its kind with the North Shore hospice. It will definitely benefit from that additional funding, not only for the people who want to pass in a hospice themselves, but also for those who want to be at home for those important last times and last days. I know, very personally, how important quality palliative care is. I was the patron of Mary Potter Hospice, where my father died, and also I have been patron of Hospice New Zealand for many years. My mother passed away in a rest home, and the variation in the ability of those different places to deliver end-of-life care is something that I think we need to be very mindful of, but the hospice funding will certainly make a difference.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EWhen I became a member of Parliament, back in 2011, I was a co-founder of the all party parliamentary group on palliative care. It is a complex area of medicine, but we wanted to be able to share with palliative care specialists and our parliamentary colleagues some of the impacts that it can make on the psychological, spiritual, and social well-being of the patients and of their families. In 2013 more than 15,000 people received care and support from hospice services, and hospice staff made over 145,000 home visits. Being able to have the choice to have your last breath at home is something that is very important to many people. An additional $3 million this year, rising to $7 million next year, and then on, will support the recruitment of 60 new nurse specialists who are palliative care educators and who will also perform other roles at hospices. These are the nurses who are going to provide a crucial role in helping to train, mentor, and support staff across aged residential care services, GP practices, and also home-based support services. Generally speaking, at a time when many countries are cutting back, freezing, or even cutting the amount of money that they put into health, National will be investing more than $400 million each year in public health services, and that is a tribute to the prudent economic management that is practised on this side of the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003EAs Minister for Senior Citizens, I am very aware of the impact that our ageing population will have on this country, and we need to plan ahead for it. We need to be able to support palliative care in rest homes, and in the future we will need more specialist facilities for conditions like dementia. In 2001 there were some 48,000 New Zealanders who suffered from some form or degree of dementia. In the next 30 years or so, that is forecast to treble to around 150,000 of the population. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002259f3c8c6407d4550af1d7d7bf496ba73\u0022\u003ERt Hon Winston Peters\u003C/span\u003E: I can see one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022736a5c0b-8df3-4047-ba26-632ba2798b4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002261091cdb2cf748cfb7b76957d441f447\u0022\u003EHon MAGGIE BARRY\u003C/span\u003E: The member opposite from New Zealand First may well make fun of it, as he is indeed closer to both of those target groups than anyone on this side of the House. However, it is not a laughing matter. We have put $47 million extra into dementia care since we have taken office, and it really does sit well with our annual investment in aged residential care. It is now over $985 million, and that is going to ensure that we continue to provide older New Zealanders with the very best care possible into the future. Our Budget has a number of measures to protect the vulnerable and to add to the health of New Zealanders and to their quality of life. I think this is proof again\u2014as if we need more proof\u2014that this is a Government that cares. We do deliver on the things that matter to New Zealanders. We are very mindful of our responsibility to rise above the petty politics of the people on the opposing benches and, instead, to deliver what New Zealanders need and want. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022 data-id=\u00223a42dd5cf9584ff1bcdb82a70cba56b2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223a42dd5cf9584ff1bcdb82a70cba56b2\u0022\u003EDr KENNEDY GRAHAM (Green):\u003C/span\u003E Today New Zealand assumes the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the first time in 21 years, and only the sixth time since 1945. It is a matter of considerable global responsibility. This House should convey its best wishes to the delegation for a successful job. What might New Zealand aspire to achieve as president that might be in some way unique? There will be the usual tasks of the council involving United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world. It may be appropriate for the council to discuss the latest independent review of peacekeeping, the Horta report. This essentially updates the Brahimi report of 15 years ago. It makes sobering observations about the current effectiveness of UN peacekeeping, including the need to distinguish between peacekeeping when there is a peace to keep and combat when there is not. We shall not solve this fundamental problem in the course of July 2015. However, what we might be able to do is add value on the issue of climate change, and in a creative way that the Government may not quite yet have in mind. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003ENew Zealand is convening an open debate on 30 July on the security of small Island States. It took effort to persuade the council to focus on small States, but it was wise to do so. We look forward to the debate, because the focus on the security of small Island States may come to define the council\u2019s engagement with climate change in a way that New Zealand has not anticipated. I refer to the relationship between the onset of climate change and the council\u2019s responsibility for international peace and security. Under the United Nations Charter, the council has primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security. This includes determining any threat to peace and formulating measures in response. In recent years, the council has broadened its scope of what constitutes such a threat, including internal conflict, terrorism, unconstitutional regime change, weapons of mass destruction, and even health epidemics. The way is therefore open to identify climate change as a threat to international peace and security. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003EIn fact, the council has considered this. It first addressed the issue in 2007 without making any statement. In 2009 the Secretary-General advised the assembly that, in his view, climate change does constitute a threat to international peace. In 2011 the council issued a presidential statement that climate change is a \u201Crisk multiplier\u201D. It stopped short of saying that is constitutes a threat, thereby avoiding any responsibility for action or mandating itself binding powers. In 2013 it organised an Arria meeting on climate. As is the norm, no statement was made that day, but to quote the leading scientist who gave the briefing to the council: \u201CThe council is where the world powers are convening and taking hard decisions, so it would be good if its members put their full weight behind the quest for a global agreement.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002292557bd5-0e66-473c-a6df-7d108e7822e3\u0022\u003EThe time has come to get this over the line. It is time now that the Security Council formally declared climate change to be a threat to international peace and security, thereby mandating itself to take whatever measures are necessary to avert global danger. The presence of our island neighbours in the chamber will convey to the council the existential threat that exists for them and, through them, for all of humanity. I appeal to the Government to draft a presidential statement for the open debate on 30 July declaring climate change to be a threat to international peace and security.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u0022b49ca7354d1446a7af07bd4eadc65533\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b49ca7354d1446a7af07bd4eadc65533\u0022\u003EHon LOUISE UPSTON (Minister for Land Information):\u003C/span\u003E I believe that 1 July 2015 will go down in New Zealand\u2019s history. Before I explain why I just thought we would take a quick little history lesson. On this day in 1903 the first Tour de France race began, and Ghana became a republic on this day in 1960, and in terms of our history, on 1 July 1988 Bastion Point land was returned to Ng\u0101ti Wh\u0101tua. But in terms of 1 July 2015 we saw the retirement of our Clerk, Mary Harris, recognising 28 years of service to this Parliament, so I am sure this date will go down in the history of our Parliament for that reason. I am not sure about it in terms of the history books of New Zealand First. It might go down as the day that the deputy leadership was a 10-way split and depending on where the arrow landed was whoever wound up with the job. Or it could be, as Minister Brownlee said before me, a 20-way split in the Labour Party for who became the deputy leader there. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EBut, anyway, on to more important matters. As the speaker before me mentioned, today the presidency of the United Nations Security Council was taken over by New Zealand, which is a very important day. But New Zealand families, hard-working New Zealand families up and down this country, will recognise today. Today will be part of our history because of the fact that GP visits and prescriptions became free for under-13s. In the election campaign last year this was the single most talked about policy announcement of this Government. It recognises that there should be no parent who has to think twice about whether or not they take their child to a doctor. So I am very pleased about the announcement and the introduction today, on 1 July 2015, that all children under 13 will have access to free GP visits and prescriptions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EIt is estimated that more than 400,000 children will benefit from this scheme, which will take the number benefiting to more than 750,000 children. If I look at my own electorate of Taup\u014D, around 20,000 children fall under the Lakes District Health Board and a further 60,000 under the Waikato District Health Board, and they will be very pleased to have access to free GP visits and prescriptions. We recognise how important it is to give our kids the best possible start in life, and so this is a great day for New Zealand families. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EI want to follow on from the comments that my parliamentary colleague the Hon Maggie Barry made about the importance of additional support for hospices. If I look at my own electorate, additional funding for palliative care for the Waikato District Health Board and the Lakes District Health Board has gone up by $5.8 million. That is significant for the many families who have a very challenging time with their loved ones going through those last days, weeks, or months and I know that this is a huge announcement for communities large and small. But this is another policy that directly benefits our families. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EAnother announcement that actually came into force a couple of months ago and one that I am continuing to get strong feedback on as the Minister for Women is the paid parental leave increase. We are planning to increase it again by 2 weeks, to 18 weeks from 1 April next year. This is another policy that supports families, supports children, and is balanced exactly in the right place. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EAnother initiative that Minister Tolley announced today was news of the accommodation benefit rising to match the accommodation supplement. One of my priorities as Minister for Women is ensuring that women are able to participate in and gain further education and training to support them in work. This particular policy means that sole parents who are studying could be up to $165 a week better off. For some families that is the difference between having that parent studying or not, so I think it is significant. The more women who are able to get an education\u2014and those who I believe are particularly vulnerable are sole parents\u2014their ability to continue their education, improves not only their prospects in terms of employment but also the options and future for their children. Clearly on this side of the House this is a Government that is really delivering for New Zealand families, and I am proud to be part of John Key\u2019s Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022 data-id=\u002209253bf08d4c4dccbb91dd3714d8b424\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002209253bf08d4c4dccbb91dd3714d8b424\u0022\u003EDr MEGAN WOODS (Labour\u2014Wigram):\u003C/span\u003E At the end of question time today we heard the Speaker remind a Minister not to be arrogant. I am waiting for this to be entered into Speakers\u2019 rulings because this is a Government that is arrogant, it is a Government that is out of ideas, and it is a Government that is out of touch. It is in small-term thinking, it is petty stuff, and perhaps that was no better exemplified than by the Hon Gerry Brownlee\u2019s contribution in this House this afternoon. Gerry and I, we are both from Christchurch so I know that when he says these things he is actually being really nice. I never actually knew that Gerry felt that way about me and that this is his way of being nice. So to hear Gerry though\u2014I mean it is really the equivalent of a sonnet from Christchurch\u2019s own D H Lawrence. To hear Christchurch\u2019s own D H Lawrence talking about deputy leadership we have to consider that Gerry was once deputy leader of the National Party. Gerry was the man who walked the plank with Don Brash. Gerry walked the plank with Don Brash so he knows a thing or two about being a deputy leader. But Gerry, to give him his due, has achieved quite some feats in Christchurch. The best is the memorial gate at Christchurch International Airport, the place that marks where Gerry broke the law and snuck through to catch his plane. It is a very difficult gate to navigate so it is quickly and colloquially becoming known as a Gerry-proof fence. It is certainly, I am sure, going to keep that Minister at bay. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EBut this is a Government that is failing. Let us have a look at them. There is Murray \u201CPeace in our time\u201D McCully, and my colleague David Parker has chronicled in this House many of the things that Mr McCully has been up to. But as my other colleague David Shearer might like to say: \u201CLet him drink milk.\u201D But Murray has a cunning plan. Murray knows that he is on the ropes and Murray knows that peace in the Middle East is not going to be enough. He is going to have to come up with something more to save his reputation, so he has come up with a doozy. A demonstration farm in a New York apartment complex is a beachhead for a new breed of sheep with straightened wool. That is his big thing. But he is still currently negotiating the facilitation payments and seeing what he can come up with\u2014and coming up with straighteners. Let us think of this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EIf there was ever a symbol of how out of touch this Government has got, it is a pair of $400 straighteners down at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. I am reliably informed that these are Cloud Nine straighteners. For the uninitiated in this House this is a brand of hair straightener\u2014an offshoot of ghd to be specific. Cloud Nine exemplifies this no more. Word on the street is that these straighteners have now blown up. Someone left them on and they have now burnt out\u2014much like this Government. But I have my suspicions. I am thinking that Steven Joyce snuck into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in the dead of night, aggrieved that the symbol of his reign of power was going to be a pair of Cloud Nine straighteners and he smashed those straighteners to get rid of them, because he never really did want his legacy to be a set of hair straighteners. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EThen of course we have the other \u201CMinister for Everything\u201D\u2014and goodness knows why you would give Nick Smith a pile of things and ask him to sort them out because none of them are sorted out. We have Nick Smith in housing crisis mode and we have his other portfolios absolutely suffering because he is distracted and unable to give them the attention. We literally have a tyre mountain growing in this country, which Nick Smith refuses to act on. My only suspicion is that Nick Smith is thinking: \u201CIf you leave enough of them to build up, I\u2019ll be able to build some more houses there. I\u2019ll call it Crown land, I\u2019ll get a busload of journalists, I\u2019ll take them around, and I\u2019ll tell them that that\u2019s where we are going to build some houses.\u201D He has now dropped the ball on liquid and hazardous waste. I am going to resist the temptation to make jokes about what that might be because this is actually a very serious issue that Nick Smith has dropped the ball on. He is leaving us vulnerable. So if we wanted a symbol of waste in this Government, Nick Smith is literally giving it to us. This is a Minister who is failing to manage waste literally. This is a Government that is mired in sleaze. It is mired in scandal, it is out of ideas, it is out of touch, and its greatest legacy is a pair of hair straighteners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u00228fd27f9cc2064c9b82990ace7308de82\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228fd27f9cc2064c9b82990ace7308de82\u0022\u003EIAN McKELVIE (National\u2014Rangit\u012Bkei):\u003C/span\u003E I would define that speech by Megan Woods as a cream puff. She talked about what the Government lacks in ideas. Unfortunately, every idea that Labour has had in 7 years it has canned. I will not talk for any longer about that. I want also very briefly to mention the outgoing Clerk of the House, Mary Harris. It would be an unenviable job, listening to us, day after day, night after night. I was quite excited to hear about her fishing spot. I happen to know where she goes fishing. If she improves her fishing at that rate, no doubt I will catch a few more. But the other thing I was really intrigued with was her cricketing record. I have, for a long time now, had assisting me a couple of New Zealand cricketers who, in the words of a previous Deputy Speaker of this House, were women of substance. I am sure that that is how you could adequately describe Mary Harris. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003EI want to get on and talk briefly today about the region of the Horizons Regional Council\u2014in fact, the Hurricanes region\u2014both of which of course encompass the Rangit\u012Bkei electorate. What a fortnight it has been for that region. There has been significant flooding hitting the Wanganui and Rangit\u012Bkei areas earlier in this last fortnight, followed by a couple of decent thumpings that the Hurricanes have given their opposition in recent times. Of course the other end of my electorate stretches right into the territory of the Chiefs, who were the finalists at the end of this week, and the Highlanders of course gave them a good thumping in Otago last week. The Government\u2019s response to the storm event in the Manawat\u016B and Wanganui areas, in my view, has been outstanding. I was around at the time of the previous massive floods in that region, and saw the response of the Labour Government of that time. I think Minister Kaye\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022735b0ca5fa9a4b0e8871ce2ab3b3b121\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: And you praised us for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d77c7de295224d24a9fd71e9aba9b941\u0022\u003EIAN McKELVIE\u003C/span\u003E: I did not criticise. You are absolutely right, Annette King. We loved George Hawkins coming to see us on a regular basis. I want to talk about the response of Ministers Kaye and Guy. Simon Bridges, Minister Bridges, is in for a bit of a fright, I think, when he gets his roading bill because there is some significant roading damage throughout that region. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003EI also want to talk just briefly about the performance of the mayors in that region, because it does give you a bit of a fright, as a mayor, when you suddenly see your territory decimated by something you have got no control over. I think Annette Main, Andy Watson, and Ross Dunlop have done a great job of keeping their communities together and keeping the Government interested. I think it is absolutely key in an event like that that you keep a Government interested. They have done a great job, and I think they should be congratulated on the work they have done. I think the region, although it has got some significant challenges in front of it, is over the worst of it and, hopefully, the weather will be kind to them in the next few weeks. I spent this morning in the lower part of my electorate, looking at some extremely badly damaged farms and houses. It was in a very small area, interestingly. This flood was very different from previous ones in that it has caused damage all over the place, but not in every place. There are isolated spots of significant damage. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003EThe response from the Government, in my view, has been quick and effective. Taskforce Green is benefiting to the tune of $500,000 and another $310,000 is going into the regional disaster funds of one sort or another\u2014whether they are mayoral funds or regional funds. As I said, Minister Bridges is going to get a significant fright when he gets the roading bill because it will be the biggest part of the clean-up for this job. The roads in rural Rangit\u012Bkei and rural Wanganui and in some parts of South Taranaki have had significant damage. There has also been $145,000 that has gone into the rural support network, which will help particularly the people in the rural areas who are under stress, and there are a number of them. The Minister for Social Development has put some money into that sort of support as well. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003EThis afternoon Minister Guy announced another significant supplementary funding round going into the Horizons Regional Council sustainable land use initiative. After 2004 it did a significant amount of work right throughout the region, from coastal Hawke\u2019s Bay to the mountains in the north, on dealing with fragile land that had been significantly damaged during the course of that 2004 event. This afternoon Minister Guy announced another injection of about $4.7 million into that fund. That will make a massive difference to Horizons Regional Council\u2019s ability to continue the work of that fund. The basic work of it is to retire land that is fragile, a lot of which should not ever have been farmed. It should not have been broken in. But of course in our history we have had times where we have significantly subsidised the ability of farmers to break land in. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but probably some of that land should never have been broken in. This fund gives those farmers the opportunity to retire that land, to plant trees on it, to re-fence it, and to get it operating again. If you look at the Government assistance that went into the East Coast after Cyclone Bola and you look at the result up there, it has been significant. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u002274d20d5dfe58403eb9627cbd67b03886\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002274d20d5dfe58403eb9627cbd67b03886\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Can I acknowledge the outgoing Clerk of the House, Mary Harris, and thank her for her wonderful efforts through the years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EI want to talk about the Saudi sheep scandal. One of the things that the New Zealand population relies upon the Government to do is to hold up standards of decency, freedom from corruption, and fair dealing in the world. Those are very, very important to New Zealand\u2019s reputation. Indeed, they are one of the reasons why we secured the Security Council membership that we are taking up just today. It is with great shame, I think, that Mr McCully has sullied that reputation through this Saudi sheep scandal, which we did not know anything about until 2 months ago. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EFrom his perspective and from John Key\u2019s perspective, it is just another deal. That is how they see the world. They have got no standards. They do not see this as being wrong, and that is why they make these fundamental mistakes that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226bfe4ccbab934860b082304f2765ec31\u0022\u003EPaul Foster-Bell\u003C/span\u003E: What a load of rubbish.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002243e8f3ef46be4ee2876aec3b3be06784\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: What rubbish? Well, we have got the history of the Skycity deal, where they sold casino rights in a secret, behind-closed-doors deal, which was criticised by the Auditor-General. We had the Warner Bros deal. We are now living in a country where lobbying and special pleading gets you a special leg-up from this Government, and nowhere is this worse than in respect of this Saudi sheep scandal. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003ETwo years ago, essentially, the deal was done. The Government approved some payout to Mr Al Khalaf and this so-called model farm in the desert, and, yet, we heard nothing about it until earlier this year, when Minister Guy went to this so-called model farm in the desert and said things that were preposterous, but none the less he talked it up. In fact he said, amongst other things, that it was going to be a model of the way we do farming. There is no model farm in the world that the Government has funded other than this one, and so the media started to pay attention. They thought that there was something fishy about this and they started to dig, and it was actually the media that got on to this story, before politicians did. I pay my respects to the fourth estate because I think it has done a good job on this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThe next thing that happened was that the $6 million figure paid for this bizarre farm in the desert turned into a higher figure, because someone leaked that the sheep had been flown to the other side of the world at the cost of $1 million. This is when we had the first of the cartoons starting to appear, making a mockery of the Government. It says: \u201CLast time I\u2019ll travel on this line \u2026 no deck quoits, no pokie machines, no mah-jong, no swimming pool \u2026\u201D. The Government was starting to be made fun of because it was just bizarre that we were flying sheep to the other side of the world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThen, the day before this long-overdue Cabinet paper, which the Government has hidden since 2013, came out, Mr McCully said: \u201COh, actually, the total is now $11 million.\u201D What was the difference between the $6 million and the $11 million, other than the $1 million that the Government spent on flights? There was a $4 million payment, which has been unpicked as a facilitation payment to buy off Mr Al Khalaf. That is called a bribe in other countries. I am not suggesting that the money went into Mr McCully\u2019s pocket\u2014there is no suggestion of that\u2014but it is wrong of this Government to bribe a foreign person who is getting in the way of a free-trade agreement, and that is what happened. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EHow have we proved that? We have proved that because initially Mr McCully, in this House, blamed the prior Labour Government and said that we had left behind a $20 million to $30 million legal risk. So the obvious question was: well, why did no one tell us that? Check with the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, former Ministers of Trade, and former Ministers of Foreign Affairs\u2014that is, Clark, Cullen, Peters, Goff, Anderton, and Sutton. None of them have heard about it, because it was an untruth\u2014it was an untruth. We unpicked that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThen Mr McCully admitted that there was no live legal claim\u2014in fact, none had been filed. Then the Prime Minister admitted that there was no cause of action. He admitted that to the National Business Review, and still the Government pretends that this was a payment for good value, rather than to get Mr Al Khalaf out of the way of the free-trade agreement. It was a disgraceful episode. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThen we had the bizarre thing where the Minister for Primary Industries said that the 75 percent lamb losses were caused by a desert storm. \u201CSandstorm\u201D he said. I kid you not. This was a cause of more mirth amongst the media. We had this from him: \u201CThere\u2019s a lot of sand in the desert, and the wind can get it up and that caused all those lambs to die. Yeah, that\u2019s what I reckon happened.\u201D That is what he said. They were all over the place. On the same day we had the contractors saying that they died as a consequence of a rain event.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022 data-id=\u002204b12227328a412c9941f0513c5d8f3c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002204b12227328a412c9941f0513c5d8f3c\u0022\u003EMARK MITCHELL (National\u2014Rodney):\u003C/span\u003E Firstly, I would just like to acknowledge our secondary schools and colleges that competed in Stage Challenge, and in particular \u014Crewa College, which won its open division. I would also like to just mention the RSAs in Warkworth, Wellsford, and Kerikeri, and in particular the president of Kerikeri, Frank Lewis, and the president of Wellsford, Terry Blakemore. Thank you for hosting the defence white paper meetings that we held there over the last couple of weeks. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003ETalking about the defence white paper meetings, we have to note that Major Ron Mark appears to be on manoeuvres this week\u2014he appears to be on manoeuvres. Let us talk about that. I might have to use some military terms, but please bear with me. What did he use? He used the blitzkrieg. Major Mark used the blitzkrieg. This is an attack that uses concentrated force and rapid speed to break through enemy lines. But the deputy leader was quick to react. She had her colonels\u2014she had Colonel Denis O\u2019Rourke and Colonel Richard Prosser\u2014and she mobilised them. She mobilised them into a blockade. A blockade is an attempt to cut off food supplies and war material. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EBut we are dealing with an experienced veteran here, who moved very quickly into a deception. He moved into a deception. A deception is a strategy that seeks to deceive, trick, or fool the enemy, and create a false perception in a way that can be leveraged for a military advantage. He then quickly moved into a feint. Mr Peters would know about this: a feint is to draw attention to another point of the battle where little or nothing is going on. And then\u2014it did not end there\u2014it was straight into a flanking manoeuver. A flanking manoeuver involves attacking the opponent from the side or the rear. But Denis and Richard were ready for this. They responded quickly; they responded with a human wave attack\u2014a human wave attack is an unprotected frontal attack\u2014and then quickly into an indirect approach. The indirect approach\u2014dislocation is the aim of the strategy. Direct attacks almost never work. One must upset the enemy\u2019s equilibrium. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EBut Mr Ron Mark is sensible. He knew that he was going to call on other fine examples of strategy in terms of a change of leadership, so he decided to call on the Labour Party\u2019s divide and conquer. The divide and conquer is to induce rival states to engage in a protracted war of attrition against each other. But he realised that things were not going his way\u2014not this time. It was not going to work this time. But let us give him credit. He tried one more manoeuvre. He tried one more; it was the turning manoeuvre. The turning manoeuvre is an attack that penetrates the enemy\u2019s flank, and then curls into its rear to cut it off from home. He used the turning manoeuvre, but unfortunately it all came to an end. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002248a02a21-c1ac-4159-8789-485ad614bd01\u0022\u003EThe big guns arrived. The .50 calibre arrived, locked and loaded, ready to go\u2014the Rt Hon Winston Peters. What did he use? Can anyone guess? He used shock and awe\u2014shock and awe. He rolled out the shock and awe. That is right. That is an attack that penetrates\u2014oh, no, sorry. I have already covered that one. The shock and awe\u2014I have got to get this right\u2014is a military doctrine using overwhelming power to try to achieve rapid dominance. That is what we saw unfold today. Thank you very much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022 data-id=\u0022ea48316d6e0a4ba9934d909cb5a94554\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ea48316d6e0a4ba9934d909cb5a94554\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS (Leader\u2014NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E New Zealand First has just been attacked by Wikipedia. First of all, from 1 July, free doctors visits is a New Zealand First policy. They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, but a bit of old-fashioned honesty would have been a good idea. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003EToday Nick Smith got up in the House and clearly misinformed every New Zealander. If you go to the Forests Amendment Act 2004, section 67C\u2014we are talking about section 67C(3)(a)(iii)\u2014it is as clear as daylight: \u201Cthe timber has been presented to a Forestry Officer for inspection and he or she has inspected and approved,\u201D. Mr Smith misled the House. Damien O\u2019Connor was precisely right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003ENow we go back to Northland\u2014well, before I do, why would they have meetings with the RSAs of Wellsford and Kerikeri without asking the man who believes, and whose party believes, in proper funding for defence forces? I mean, those guys up there are going to be told: \u201CIf you want some help, then there is one place to go to, and it starts with \u2018NZ\u2019 and it ends with \u2018First\u2019.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003ENow, on Northland, Simon Bridges is a politician who will double-cross any bridge he comes to. On 8 March National\u2019s candidate announced the 10 single-lane bridges that were to be replaced, and there it had this candidate surrounded by, of all people, the Minister of Transport, \u201CSimple Simon\u201D, and a man from down in Wellington who cannot get a seat, Mr Bishop. There they were. There they were at the election\u2014all promising. It was 8 March. This was not as a rogue candidate. Then you had National promising up to $69 billion\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022deb6a45706984397b60072ad8a3fca02\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Billion?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002222e1e935b57c4fdaa7ff83f9a76a1663\u0022\u003ERt Hon WINSTON PETERS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014$69 million, I said\u2014for these 10 bridges. So where is the money? Where is the money? Where is the Wellsford to P\u016Bhoi roadway? Where are the plans? Where is the money? On 18 March Mr Joyce was asked to list the bridges for double-laning, and he had no qualms about listing the likes of the Darby and Joan Kauri Bridge. Everyone in Northland knows that that is manifest nonsense. It puts me in mind of the former president of Russia, Nikita Khrushchev, who said about politicians that they will promise a bridge where there is no river. That is what he said a long, long time ago. The Darby and Joan Kauri Bridge does not have a river, ladies and gentleman. For the umpteenth time: it is not a bridge.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003EAnyway, Mr Key said: \u201CWe are in Government and we can do things.\u201D And then he got caught out. He said that the Government would spend up to $69 million on 10 bridges regardless of the outcome of the Northland by-election, the blitzkrieg about which Mr Mark Mitchell was being so effusive. A blitzkrieg\u2014[Interruption] Oh, yes, it was! It was a blitzkrieg of truth and commitment to the people of the north. Then on 30 June Simon Bridges waded back, saying that the New Zealand Transport Agency had ruled out double-laning three of the bridges, including the Darby and Joan Kauri Bridge. That is what he said. So National announced three bridges yesterday, not 10. Are you confused? It gets better. Speaking to the Dominion Post yesterday, Mr Bridges said that despite most of the 10 bridges promised to Northlanders failing to make the $13.9 billion transport plan announced on Tuesday, National will keep the campaign pledge and fund them anyway. Really? When, where, and how? Oh, of course, that is the kind of thing responsible people do when they are in Government!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d49aeac-8adf-497b-9400-ab7bb077bb8d\u0022\u003ESomeone must have been costing Mr English out, because Mr English was asked a question at a select committee. He got asked the question \u201CHave you got costings for all of these things?\u201D. This was 2 weeks ago. Mr English said: \u201CWell, yes, there will be.\u201D\u2014yes, there will be. That statement was demonstrably false. But it comes back to this: we want Maurice Williamson back. At least Maurice told the truth. That is why Maurice tore into the Minister of Transport in the select committee, but National\u2019s deceit will be known in Northland. My job\u2014and, indeed, Mark Mitchell\u2019s job\u2014is to ensure that Northlanders know the truth, which is that they have been grievously let down again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022 data-id=\u0022a11498812a584cd6b31c1123a3f030ad\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a11498812a584cd6b31c1123a3f030ad\u0022\u003EPAUL FOSTER-BELL (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is an absolute pleasure to follow on from the right honourable member Winston Peters\u2014the last remaining Privy Counsellor still sitting in the New Zealand Parliament. In the last week we have seen some very grave matters unfolding in the international scene. As chairman of the New Zealand - United Kingdom Parliamentary Friendship Group and the France - New Zealand Parliamentary Friendship Group, I want to put on the record here my personal condolences to the British people in particular, and to all of the countries that lost nationals in the attacks in Tunisia. The number of British nationals\u2014in fact, 22 dead and others wounded\u2014is the largest loss of British life since the 7 July London bombings 10 years ago. It has precipitated Scotland Yard\u2019s SO15 counter-terrorism commands, the largest operation since those bombings, comprising over 600 police officers. The Home Secretary Theresa May visited the site yesterday and the House of Commons has observed a minute\u2019s silence. I think it is very appropriate that we are mindful of our friends in democratic countries elsewhere who have been attacked, hurt, and killed, and the families and friends of those who have lost their loved ones in those attacks. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EI would also like to mention the attack in France at Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, in which Yassine Salhi, an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist, decapitated in the most barbarous way an innocent man and rammed a company van into a gasworks, causing further injuries and damage. These attacks were coordinated. They were at the behest of ISIS senior leader Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, and they demonstrate why we as a Western democracy, proud of our tradition of peace and democratic governance, need to cooperate with our friendly, like-minded countries and allies and ensure that our own domestic and internal security processes are sufficient to prevent such outrages ever happening in this Realm of New Zealand. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EI want to talk to perhaps more mundane, domestic matters now, having spoken about that. We have seen unfolding in the Opposition parties a drama that is perhaps equivalent to that recently released Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary The Killing Season, which depicts the internecine warfare within the Australian Labor Party between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. There are some chilling moments in that documentary where we see what can only be described as the sociopathy of Mr Rudd, but also the intense betrayal that he felt when his formerly loyal, or ostensibly loyal, deputy Ms Gillard put the knife in. In fact, I am a firm follower of that other TV series Game of Thrones, and what we are seeing playing out across this House reminds me, and I do not want to put any spoilers in here for the New Zealand public, but it is reminiscent, perhaps, of those end-of-series bloodbaths that we see in that particular show. I can only describe the Leader of the Opposition as New Zealand\u2019s political equivalent of Stannis Baratheon, that dour but treacherous member of that particular show, up against the Lannisters\u2014that is Mr Cunliffe\u2014the well-moneyed, very eloquent, and smooth urban dwellers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EIn the New Zealand First Party there have also been ructions. I want to put on the record in this House my respect and admiration for Tracey Martin. I have always found her a very, very good member to work with on the Education and Science Committee, and I admire any member who brings to this House a measure like the clothing for orphans measure that she has brought in. I can only say that the attempt by Mr Mark to remove her from that position must be the equivalent of a\u2014well, let us call it the night of the short knives, given Mr Mark\u2019s stature. So I hope Ms Martin does remain in place, because she has been excellent to work with. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EWe have had, on 1 July, some wonderful measures introduced by this Government\u2014free doctors visits, free prescriptions, free after-hours care for under-13s. In the Wellington region our children will be incredibly well catered for. There are 46,000 children within the Capital and Coast District Health Board area who will benefit from this measure, and I was delighted to see Dr Coleman and the Prime Minister launching it today and choosing to do so in Karori in the Wellington Central electorate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EMy colleague the Hon Maggie Barry also referred to the medical care that we provide at the other end of life; that is, palliative care for those who are ending or approaching the end of their lives. I particularly welcome the $4.6 million worth of the investment of the over $30 million that Minister Barry referred to that is coming into the Wellington region and will benefit those who are going through that very, very difficult stage of life when they are coming to the end of their life, perhaps suffering from a terminal disease. I think that investment will be very welcomed not only by the people in that situation but by their families. 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=\u002228e40c79f01b4f9a9e44ece5456aee51\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002228e40c79f01b4f9a9e44ece5456aee51\u0022\u003EMr DEPUTY SPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: It is tragic to interrupt the member before we hear the latest update on The Simpsons or SpongeBob SquarePants, but the time for this debate has expired. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f4112fc5-c53f-4aa9-bf6d-5a05ce6252cf\u0022\u003EThe debate having concluded, the motion lapsed.\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=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022f2411926cbe1427d9e23ef51c1bbbebd\u0022\u003EReserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002230531a09b5f249929070c44c1128dfa5\u0022\u003EIn Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000382\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 30 June.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002212026a110b9e4bb3bb7118c5b059b3d0\u0022\u003EPart 2  Land dealings (continued)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u002272b6d23c56524c82aba4750402020dd4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002272b6d23c56524c82aba4750402020dd4\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Because more than half a decade has passed since this bill was introduced to the House, I think it is proper for this Committee to question whether some of the matters in Part 2 are still current. For members who were not here in earlier parts of this debate, this bill was originally introduced on 15 August 2008. I was a younger man.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002209a5b71a-ca7e-4e7c-9e09-f9e63f18aa12\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002229ad7c1d333f4ad7868aa1485d87c0c7\u0022\u003EHon Annette King\u003C/span\u003E: You had more hair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002244a0bd2815c24354b2575771f3453a1e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: That is right\u2014I had more hair. I was also the Minister for Land Information, and I was aware that this bill did things that were not particularly controversial. One or two were controversial to some. But the bill put right the various matters concerning the proper classification of lands in various parts of New Zealand, which were important to those councils, particularly, that were affected. I had an expectation that that bill would be referred back and dealt with pretty promptly by this House. Well, since then I think we have had three or four Ministers for Land Information. It was reported back to the House by the Primary Production Committee in 2009\u2014it was not an undue delay\u2014but then we have had approximately 6 years of delay while it has sat on the Order Paper. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EOne of the questions that I want to hear answered by the Minister in the chair, Louise Upston, is what cost that has caused to the people who are affected by the provisions in Part 2 and who have not had the clarification through this legislation that should have been through about 5 years ago. I have got one example that I would like some comment on from the Minister, and that relates to what is called locally the Forrester Heights land in \u014C\u0101maru. That land was controversial in that the status of the land\u2014it is actually called Lookout Point land in this provision but it is colloquially called the Forrester Heights land in \u014C\u0101maru, and they will understand this debate if I refer to it as Forrester Heights land\u2014was originally given to the council as endowment land, which meant that it was for monetary purposes for the council. If the council wanted to sell it and turn it into money and buy another piece of land or do something else with the money, then that was always up to it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EThrough an accident in history, at some time the title was recorded in a confused way, which suggested that it was reserve land rather than endowment land. In the meantime the council had sold the land in the subdivision upon the land at the time of a price boom in \u014C\u0101maru, which has long since passed, sadly, because the contracts for the sale of that land were at good prices for the council. There were some millions of dollars tied up in the sales, all of which fell over. Well, just about all did; maybe one or two contracts carried on, but my understanding\u2014and Richard Prosser might know this, because it probably goes back to his time down there, when he stood down there\u2014is that all of the contracts fell over because the council could not offer perfect title because this bill had not been passed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003ESo a consequence of this bill sitting on the Order Paper for so long was that the Waitaki District Council, which covers \u014C\u0101maru, lost millions of dollars in potential sales of these properties. In the end the local member, Jacqui Dean, brought forward a local bill on behalf of the council to do what this bill was meant to do. But of course that was still too late to save the council the loss of millions of dollars and it also put the council to the cost of bringing forward a local bill. It had to pay a $50,000 fee, I think it was, to bring a local bill. Something like that\u2014it is a substantial fee anyway. Someone can correct me if I have got that amount wrong. The council was put to that cost. Parliament was put to the cost of actually doing this as a separate process. Submitters who were opposed to it had to submit twice. Having already submitted once on this bill, they then submitted on the local bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003EIn the end it was shown, to the satisfaction of the select committee, and to me, despite protestations from those on the other side, that it was properly endowment land rather than reserve land. But I am interested in the Minister telling the House how much money was lost by the Waitaki District Council and its ratepayers because of this delay. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u00228080d13a986e4209888a80bc48498ac4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228080d13a986e4209888a80bc48498ac4\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E The thing about Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bills is that they come around, my understanding is, about once every 7 years. What happens is that they are supposed to be non-controversial. About once every 7 years there are enough changes to warrant a bill and a piece of legislation going through the House, and here we are. But, as Mr Parker has alluded to, and I think the Minister for Land Information alluded to this in her second reading speech\u2014it was not in her first reading speech, because the Minister who gave the first reading speech was actually the Hon Richard Worth, who departed this House a while ago, I believe. The thing is we are now 7 years on from when this was introduced. So one thing I would not mind knowing from the Minister is whether she is going to put any Supplementary Order Papers forward, and whether there are any other parcels of land that should actually be included in this, because my understanding is we are about due for another piece of legislation along these lines, which will include all the other changes that councils and various local jurisdictions will want included in a piece of legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe last thing we really want to do is actually delay legislation another 7 years, for a whole raft of reasons. First of all, it is the reason that Mr Parker outlined. If, in fact, this is causing economic cost to any sort of local authority for undue reason, then we need to mitigate that risk, because the last thing we want to do is impose even greater costs on our local councils. But the other reason is it is not good legislation. I mean, the legislation in itself is not bad, but what I mean is it is bad process. To have a bill like this on the Order Paper for 7 years\u2014and let us hope that after the Committee stage it is not going to languish for another couple of years, because it might be Kelvin Davis who gives the third reading speech as the Minister, if it is in 2017. But anyway what I am trying to say is we need to get this piece of legislation through the House. One of the things that, again, my colleague Mr Parker talked about is the economic cost. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EYou know, when I look at the list of reserves and lands affected, obviously the first one is the Auckland Art Gallery development. At the time it was a development, but even at the time it was retrospective. The thing about this piece of legislation that we all acknowledge\u2014and I do not blame the Minister for this, because I think there were even two or three Ministers before this current Minister who were in charge of this. But what was acknowledged was that this was not a good way. This is not good process in terms of allowing these chunks of land to be passed on to other ownership. The Auckland Art Gallery development\u2014what this was about was that the Auckland City Council proposed to amend the definition of \u201CAlbert Park\u201D so the Auckland Art Gallery could be extended. Now the Auckland Art Gallery has already been extended. I am assuming the ribbon has already been cut, so I do not know what would happen if this piece of legislation did not go through the House. I mean, we are supporting it. It will go through the House. But I am just saying that retrospectively is just not a great way to do it. In fact, I think at the time the mayor was John Banks. I can imagine the conversation that went on in the council chambers. He would have gone \u201CDon\u2019t worry about it. We\u2019ll just whack it in a Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill. They come up about once every 7 years. It does not matter if it is retrospective; it is going to go through anyway.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWell, again, we cannot have this sort of legislation going through retrospectively, because what it actually does is it perverts the course of democracy. By that I mean those who were opposed to anything in this bill\u2014and I think there were around 30-odd submissions. I was not on the Primary Production Committee, but I think there were around 30-odd submissions. It is very difficult to present a submission against a piece of legislation when the process you are actually objecting to has already taken place. This is very much the case in this piece of legislation, and the Minister will be well aware of this, as are other members on the select committee. A number of the submissions were to do with the Auckland Art Gallery. Submitters came and they knew it was pretty much a waste of time. I do not mean that in a disrespectful way, but it was a waste of time their submitting on something that had already occurred. This is the problem we get into when we are looking at retrospective legislation, because it just rankles when it comes to the whole democratic process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThere were a couple of other things. The Auckland volcanic cones land\u2014what happened here was that the Department of Conservation wanted to amend an Act so decision making in relation to volcanic cones in Auckland is with the Minister of Conservation, not the Governor-General. There were a number of concerns about this, because the department believed that if the decision-making process was given to a Government Minister, then what may end up happening is Government policy may end up having sway, when in reality what we need is an Order in Council from the Governor-General\u2014[Bell rung]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fde766ce62174769bac35a77106d91b9\u0022\u003EHon Louise Upston\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Chair. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002277e5e582244e4276b89cdbe4cd9b030d\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: I have already called Stuart Nash. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cabc6f9838e40f28a9190fe6bd2a75c\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you very much. Actually, I am very pleased that the Minister is going to address some of these concerns. Like I said, the Minister does a good job in this area, so I am very keen to hear her contributions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224fb080178e55453085df8c023407ceb4\u0022\u003ECarmel Sepuloni\u003C/span\u003E: What?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf762d7c6640424d96c60c9a088c1abb\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: In this piece of legislation\u2014that is all; not in the other stuff. But on the volcanic cones land, as I was saying, what we did not want to end up with is a situation where a Minister of Conservation had pressure put on him or her by other Ministers of the Crown to undertake or to allow or to permit an activity to be undertaken that perhaps played into Government policy as opposed to what the community actually wanted. That was actually quite controversial. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EDunedin Octagon land\u2014that was simply the case of the Dunedin City Council proposing to move a restriction regarding the erection of structures in the Octagon. That was non-controversial. It went through. Everyone understood what the council was trying to achieve there and everyone backed that. The Kahurangi National Park\u2014again, this is the classic case of why we need these sorts of bills. The Department of Conservation just wanted to formalise the realignment of State Highway 6 through parts of the Kahurangi National Park. It will have gone through all the right processes\u2014[Interruption] No, no, Mr Twyford, this was totally non-controversial. It went through the right process. This is the sort of thing we need to do every now and again to make sure that we are delivering the services to New Zealanders that New Zealanders expect. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EBut then Mr Parker talked about Lookout Point. This was controversial. I know that the cost of the land was severely discounted because this legislation had not gone through; the Waitaki District Council could not offer title. The other thing I understood\u2014and I am not too sure whether I should be saying this, but someone did send me an email saying \u201CYou\u2019re speaking on this \u2026\u201D\u2014there was a perceived conflict of interest here. I might be out of line when I talk about this, so, yes, I am going to be a little bit careful. But someone said to me that when the local MP put up a bill to actually make sure this did go through the Reserves and Other Lands Disposals\u2014well, a member\u2019s bill, actually\u2014her husband was the lawyer at the time, and there was just an impression there was a slight conflict of interest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296a7a17b4c8c40edb33613cb66851c97\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: No, no, well, you are right. You should steer well clear of that sort of reference, and just come back to what you were talking about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022509aeb6779e846a7ad13f99ccb100607\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: OK. The M\u0101hinepua Bay reserve land\u2014I think one of my colleagues might be talking about this because he knows a lot more about this. It was slightly controversial and there was a level of disquiet, actually, when the bill was presented, and I think there is a Supplementary Order Paper in place to actually withdraw those clauses\u2014the Minister might know that\u2014from the bill itself. Marlborough District Council\u2014this was the Picton office land. This goes back to a 1903 transfer of the Picton office land and removes an antiquated interest on the title of the land. Again, this is the sort of clause that is in these sorts of bills that come to the House once every 7 years. I do not know how many of these things have been backed up. This goes back to 1903. That was a long time ago. I do not think even Winston was in the House back then. He might have been, but I am unsure. So it goes back a long time, and every now and again these things come up. I suspect that more and more and more of them are going to come up as councils are challenged to have a look at their balance sheets and say \u201COK, what is necessary, what is antiquated, how do we upgrade everything.\u201D, because the level of governance requirements on local authorities is getting\u2014I would not say more onerous, but ratepayers and the Government are expecting a higher level of engagement and a much greater level of accountability. So I suspect we are going to see a lot of these clauses where 1903 pieces of legislation or 1903 transfers or similar instances are going to need to be remedied, just to bring them up to 21st century standards. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe next one was the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board land. I had some slight concerns about this and I spoke about it in my second reading speech. This was where the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board wanted to remove any caveats around five titles of land the board holds. The caveats around these pieces of land were that they could be used only for district health board purposes. I was really unsure\u2014and I had a good look at a lot of the material behind this\u2014why those caveats existed. I suspect that what happened was that this land was given or bequeathed to a district health board in times past and part of the condition of that bequest was that the land could be used only for health purposes, otherwise the land would return to the owner or to the Crown or something along those lines. But, like I said, I am unsure, and my investigations proved fruitless, to be honest. It would be quite interesting to know. I doubt whether the Minister has the background on this, because it is quite specific. It would be interesting to know whether that is the case, because the last thing we would want to do is to get into a situation where two or three generations ago specific land was bequeathed for specific purposes\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022 data-id=\u0022c3b447870e3643ff9d5b5d1ca8671cb1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c3b447870e3643ff9d5b5d1ca8671cb1\u0022\u003EHon LOUISE UPSTON (Minister for Land Information):\u003C/span\u003E I wanted to just take the opportunity to address a couple of the issues that have been raised. As members before me have said, Reserves and Other Lands Disposal bills are non-controversial. For those who are listening, it might seem unusual that there are so many different parts of New Zealand that are affected by a bill like this. There are two other ways that this sort of tidy-up work for the status of parcels of land or land titles can be enacted. It can be through a Statutes Amendment Bill. It can also be through a local bill, as the Hon David Parker explained with the Lookout Point land. But I do want to emphasise that they are generally non-controversial. They do go through a full select committee process, though, and I want to thank my parliamentary colleagues across the Chamber who participated in the select committee process. I thank them for their efforts, and I also thank the officials who have got us to the process today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EI did want to just clarify something, though. Two Opposition members have spoken about Albert Park. I just wanted to put on record and very clearly state the issues surrounding this. The Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill does not retrospectively approve the Albert Park development. This is not a retrospective validation of Auckland Council\u2019s actions, because no validation is needed. There is no legislative change that has been, or is required, to authorise the Albert Park redevelopment. So, simply, what is happening with the clauses in this bill is that the management of Auckland Art Gallery will have less administrative difficulty in terms of operating the gallery as it is. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a68928ea-9dd8-4a30-8e2c-a0f49dfc8bea\u0022\u003EClearly, anything that is beneficial to ratepayers and reduces some of the unnecessary administrative burden for councils is good for all ratepayers. So I did want to put on record very clearly that this is not a retrospective validation of the process that Auckland Council went through. I think it is fair to say that in the select committee process some concerns were raised by members about the process that Auckland Council undertook, but I do want to reinforce and put on the record that this is not a retrospective validation of Auckland Council\u2019s actions. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u0022bd2a9186d6ff4205881502c2e76df842\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bd2a9186d6ff4205881502c2e76df842\u0022\u003EEUGENIE SAGE (Green):\u003C/span\u003E I thank the Minister for Land Information. It is always much appreciated when the actual Minister is in the chair and able to answer questions. Yes, this is a bill that has been around for a long time, but in my short call I would like to talk a bit about Supplementary Order Paper 206, which is in Mr Williamson\u2019s name. That Supplementary Order Paper is really important because it deletes provisions that the Primary Production Committee recommended be inserted. Those provisions would have allowed the Far North District Council to privatise the public esplanade reserve at Walls Bay in \u014Cpua. That would have allowed Mr Schmuck and his boatyard to take over much of the reserve for commercial boatbuilding. It has certainly been a long-running saga, which the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor spoke about in an earlier reading. It has been in and out of councils, the Department of Conservation, and the court, and it has been to the Ombudsman. That saga has been largely because Mr Schmuck has wanted not just the right to move boats up and down the slipway in the reserve but also the right to, effectively, monopolise it for his boatbuilding business by doing waterblasting, by repairing boats there, and by generally using the reserve as part of his business. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003ESo the Green Party has stood alongside members of the community in seeking to protect the esplanade reserve and public access to it. These esplanade reserves are important as part of the concept of the Queen\u2019s Chain and ensuring that there is public access along rivers, lakes, and the coast. The Walls Bay Esplanade Reserve at \u014Cpua is an important part of the Bay of Islands walkway. There has been quite a lot of concern in the community at Mr Schmuck\u2019s efforts to privatise it. I think that in one of the local media stories I saw, one neighbour pointed out that it is very difficult for people to go picnicking in the reserve if there is the waterblasting of a boat occurring alongside. It makes the whole area quite unattractive for public use. We were really concerned by these clauses being inserted in the bill because, potentially, they were setting a precedent for other business operators to seek to take over public lands, and esplanade reserve, and use those for their businesses. Maiki Marks, in her advocacy, called it a \u201Cmodern-day land grab\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003ESo we are very pleased that the Supplementary Order Paper has been tabled and that it does delete these clauses from the bill. Certainly, the Department of Conservation was prepared to grant easements to allow boats to move across the slipway, but Mr Schmuck seems to have been quite litigious, and not been content with that, and wanted to challenge that at every opportunity. I think now we have the Mayor of the Far North District Council, the Hon John Carter, seeking to assist Mr Schmuck to get consents from the district council. I am not clear whether those have been granted, but it seems that it was his advocacy at the select committee that resulted in the clauses being included in the first place, so we are very pleased with the Supplementary Order Paper that removes them from the bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EWe are happy to support the bill, even though it does make a number of small retrospective changes to areas like Punakaiki, where land is being taken for a road opposite the Pancake Rocks walk. That is now being removed from the park. Similarly, other areas in Westland Tai Poutini National Park and Kahurangi National Park have also been taken for road widening. But I would be interested whether the Minister in the chair has any further information on where the Schmuck saga is up to, because it has certainly taken up quite a lot of time of this Parliament and other agencies. But we are very pleased that that is not going forward in the bill. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022 data-id=\u0022a67486b5bd74482c8123e159dd8616e3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a67486b5bd74482c8123e159dd8616e3\u0022\u003ERICHARD PROSSER (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E I rise to take a brief call in this Committee of the whole House, as we debate the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill. It is a brief call because, in a material sense, not a whole lot has changed since we debated the bill at its second reading. During that debate, I gave notice that New Zealand First would be seeking to have the bill either withdrawn or sent back to the Primary Production Committee for re-examination, in the light of what is, effectively, a new age since it was first introduced to the House. New Zealand First opposes this bill, but we might be persuaded to support it if it were returned to the select committee where it might be able to be refurbished, as it were, in line with everything that has changed since the 49th Parliament first considered it back in 2009.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EI say that because, as it stands, this bill is simply a mess. I go back to what the Hon Dr Richard Worth said about it during the first reading on 5 March 2009: \u201CThis bill has no fewer than 58 clauses covering 17 items.\u201D Well, it did, but it does not now. I look at the Supplementary Order Papers relating to it. Of the two that have survived, between them they cover no fewer than 21 of those clauses, which are variously amended or deleted altogether. And there will be more. Of that we can be quite certain. Even with the Supplementary Order Papers as they are laid out, passing this bill in its present form\u2014after the passage of so many years, with the loss of all the institutional knowledge and memory of all the fine members who were on that original select committee, who have now long since departed this House\u2014will cause only as many problems as it solves. When I suggested during the second reading that the bill be withdrawn on the grounds that there was nothing so pressing as to require its passing, given the lack of priority that has been afforded it over these past 6 years, that drew the ire of some of the members from the Government side, who proclaimed, rather indignantly, that it was important for the people whose lives it had the potential to affect. Mr Parker, obviously, touched on that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EWell, that may be so, but obviously it is not so important to the Government that it has been bothered to do anything about it for the equivalent of two entire terms of Parliament. Now that it is finally going to do something, it is a safe bet\u201415 will get you 20\u2014that they are going to get it wrong. I say that because of the sheer number of inconsistencies with existing legislation, as it has evolved over the years that this bill has languished on the backburner. Some of them we examined earlier; some are addressed by the Supplementary Order Papers that we have before us. I say again that there are going to be more. I say to the House: send this bill back to the select committee and let us make sure that we have everything right before we pass it into law and then discover all of the things that remain wrong with it, because when that happens, we will be revisiting it again, anyway.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EI say to the House: is it not more sensible and a better use of the taxpayers\u2019 coin\u2014better in the long run, for the people whose lives are going to be affected by it\u2014to get it right once and for all, rather than to just close our eyes and press the button and hope, knowing that in all probability there will be issues still unresolved and problems unsolved and things left uncorrected in what is now a rather tatty and outdated bill? Actually, my erstwhile colleague the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor is the last man standing from the Primary Production Committee of the 49th Parliament, which has brought us this far, essentially. Everybody else who has had input into this bill is gone. Their knowledge, their memory, is not available to us.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EIn previous elements of this debate, we have touched on the Auckland Art Gallery and the volcanic cones, the Lookout Point Reserve in \u014C\u0101maru, the Dunedin Octagon, the Port Chalmers Bowling Club, and the Otago Aero Club. These new Supplementary Order Papers include matters pertaining to the Wairau Hospital site east end, the Marlborough District Picton office land, the M\u0101hinepua Bay reserve, some other reserve land in the Far North District near \u014Cpua, and the Waikumete Cemetery in west Auckland. So, by my basic maths, that is something like 11 of the 17 original items heralded by the good Dr Worth, and 21 of the original clauses that are either amended in some way or deleted altogether. And there will be more; I will bet the farm on it. In fact, I would bet the average National member\u2019s mortgage on it\u2014if, in fact, I was certain that they even had one. So I say to the House, once again, for the sake of the people whom this Government concedes may be affected by this bill, whose lives may be affected by it: let us get it right. Let us send this bill back to the Primary Production Committee\u2014or, indeed, another committee altogether\u2014and have a fresh set of eyes across it, because 6 years is a long time, and another 6 months to ensure that all of the bugs are actually ironed out is probably a worthwhile investment, under the circumstances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229dc203b3-21b0-4d4a-a530-746504e05f20\u0022\u003EAs things stand, New Zealand First cannot support this bill, for the simple reason that we believe it will still contain undiscovered mistakes and we do not believe that it is responsible for Parliament simply to rubber stamp legislation into law with our eyes clamped shut and our fingers in our ears, just to make the thing go away. If this bill is to be done at all, it needs to be done right. The way to ensure that is to let a new set of eyes go over it and bring it up to date so as to make sure that we are not simply making things worse. New Zealand First does not support this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022 data-id=\u00229a140c98043349c59fb382d61017f0f3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229a140c98043349c59fb382d61017f0f3\u0022\u003ESTUART SMITH (National\u2014Kaik\u014Dura):\u003C/span\u003E I intend to take a slightly different, in fact a directly opposing, view to the previous speaker, Richard Prosser. This bill is non-controversial, and it does need to be passed through the House. I do take on board what the previous speaker said, but some of these things date back many years\u2014back, in fact, to the Picton Institute Act 1864, which had some land set aside for the Picton Institute. In 1903 that land was transferred to the Borough of Picton, and that was done illegally, as it turns out, because the last member of the trust that had that Picton Institute had died. So that land was transferred illegally to the Borough of Picton, which is now under the Marlborough District Council, which is a unitary authority. So it has been many years\u2014that occurred in 1903\u2014and here we are today, many years later. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EI suspect that in many cases these councils have discovered only relatively recently that these errors occurred, and they are trying to get them tidied up. I take the view that the previous select committee\u2014most of whose members, as has been pointed out, are no longer in Parliament; all except for one, I believe\u2014did a good job on this bill. They put a lot of thought into it. The fact that they are not here today does not mean we cannot pass this bill through the House. There were several proposed amendments to this bill\u2014nine by the Department of Conservation, six by local authorities, and one each by the Ministry of Transport and the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board. They all show a need to deal with these issues, and the clauses in this bill actually do deal with them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EI turn now to the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board. It has recently upgraded its buildings and, as part of this, applied to get some of its land dealt with under this bill. It has gone ahead and done its work, but the caveats on those titles really do constrain what it can and cannot do. Some of the board\u2019s land is in French Pass and it was for a district nurses\u2019 reserve. When that occurred many years ago, of course, transport was rather difficult. Now there is no need for a district nurses\u2019 facility in French Pass. Although there are a good number of people who live out that way, and on Durville Island, they do not need that land now. It really is difficult for the district health board these days to deal with that piece of land, unless the relevant piece of legislation is fixed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EI have looked right through the bill, and I believe the clauses are all relevant. I do not see any particular issues with the clauses. Although I was not on the Primary Production Committee, I really do think all the members on that committee gave the bill due consideration. I think the bill is needed. We need to deal with it today, and as result of that I commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u00227f8fbccfb3d14cc298f2481ff3311212\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227f8fbccfb3d14cc298f2481ff3311212\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Chair. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. I am happy to stand in support of this bill. Obviously, we are in the Committee stage, and I want to acknowledge, I guess, the Primary Production Committee, and acknowledge a colleague of ours, the last man standing. He was so last-standing that he has got himself a yellow card and is not in the Chamber this afternoon, but I do\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223894f2fda2fb43b7ae37b780aa8c877a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! You cannot refer to the absence of members.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224d5e7d76ff6f4695a7abec789b7f4d27\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI\u003C/span\u003E: Apologies, Mr Chair. This bill is referred to as an omnibus bill, which is provided for under Standing Order 262(1)(e). I will refer to it as a \u201CROLD\u201D bill. It attempts to make changes to a land status that cannot otherwise be dealt with easily. \u201CROLD\u201D bills deal with authorisations, transfers, and validations of matters relating to Crown land reserves and other lands held for public or private purposes. Such bills can be used to correct historic oversights and errors, or to clarify and simplify issues regarding land status, particularly when determining whether a certain use or method of management is legally permissible. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI too want to note that this bill has been around for a long, long time. We did see that it was first introduced in 2008, but I think it has a sort of earlier introduction. I understand it is a mechanism to gather up parcels of land to move them to where they are most appropriately set. However, I note that it first was introduced in the House in 2008, and that the select committee\u2014when I look at the lists of select committees, many of the people have gone\u2014reported back in 2009. Like previous speakers have said, it is supposed to be a non-controversial bill. I guess the question I have, and hopefully the Minister could answer, is that there has been a 7-year lapse between the reporting back of the select committee in 2009 and where we find ourselves today. I query whether there are other land parcels around the nation that are worthy of being considered in this particular bill. I support my fellow member on the select committee, Richard Prosser, in probably asking whether it is timely to reconsider the bill for that very purpose\u2014whether it has actually picked up existing parcels of land since then. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to draw the Committee\u2019s attention to a part of the bill that talks particularly\u2014and my colleague Peeni Henare might probably talk about this, given that he is from this area\u2014about the Mahinepua Bay reserve. We note in Part 2 of the bill that clause 22 talks about the background of the reserve, what has occurred with this parcel of land, and that \u201Cthe reserve land forms part of the bed of Mahinepua Bay. The land, formed by accretion, is a narrow spit just above mean high water mark. (2) In 1995, the M\u0101hinepua Bay reserve land was declared a local purpose (esplanade) reserve under the Reserves Act 1997 \u2026 In accordance with a notice in the Gazette (2005) \u2026 it is currently administered by the trustees of the adjoining M\u0101ori reservation, M\u0101hinepua B1 Block, known as the M\u0101hinepua B1 M\u0101ori Reservation. (3) The M\u0101hinepua Bay reserve land is accessible only over the foreshore or the M\u0101hinepua B1 M\u0101ori Reservation.\u201D It notes that \u201CThe local community (including local Members of Parliament, local authorities, iwi, local hap\u016B, community representatives, and the trustees) wish the Mahinepua Bay land to be a M\u0101ori reservation for esplanade purposes for the common use and benefit of the people of New Zealand.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EClause 23(4) of Part 2\u2014and this is the part that particularly drew my attention\u2014states: \u201CThe setting apart of the Mahinepua Bay reserve land as a M\u0101ori reservation under subsection (1)(a) must be treated as if it had been made under Part 17 of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993 and the requirements of that Part of that Act had been satisfied.\u201D As we all know, consultations with iwi M\u0101ori around the country have just concluded.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022 data-id=\u00221c4ad26c05e3435abe78d542759b44ed\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221c4ad26c05e3435abe78d542759b44ed\u0022\u003EPEENI HENARE (Labour\u2014T\u0101maki Makaurau):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Chair. Thank you very much, and I rise to take a short call on this, the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill. I thought it only fair, given my name had been called out several times in the previous speeches in the Chamber. It is no coincidence that this morning the House had the second reading of the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill, and why I mention that bill is the place that has actually just been referred to, M\u0101hinepua Bay. The bay of M\u0101hinepua is an absolutely fantastic place; I come from there, and it is steeped in history and also in archaeological history. It is a site of significance, and M\u0101hinepua is a beautiful place. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003EI want to talk directly about that in terms of this particular bill, the reason being that this morning, after having the second reading of the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill\u2014and we know that Ng\u0101ti Kahu have some reserved rights within the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill\u2014I just wondered about, with regard to this particular bill, as my colleague Meka Whaitiri has already mentioned, clause 23(4), which says: \u201CThe setting apart of the Mahinepua Bay reserve land as a M\u0101ori reservation under subsection (1)(a) must be treated as if it had been made under Part 17 of the Te Ture Whenua Maori Act\u201D. I have got some questions around that, and the reason for that is that, with regard to the Te Hiku Claims Settlement Bill and, I guess, the rights of Ng\u0101ti Kahu to this particular part of the land, I wonder why the bill\u2014and even Supplementary Order Paper 206\u2014mentions about removing M\u0101hinepua from the Reserves Act and puts it into, invests the interest into, a M\u0101ori trust for the benefit of all New Zealanders. I wonder what implication this will have for the rights of Ng\u0101ti Kahu in light of the recent debacle around the right of first refusal, and I just wonder whether the Minister at some point in time or, certainly, the Committee can answer that question for me with regard to M\u0101hinepua. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003ESecondly, and I speak about these issues because I know about them, the other one is, of course, as mentioned by my colleague from the Green Party Eugenie Sage, around the \u014Cpua esplanade reserve land. It has had a troubled past and it has trod along a very rough pathway to this point in time. There are still some questions about it. The questions that have certainly been raised already relating to the \u014Cpua esplanade are around the actual use of that place as a reserve for the public there. There are concerns that this particular legislation on that particular block of land in Auckland is actually extinguishing the rights of some of the people and, indeed, the public there in \u014Cpua. One of the reasons that is significant to me in particular is that it was my grandfather who placed a pouwhenua on the land there, actually right next door to that particular esplanade, stating the claim of mana whenua of the people of the Taum\u0101rere River to the place in \u014Cpua. So it is a site of significance, and I wonder whether this bill is actually another cheap attempt\u2014because this \u014Cpua issue has been debated for decades now\u2014at shifting, as the bill already mentions, one of those hard blocks of lands or those hard areas to deal with. Sadly, I do not believe that that actually deals with the issue, and that is of great concern to myself and the people in and around \u014Cpua. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e77494a0-1be1-432f-b492-fd160f4c119d\u0022\u003EI do want to mention my auntie Maiki Marks for her dedication to this particular cause. She has fought this all the way here, into the Primary Production Committee, into the Chamber, and in the halls of the local council in the far north; she has dealt with many members of Parliament, and this particular piece of the legislation, like I say, does not seem to deal with the issue but is just moving on with the responsibility. That is a concern, as mentioned there, around the \u014Cpua esplanade reserve land. Kia ora, t\u0113n\u0101 koe.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u002247974235e5904eb8b142573c8d69342d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002247974235e5904eb8b142573c8d69342d\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E There was something that the Minister Louise Upston said when she was answering a couple of queries that I am not too sure about. What the Minister actually mentioned is that in this bill there are three clauses that deal with the issue of the Auckland Council, Albert Park, and the Auckland Art Gallery. What the Minister said was that this bill does not retrospectively grant the Auckland Art Gallery or the Auckland Council any rights that they did not have. I am a little unsure about this, and it is a shame that the Minister is gone. I may be a little bit confused. I am only a simple boy from the regions\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225f1a7b8931fe46b68caef57272a5f6df\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: You can\u2019t refer to the absence of a member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220a8c21db378945a19aa8bcaf11071332\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, sorry. I was just referring to it\u2014I apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c175e0b115014c20b2291e6fbaeaf793\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: No, no.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225ff8d1dd337040b2a7cbebf13fc347bb\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: OK. The Auckland Council wishes to extend the Auckland Art Gallery, which is sited on freehold land, and it wants to extend it into Albert Park. What it says here, in clause 7(2), is: \u201CThe land over which that extension is sought is\u2014 (a) part of the reserve known as Albert Park;\u201D, and I am not too sure how the Minister could say that this is not retrospective, because this legislation does actually empower the Auckland Council to erect the Auckland Art Gallery on part of Albert Park. So, to me, that is a little retrospective. The reason I say that is that in clause 7(3) it says: \u201CThe Auckland Improvement Trust Act 1971 prohibits the alienation of the whole or any part of Albert Park.\u201D; hence, the reason why we are doing this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI would just like to mention some of the things that a couple of other speakers mentioned before. Mr Prosser mentioned that New Zealand First cannot support this bill because it has to go back to the select committee. This bill has been around for 8 years, and it needs to be updated. I see merit in that argument. The argument for that is something I mentioned earlier. This has been around for a long time. We are about due for another piece of reserves and other lands disposal legislation\u2014as mentioned, every 7 years. The argument against that is, of course: just let us get this thing passed. Let us get it out there, and then let us start the process of another bill, which will go before the Primary Production Committee before too long. The reason why it will go before the committee before too long is, as mentioned, that these things come up about once every 7 years, although, of course, the National speaker Stuart Smith almost contradicted himself when he stood up and said: \u201CLet\u2019s just get this through. There\u2019s something that\u2019s been on the books for, I think, 150 years, or there since 1903, and we\u2019re just correcting a mistake that was made 112 years ago.\u201D What I would say to that is: \u201CWell, if they\u2019ve been waiting for 112 years, what\u2019s another 12 months?\u201D. Obviously, it is not vitally important, because if it were, then successive generations of mayors would have forced this through a lot sooner than 2015. I suspect that in 1903 they did not expect that it would still be on the statute in 2015, let alone still being debated in Parliament. I do not know who the MP for that area was back then.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThere are a couple of things I would just like to dig into a little bit deeper, to see whether I can gain a little bit of clarity on this. Clause 10 deals with the Auckland volcanic cones land. The background to this is that if anyone wanted to undertake any sort of earthworks in land that abutted one of the volcanic cones or that affected the nature of one of the volcanic cones, then what they had to do was actually seek the permission of the Governor-General. They had to seek \u201Cexpress authorisation from the Governor in Council\u201D\u2014now the Governor-General by Order in Council. What this clause says is that this has to go to the Minister of Conservation now, and this is on the recommendation of the Department of Conservation. What it says is that it is no longer appropriate for the Governor-General to make this sort of, almost, micro-decision. I get that; that sort of makes sense. But my question, I suppose, is: why would it go to the Minister of Conservation? Why would they not just say that instead of the Governor-General having to make this decision, let us put it in the hands of the Auckland Council, because the Auckland Council, for all intents and purposes, in my understanding, is responsible for the management of the Resource Management Act, which, as we all know, covers any sort of activity that alters the shape of land. It used to be the regional council; now it is the Auckland Council.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003ESo, again, this just creates another anomaly in the governance of Auckland and in any area associated with any sort of earthworks in Auckland. Ordinarily, if you abut a volcanic cone and you want to put a garage up or a tennis court or whatever, you would assume that you have to go to the Auckland Council to get a resource consent. And you might have to\u2014I am not sure. But what this says is that you actually have to then approach the Minister of Conservation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u0022146f195fb19f47b19182f1efe5c846b9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022146f195fb19f47b19182f1efe5c846b9\u0022\u003EMEKA WHAITIRI (Labour\u2014Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Chair; I should have asked for a continuance the last time I was on my feet. I go back to the clause that I was talking about when I was last on my feet\u2014clause 23(4), in Part 2. I started my contribution with a question\u2014which maybe the Minister can answer\u2014around the current review of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act. Subclause (4) talks about having met that test, in relation to Mahinepua Bay reserve land. The Government is currently reviewing Te Ture Whenua Maori Act. Consultations were completed just recently. I attended them. My point in raising this in the context of this bill is to ensure that whatever we are doing in relation to Te Ture Whenua Maori Act aligns with what we are being asked to consider in relation to the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EIt is a major piece of work that is currently being promoted by this Government. I can assure the Committee that in the four consultation hui that I attended in Ikaroa-R\u0101whiti, with over 400 people in attendance, they did not see any value in rewriting Te Ture Whenua Maori Act 1993. I raise this simply because we make note of this Act in this bill, and like many bills that have correlations or references to other bills, we want to make sure that they are fit for purpose and future-proof, and that they achieve what this bill is trying to do, which is perhaps to fix some of the parcels of land that we have noted in this bill and ensure that they are used for the purpose for which they were intended.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI am keen to hear whether the Minister is able to give some assurances to the Committee that there will be a seamless alignment between what we have been asked to consider in this bill and what is likely to come before the House later in the year, in terms of Te Ture Whenua Maori Act review. I would be keen to hear from the Minister, particularly about what that review is intending to do with the concerns of M\u0101ori landowners throughout the country. I would be keen to hear from the Minister in the chair, Nicky Wagner, as to whether she has a response to that. Kia ora t\u0101tou.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u0022de62945fde274daca0ea81a2d7d29052\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022de62945fde274daca0ea81a2d7d29052\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Chair, for a chance to speak to Part 2 of the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill. In this week of all weeks, it is very strange for a Wellington-based MP to come to the defence of the Southland and Otago regions. But I did want to point to clauses 56 and 57, which pertain to the Winton Racecourse, which is, I believe, about 50 kilometres north of Invercargill. Clauses 56 and 57 do change the ability of the Minister of Conservation to appoint trustees to the Winton Racecourse trust. At the moment, it is possible for only three trustees to be appointed to the trust, and the change in clause 57 says that the Minister of Conservation cannot appoint fewer than three or more than five persons to the Winton Racecourse trust.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000445\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EAs racing spokesperson for this side of the House, I understand that there are moves afoot to try to consolidate racecourses around the country. Winton Racecourse, being the fine harness racing venue that it is, may be one of those that could be earmarked for, I guess, what you could call \u201Cconsolidation\u201D. If the Minister in the chair, Nicky Wagner, could possibly enlighten the Committee as to why the move has been made to change the structure of appointing trustees to the Winton Racecourse trust, that would be useful, because I think that the locals, who have waited for a considerable amount of time, I understand, for this piece of legislation to get to this stage, would want some certainty about the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000446\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EI do not know specifically, because I was not on the Primary Production Committee, which considered this bill, and I am not sure whether the select committee considered in any great depth the Winton Racecourse parts of the legislation, but I think that that local community\u2014a regional community that has been neglected by this Government\u2014would prefer to know what is afoot at Winton. As I say, I do not know. I grew up closer to Addington racecourse in Christchurch\u2014another very good harness racing venue\u2014but I think it would be useful if the Minister in the chair could enlighten us, in terms of clauses 56 and 57, pertaining to Winton Racecourse, as to why that appointment process in particular has changed and whether the parcel of land that we are talking about, around the Winton Racecourse, will remain as it is. I understand that it is the venue for a rather large race meeting in the summer\u2014one that contributes economically to that local community. If that is one of the courses affected, I guess there will be a question mark or a cloud over it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000447\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EOne question that may be asked is why this piece of legislation is changing the trust, or the board, of that racecourse? It may make it easier for the rationalisation of racecourses to be done, and that racecourse, in particular. Maybe the Minister in the chair could enlighten us about that, because I think racing communities around the country, not just that racing community, would be very keen to hear whether or not the Government is going to support a programme to change the way in which the network of racecourses is made up. I think there are a certain number of challenges that racecourses, racing boards, and thoroughbred racing boards around the country face in order to make sure that their sport is strong. I think there will be some question marks around this, as to whether or not it means that racecourses like the one at Winton could be sold off and what their future is. Just to finish up, it would be useful if the Minister in the chair could enlighten us and take a few calls on clauses 56 and 57.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022 data-id=\u00222179987be7f44bb289c07c4c1358220d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222179987be7f44bb289c07c4c1358220d\u0022\u003EKELVIN DAVIS (Labour\u2014Te Tai Tokerau):\u003C/span\u003E I would like to take a brief call, in particular around clauses 7 and 48. I just want to cast my mind back to what must have been the first reading in the House in 2009. I did not really know what the omnibus bill was. I was just told it was non-controversial and to talk. So I did, and I do not think I made particularly much sense. I basically repeated the lines that it was non-controversial and we should just get on with it. I was surprised when Sue Kedgley, a member of the Green Party at the time, then stood up and tore a few strips off me. I would be interested to know what the Green Party\u2019s position is now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EShe said, actually, that this is not necessarily non-controversial. She said that you cannot take something like clause 7, which refers to the Auckland Council extending the Auckland Art Gallery\u2014the land over which the extension is sought, which is part of the reserve known as Albert Park and is vested in fee simple in the Auckland Council under the Auckland Improvement Trust Act\u2014and then have clause 7(3), which goes on to say that the Auckland Improvement Trust 1971 prohibits the alienation of the whole or any part of Albert Park. I took her point, really, that we should not just pretty blithely say that it is OK for us just to fix up these mistakes. Auckland Art Gallery wanted to extend itself out into Albert Park, and for that it just overturned the Auckland Improvement Trust Act 1971, which prohibits any alienation of the whole or any part of Albert Park. I thought that she made a very good point at the time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003EThe same goes for clause 48 of the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill, which is about the Waikumete Cemetery. It says: \u201C(1) The Waikumete cemetery land is a part of Waikumete Cemetery. (2) Waikumete Cemetery is Crown land classified as a local purpose\u201D site, and then in clause 48(3), it says: \u201CIn 1995, the Waitakere City Council, without lawful authority, disposed of the Waikumete cemetery land to a local authority trading enterprise.\u201D We should not just skip over that as if it is non-controversial, because you cannot have a council just dispose of some land, without lawful authority, to a local authority trading enterprise, because that local authority trading enterprise in turn subdivided the Waikumete cemetery land and sold it to private owners as fee simple titles. So most of the land that was part of the Waikumete Cemetery has now got houses and flats and whatever built on it, when, really, it was given for the purpose of a cemetery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003ESo I would just like to make those two points. We can stand and say: \u201CLook, this is an omnibus bill and it is non-controversial.\u201D, but the reality is we are talking about land that was gifted for one purpose and now, by this bill, is going to be flipped over and used for another purpose. Just again, I would like to acknowledge the lesson I learnt back in 2009 from the Green MP Sue Kedgley, who said: \u201CNo, don\u2019t just treat this\u201D\u2014like I say\u2014\u201Cblithely, or like it really does not matter, because it does matter.\u201D We have to really give due regard if we are going to actually change the status of land that has been given for one reason, and change the purpose and use it for another reason. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u0022db70b12a040a43ecb1f72fe188bde8db\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022db70b12a040a43ecb1f72fe188bde8db\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E Kelvin Davis made some very interesting points in his speech, and one of those was that we cannot accept that this is, in fact, non-controversial just because a member has said that it is non-controversial. He brought up some really good points, and there is one that I would like to bring up also, and that is clause 32, which talks about the Braemar Hospital site. I alluded to this in my second reading speech, but what it says is: \u201CBraemar Hospital Site A freed of endowment and reservation\u201D. Clause 32(1) says: \u201CThe endowment affecting the Braemar Hospital Site A is cancelled.\u201D The concern that I have about this is, first and foremost, what led to the endowment of this parcel of land to the hospital, and if it was actually endowed by a private citizen who wanted to ensure that that land was used for health purposes only, I wonder whether there is, in fact, any documentation at all that says\u2014which is often the case\u2014that if the hospital board sells off the land or if it uses it for anything other than health purposes, then the land must return to the original owner or to the descendants of the original owner.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWhen I see this sort of thing, it does concern me slightly to wonder whether we have gone through the correct process, because, of course, the last thing that we want to do is end up back in Parliament trying to compensate retrospectively some descendant of the original owner who endowed it to the hospital site. We go down to clause 33 where, again, it says \u201CBraemar Hospital Site B freed of trust and reservation\u201D. Again, I ask the same question\u2014and the answer may be completely innocuous\u2014and that is: has the proper process been followed by the hospital board, in terms of consulting those who put this land into reserve or endowed it at some point in time?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe other thing that is also interesting is clause 39. This is one of those bills where you could look through every clause and say: \u201COK, that sort of makes sense. We get the reason why they are doing it.\u201D But, again, it is about proper process. As I mentioned, the last thing that we want, or the last thing that the Port Chalmers Recreation Reserve wants, is to end up in a situation where there is a piece of legislation that has validated what they want to do and then they find the original deed of gift, or something, and say: \u201COh, goodness me, we were supposed to offer this back.\u201D, and the only remedy to that is actually to bring it back to Parliament or to have a member\u2019s bill or something that allows for compensation. That is a worst case scenario. I am not saying it is going to happen, but I am just saying that it would be good to know whether the proper process has been followed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EIf we look at Port Chalmers Recreation Reserve, what has actually happened here is that a parcel of land was granted as a reserve to the Port Chalmers Borough Corporation\u2014which I am assuming does not exist anymore\u2014as a domain in trust, with the restriction that the land cannot be sold or leased. But what happened was that in 2001, despite that prohibition, the Port Chalmers Borough Corporation actually leased the land out to a bowling club.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022798adee2a6b5404aa043d096a538efb1\u0022\u003EKris Faafoi\u003C/span\u003E: Lawbreakers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227148678072ed45bba886c5f7786028a9\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, so a bowling club was put in place, and this comes back to my whole point around the process. It would not have done this to be disingenuous, and it was not trying to be devious in any way, shape, or form. I am assuming all that happened is\u2014well, I am making an assumption about what happened\u2014that it did not understand, or it did not know, that this restriction was in place and so it granted a lease. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022503157711e854d8bb7c643ba18a48523\u0022\u003EKris Faafoi\u003C/span\u003E: Just give them a hand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225306f030a6cd411da5d3b50dd6443b45\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, and what happened is that at some point in time, someone was going through a whole lot of documentation and said \u201COh goodness me, we weren\u2019t allowed to do this. We\u2019re going to be in a little bit of trouble here. Let\u2019s put this into a reserves and other lands disposal bill.\u201D just to bring it in line with the legislation, so that it is not doing anything illegal and so that an illegal activity is not still on the books. We get that. We are not saying that this is the wrong thing to do, but what it does highlight is that it is very easy\u2014well, not very easy; what does happen at times is that local body authorities, or hospital boards, or even the Crown, which are often acting in good faith, are unaware without doing a little bit of research that these sorts of prohibitions exist. So what happens is they grant a lease, or something along those lines; a bowling club is established at great expense; and, technically, what could happen is they could say \u201CSo, we made a mistake. The lease is void because this was done under an Act of Parliament. Therefore, the land has to be returned to the original owner.\u201D\u2014i.e., the Port Chalmers Borough Corporation at that point in time. We do not want to see that happen, and that is why we have these bills, but I am just saying how these sorts of things can actually occur here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003ESo what we are doing now, with this piece of legislation, is we are saying that the lease was granted\u2014[Bell rung] Mr Chair?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022 data-id=\u00229a1b9b1d489b48909a6908b92ecffe6a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229a1b9b1d489b48909a6908b92ecffe6a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry, but the member has used all his calls.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022 data-id=\u0022d664eb50efca41f982b93aa70a3d64e1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d664eb50efca41f982b93aa70a3d64e1\u0022\u003EPAUL FOSTER-BELL (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EThe question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 206 in the name of the Hon Maurice Williamson to Part 2 be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EAmendments agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EThe question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 88 in the name of the Hon Louise Upston to Part 2 be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EAmendments agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022a8e6afd007ad4f2799aa976305f60f99\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 Part 2 as amended be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 109\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; New Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; 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 12\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First 12.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EPart 2 as amended agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00227062468d37084d69894a3a2436277e83\u0022\u003EClauses 1 and 2\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u00221cb5e5f0ac5e45459e576cd790341cdc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221cb5e5f0ac5e45459e576cd790341cdc\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E We are talking about the title and commencement clauses. I think that the commencement date will come as a great relief to a whole lot of people who put submissions into this from 2008 onwards: \u201CThis Act comes into force on the day after the date on which it receives the Royal assent.\u201D The thing about that that concerns me greatly\u2014not about the clause itself\u2014is that this has been on the Order Paper since 2008, and I am not too sure when we are actually going to get to the third reading. Hopefully, it will be in this term of Parliament, because some people have been waiting, as we have heard, for 112 years for this to happen. The Port Chalmers Bowling Club has been waiting since 1977 for this to happen. There are developments that have come and gone waiting for this to happen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003ESo let us hope that the date that this comes into force is in fact 2015, and not 2016, because if it is 2017, it will be a Labour Minister who will be giving the third reading speech. It could be anyone. All we know is that if it is 2017, then there will have been the Minister Richard Worth, there will have been Maurice Williamson, and there will have been Louise Upston. In fact, this was introduced by David Parker, so already we are on our fourth Minister for Land Information. We could, conceivably\u2014quite conceivably, due to the snail\u2019s pace of the passage of this bill\u2014be up to our fifth and, potentially, even sixth Minister, because if it is 2017 when it gets its third reading speech, then it could well be Minister Chris Finlayson who is giving the speech\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a1538be12f142fba26b6f6e6274af7e\u0022\u003EKris Faafoi\u003C/span\u003E: Hey, hey, hey!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1c5600f90a8491a957971d6e46e1c34\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022802874a3-deca-48b7-9d33-9087058892f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af9ac429a8ae40a58a8fcc4203c1d991\u0022\u003EKelvin Davis\u003C/span\u003E: Kris Faafoi.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002265ef893218fa4933b22257efb7b20938\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014Kris Faafoi giving the speech. If it is early 2017, it will be Chris Finlayson; if it is after the election in 2017, it will be Kris Faafoi\u2014the honourable Kris Faafoi\u2014giving the speech. Who knows where this could end up? It could be 2020, and it could be the honourable\u2014I do not know\u2014Peeni Henare giving the speech. It could be anyone\u2014or Kelvin Davis. It will be a long time. The other thing\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c0d3e24a3e714779be837a3a67d038e1\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: It is sounding a bit repetitive. I ask the member to find something a little bit new to say.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eae6f0876d1c4d2d964c5413290a403f\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: New to say? OK. Well, the interesting thing is that the title of this legislation, in clause 1, is actually the \u201CReserves and Other Lands Disposal Act 2008\u201D. Maybe we could actually call it the \u201CReserves and Other Lands Disposals Act 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012\u201D\u2014who knows where it will end, because there is so much that could be in this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EAgain, as one of the other National speakers said\u2014and I cannot remember who it was\u2014this could be called the \u201CRichard Worth Memorial Bill\u201D, because this is, I think, the last speech he gave before he decided to go\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022046e352200eb442a9f2813c9ee7963c1\u0022\u003EPaul Foster-Bell\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s not dead. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022acd32d5e5cb6464ba21d67bb42e3ff69\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: No, his parliamentary career is well and truly dead, Mr Foster-Bell. Beware of Richard Worth\u2014he provides a good example of what not to do. Even though he was an extremely good lawyer, it was a little bit of a waste of talent for him to enter Parliament. He started out as the MP for Epsom and ended up as a list MP who had to go and pursue other opportunities.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fec4135f6728479a96399ad40396fe2a\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: Come on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227c213ff8a9fc431dbd1af5fa3b23d199\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: But, mind you, he did end up getting a PhD in this Parliament, so it was not all wasted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241303cf260924d70ac2bc5a813e96fc0\u0022\u003EPaul Foster-Bell\u003C/span\u003E: Doctor of Laws. LLD\u2014Doctor of Laws. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022152a2928d0754197b8818f5f39e0b3a3\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, no, he got a PhD. Richard Worth got a PhD.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250da584a83dd46499574120b52518911\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: Well, let us not debate Mr Worth\u2019s legal career. Let us have a crack at this: clauses 1 and 2 of this bill. The whole 2008 thing was funny for only the first 15 times, so crack on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022911b728622a842f88e926338bea9560d\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, what else can we call this bill? We could call this the \u201CPort Chalmers Bowling Club (Thank God Our Lease Has Finally Been Ratified) Bill\u201D. Its members have been waiting since 1977 to have that done. If there are any members of the original Port Chalmers Bowling Club still around, they will be raising a glass of sherry when this bill passes through the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223f63fad5c8864611abfa502d1eaf9c3b\u0022\u003EPaul Foster-Bell\u003C/span\u003E: Which that party put the tax up on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022360718a60ab24b5da678db2229636ec1\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: Well, you never know. No, we are not going to increase tax on sherry, Mr Foster-Bell, but you never know. It could be the \u201CNelson Marlborough District Health Board Land Act\u201D, because it has been waiting for the three parcels of land that were endowed to it, that were gifted to it, that were put in reserve, to come up again. But I think the most important thing is that we could call this the \u201CAuckland Art Gallery Finally Being Ratified Bill\u201D, because the Auckland Art Gallery, before the development went ahead, was supposed to get ratified any work it did in Albert Park. It was supposed to come through. It has not. The Auckland Art Gallery has been built, the ribbon has been cut, and a number of exhibitions have gone through. I think it would be horrified if this bill does not go through the House, only to find that\u2014oh, my goodness me\u2014it has to cut off half the gallery.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EOr it could be the \u201CLet\u2019s Transfer Resource Management Responses From the Governor-General to the Minister of Conservation Bill.\u201D\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u0022310e63ee998344d29fc25d87dc0ab5d0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022310e63ee998344d29fc25d87dc0ab5d0\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much for the opportunity to take a call on the title and commencement clauses of the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill. Mr Chair, I know that you are a Chair who looks for creativity in Committee stage submissions but I do believe also that we have to have a fair bit of discipline in this House, so I do want to back up what my colleague Stuart Nash said about the length of time that it has taken for this piece of legislation to find its way to this Committee stage. It was introduced in August 2008 under the Hon David Parker. It had its first reading in March 2009. The Primary Production Committee reported back with relatively quick speed in September 2009, and then we find ourselves debating the Committee stage here on 1 July 2015. That is a very long time for a piece of legislation to come through the House. I must add that a fair few people have been waiting for it to be passed\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220419f4c147784295986e7f103bcb4914\u0022\u003EBarbara Kuriger\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019re still waiting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224e4dcc5f479447499635f165e79f80a4\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: Well, you can wait just another 3\u00BD minutes longer. To back that up, you need to look at the membership of the select committee that reported back on this bill. There were some fine members: Shane Ardern, a member from across the Chamber; the Hon Jim Anderton; Brendon Burns, a member from this side of the Chamber; the Hon John Carter, who, I believe, is now the Mayor of the Northland region; Dr Ashraf Choudhary; Sandra Goudie; the Hon George Hawkins; Colin King; Moana Mackey; and the only surviving member of that select committee, the Hon Damien O\u2019Connor, who had an earlier than expected end to his parliamentary proceedings today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EI hope that I am painting the picture that this piece of legislation should have got through this House much faster. I think that it is rather unfortunate that a lot of the communities that have parcels of land within this piece of legislation have had to wait this long for a relatively simple piece of legislation to come through the House. So I hope that I have dealt with the commencement date. I hope that this piece of legislation is passed as soon as possible, and I do note the interjection from across the Chamber.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EPointing to the title, currently the bill is titled the \u201CReserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill\u201D. In my previous contribution on this bill, I talked about the region of Otago and Southland, which is taking on the Hurricanes this weekend in the Super 15 final. So I would like to make possibly one change to the name of the bill, and that is that we should rename this bill the \u201CHighlanders Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill\u201D because there are quite a number of parcels of land within this piece of legislation that pertain to the Otago region. We talked about the Port Chalmers\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e44be59c0dbd4796989f16446c1f42fd\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: Go Highlanders!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cef4736520e84de1ad44942d495fd78b\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: OK, do not put that in the Hansard. There is a parcel of land\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022fc8ab326-1806-41d3-8c41-cd58c95dcb45\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022448beccdf8c54452b6fd01ea18092fed\u0022\u003EMetiria Turei\u003C/span\u003E: It is now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250cd9bc3cfe44813ab7da87cf912b7a3\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: Good one. There is a parcel of land in Taieri. There is a parcel of land that I mentioned earlier\u2014the Winton Racecourse\u2014just north of Invercargill. There is also a parcel of land that I understand is the Port Chalmers Bowling Club, which Stuart Nash referred to earlier. I think that we should take some of the load off the members of the Port Chalmers Bowling Club on Saturday night. They are obviously very weary of this piece of legislation. They want to get it through and enjoy a kick-off at 7.35 p.m. So let us just give them an hour and a half of grace to live life in an ideal situation where they are cheering on their Highlanders\u2014one that will come to an abrupt end at roughly 9.20 p.m. on Saturday. Let us get this piece of legislation passed so that the good people of the Port Chalmers Bowling Club can enjoy Saturday night until about 9.25 p.m., and also so that all of the other communities that are depending on this piece of legislation getting passed will have peace of mind, despite having waited for about 8 years for this piece of legislation to get passed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022 data-id=\u0022ef0226f4121d4b5fbadd11cc9606372c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ef0226f4121d4b5fbadd11cc9606372c\u0022\u003EPAUL FOSTER-BELL (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003EClause 1 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022d697043b25b742938b216fa40b5aacd3\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 clause 2 be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 109\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; New Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; 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 12\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First 12.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EClause 2 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000501\u0022\u003EBill to be reported with amendment presently.\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=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b563ed4b1b164f6d91e0310591c4ae88\u0022\u003EStandards and Accreditation Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002286cdaeb900434ac8859e50bbadd7d4c6\u0022\u003EIn Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002229f768a6a27249d58c0bece72f6edf83\u0022\u003EPart 1  Preliminary and key provisions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u002215c2d92e7a784b33ba835e8604459149\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002215c2d92e7a784b33ba835e8604459149\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Chair, I promise not to mention the rugby\u2014other than the mention I just made then. The Standards and Accreditation Bill, while sounding like a mundane piece of legislation, is actually a very important piece of legislation to ensure, I guess, standards so that the everyday things in life that we do are uniform and things work. As Labour\u2019s minority report within the commentary on the bill has noted, Labour is not going to support this piece of legislation. We hold some major concerns, notably around the lack of independence of the new Standards Approval Board, which this piece of legislation provides for, and also because of the potential damage to our international reputation because of that lack of independence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003ETo point towards that international reputation, can I point to clause 7 of the bill, which talks about the functions of the New Zealand Standards Executive. If you would allow me to just read clause 7, which states: \u201C(1) The functions of the NZ Standards Executive are\u2014(a) to assume responsibility for New Zealand membership of international standards organisations, including the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission: (b) to ensure New Zealand attendance and representation at meetings of international standards organisations:\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThroughout the select committee process, the Commerce Committee heard from a number of submitters who have a lot more experience in this field than I have\u2014and, certainly, I think, more than anyone around the select committee table has\u2014about the new structure and the loss of our international reputation. A structure that was outside a Government department, independent of the New Zealand Standards Council, is to be placed within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EOne of those submitters was a woman by the name of Diane Baguley, who has been a member of the joint New Zealand - Australia committee on standards for 20 years now. She is someone with immense experience in this area. If I could read a portion of her submission to the select committee, really to highlight the dangers of the path that this country will be going down if we change the structure of our standards formation, as we are going to do with this piece of legislation. Diane Baguley said in her submission that \u201CI oppose the disestablishment of the Standards Council and Standards New Zealand. I do not consider that the provisions set out for the establishment of the standards function within MBIE can adequately control the risks associated with the new structure, whether to the management of standards development or the reputation of New Zealand in the international standards community.\u201D I will just read that last bit out again, and that is around \u201Cthe reputation of New Zealand in the international standards community.\u201D She went on to say that \u201CThe model proposed in the Bill, if realised, might even be used as an example by countries without robust government systems, with undesirable results. New Zealand is well respected in the international standards community and an argument that \u2018New Zealand does it this way\u2019 could be influential.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EWe would have hoped that maybe the Government members on the select committee may have fed some of this feedback from the submitters to the Minister, and maybe that is one question that I will pose to the Minister\u2014whether they seriously did ponder whether the structure as it stands now was the correct one. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is becoming a rather large Government department, and whether or not it is making the right decisions needs to be questioned, given some of the recent headlines around that ministry. But, certainly, when we are looking at the functions of our Standards Council being morphed into the ministry, we certainly have some serious reservations about that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EI would like to draw on another submission presented to the select committee, and that was from another woman called Patricia Cunniffe, who is a consumer representative on standards committees both here in New Zealand and overseas. Her submission was in a similar vein to that of Diane Baguley. If I can take the opportunity to read her submission, she said: \u201CI remain unconvinced that placing New Zealand\u2019s national Standards body within MBIE will indeed ensure that the Standards system is viable and well-functioning, \u2026\u201D. The current bill is predicated on consumers being the recipients of standardisation, not participants. She went on to say that \u201CClause 3(a)(iii) gives one of the purposes of the Bill as being to: \u2018protect the health, safety and well-being of the public, but gives no place for the public to define their own acceptable levels of health, safety and well-being.\u201D So I think Patricia Cunniffe agrees with Diane Baguley, but takes things to another level in terms of the safety of the public. I guess this is just another example of the submissions to the select committee that I think throw up some serious reservations and concerns as to what the Government is doing with this piece of legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EIt has obviously been a well-formed argument that New Zealand has a very strong reputation with some of these international organisations through some of our work with standards, and there is serious concern from some of our most experienced and expert people in the field as to whether or not we are doing the right thing here as well. I think that some of the motivation, or most of the motivation, for this piece of legislation is to ensure the financial viability of the standards process. I think, having listened to some of the concerns in the select committee, that that was a real concern for those in that sector already. We do not believe that the changing of the structure will go any way to ensuring that the financial viability of the standards process will be any better than it was previously. We would like to know whether the Minister in the chair, the Hon Paul Goldsmith, could clarify some of those issues. We would certainly be thankful to know whether or not more work has been done around that financial viability. I hope that the Minister in the chair will take a call. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThere were also concerns from the industry around representation and also some concern around conflicts of interest and funding. I do note there has been some amendment during the select committee process around the potential for conflict of interest, and I think that is a good thing. As to whether or not it has gone far enough there is still a question mark, and maybe that is something the Minister can address as well. But I believe that there are people, especially those in our trades, who are very concerned about what the bill proposed at the beginning of the select committee process, and they might still share those concerns at the moment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EAnother joint submission that came through the select committee process was from the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand, the Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand, the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia New Zealand Division, and the New Zealand Institute of Architects\u2014bodies that I do not think I would certainly have too many arguments with around the technical aspects of their work. Their joint submission said that \u201Cwe believe industry consultation is vital to ensure the prioritised programme of work is appropriate. This will also ensure the continued buy-in and contribution by the key industry players\u201D that wanted to ensure that \u201Cindustry consultation be a mandatory requirement under the Bill.\u201D I believe some of that may have been addressed, but I am not sure whether it has been addressed in its entirety. Hopefully, that is something that the Minister might be able to answer if he does decide to take a call during the Committee stage.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022 data-id=\u0022a26ab134b50c46c4892df6fa4b618d79\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a26ab134b50c46c4892df6fa4b618d79\u0022\u003EFLETCHER TABUTEAU (NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E If I could just state the obvious and summarily go through some of the parts to begin my contribution tonight, we are looking at repealing and replacing the Standards Act and the Testing Laboratory Registration Act. We are told that we are looking to consolidate legislation\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ca2dc081a4514d7c820569dd6b7b6458\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the member, but the time has come for us to suspend for the dinner break.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022 data-id=\u00220baf7878dbed4a2daffe4afd13ea7e64\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220baf7878dbed4a2daffe4afd13ea7e64\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Members, the House in Committee on the Standards and Accreditation Bill is resumed. Before the dinner break we were debating Part 1. Fletcher Tabuteau had the call, and he has 4 minutes and 35 seconds remaining, if he wishes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d9ffda7361b747e9a5c72267a87f91de\u0022\u003EFLETCHER TABUTEAU\u003C/span\u003E: It would be my special delight to carry on speaking after dinner. What I had started saying was that the intent of this bill, when you look at it on paper, is wonderful. It says something to the effect that the New Zealand standards and accreditation system functions well, it meets the need of business, regulators, and consumers, and we are going to consolidate and conform and make it all work well. That sounds fantastic, but actually we are at a stage now where we have come to the Committee of the whole House, and despite good, respectful, and intelligent contributions from the public, from industry, and from experts, I would assert\u2014and I will go through each part point by point\u2014that the Government has not listened. It does not seem to have taken any of that good advice on board. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003ESo we stand here today, and the meaning and the essential nature of this debate is so important tonight because the Government and its members need to hear that there are still issues. For example\u2014and it was spoken of earlier\u2014one of the key concerns centres around the lack of independence of the New Zealand Standards Approval Board and the renamed Accreditation Council. It was raised in the Commerce Committee. Many submitters spoke to the apparent lack of independence and they spoke about how it has been absorbed into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment structure. Just as a commentary on the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment structure, it was a laudable goal to bring all these disparate parts together and try to create some synergies with this kind of superministry, but it is a disparate conglomeration of dysfunctional parts. If we add this to that Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment structure, I do not think that you will\u2014and I assert strongly that you will not\u2014achieve what the Government sets out and puts down on paper. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003EThere have been no substantial changes to the appointment process. This was raised many a time. I spoke on it myself. Members of the Opposition spoke on this repeatedly and said that the Minister has too much power. The Minister is in charge of the appointment of every single person on this board of this committee. It is not good enough. Ministerial appointments and the orders of council bypass the democratic process. New Zealand First asserts that we are bypassing the democratic process and we are not giving each and every New Zealander their say. There was a part in the legislation where it speaks about how the Minister can appoint on advice from the industry, but that is an option\u2014it is not absolutely required. It is still too much power for the Minister. It is reflective of much of the National Government\u2019s legislation of late, where more and more of the selection of panels, advisory committees, or boards are in the hands of the Minister and seem to bypass a good, reasonable, and fair democratic process in terms of selection and, therefore, in terms of representation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003EWe continue to be concerned about statements made by the regulatory impact statement that if the new body sat within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, there would be cost savings. Although the legislation speaks about recovering costs, actually, when you do the analysis of those parts, it is pretty hard for the Government to prove that. Yes, actually, it is in the legislation that we will recoup our costs, but it has not been proven. The analysis on the advice given still suggests that this Government actually is not creating efficiencies and it is\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022eaf79431-1033-44f1-a633-22633da52c0d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022535f087205a44d199942e2a8df91fa9e\u0022\u003EDavid Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: Why didn\u2019t you vote for Ron?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022100715eaad914fe5949a7aa15202b030\u0022\u003EFLETCHER TABUTEAU\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha! You have thrown me, Bennett. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003ENew Zealand First strongly believes that our much-valued international reputation regarding safe accredited standards for goods and services processes or practices will not be upheld. One of the submissions was from one of our Australian counterparts, and the Australian standards authority\u2014excuse me if I have got the name wrong\u2014spoke very clearly about clause 20 of the bill and how there was a lack of clarity in terms of understanding just what the legislation sets out to achieve. So we are being advised by comparable bodies, comparable groups, from our brother across the Tasman there, our cousin across the Tasman, and they are telling us that there is ambiguity in the legislation. They are suggesting that it needs to be tightened up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003EThat was clause 20, but all parts of the bill\u2014for example, in clause 3 we are replacing the word \u201Cpublic\u201D with \u201Cindividuals\u201D, and it has been discussed. It was about a definition and it was about accountability and it was bringing it down, literally, to the individual so that we knew what we were trying to achieve. What is the \u201Cpublic\u201D\u2014what does that mean\u2014whereas if we are dealing on an individual basis, we have some clarity; we have some understanding. There was a lot of debate around the definitions used in the legislation, in clause 4(1). So, for example, \u201Caccreditation\u201D is a term that was essential to the purpose of the bill, but \u201Ctesting\u201D and \u201Ctesting laboratory\u201D are adequately defined in other pieces of legislation. So there is redundancy in the legislation and it just adds to the confusion, because actually the bill itself is confusing as a whole. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003EThe next clauses, clause 4(2) and clause 17, talk about conflicts of interest. The proposed amendments would target those with a personal conflict that was so large as to have a real bearing on the carrying out of the undertaking as a board member, as a committee member, or in the expert role, but I think what we should do here and what we acknowledge is that the approach taken in clause 17 as introduced could have cast its net more broadly than intended and may have excluded some experts with knowledge crucial to the standards development committee. So although we applaud on the one hand the recognition that there is definitely the possibility of a conflict of interest, and it needs to be addressed, the definition in the legislation is actually perhaps too broad, it was suggested, and, actually, experts themselves might be considered as being defined as having a conflict of interest, so they would not be able to contribute to the discussions as per relevant standards. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e11a5f05-1940-41b2-8f1e-911dba7a43a5\u0022\u003EIt was recommended in clause 16A, which requires nominees to declare any personal interests at the time of nomination, that this could be part of the solution\u2014provide more detailed functions of the committee chairperson so that you understand exactly where the conflict of interest might lie. Those were just some suggestions presented to the select committee. Again, there does not seem to have been any movement and there does not seem to have been any attempt to listen to the advice provided. It was recommended that clause 7 would require the Standards Executive work programme to be published to make clear that access to archive standards, so that there was access to the standards so that we would see what the decision-making process was. It is technical but, in terms of your standards and accreditation, how else are you going to go back and understand what it is that has come before and what it is that you are trying to achieve? Clause 20\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022 data-id=\u0022407a0fb4ec77457ebce1547f4925571b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022407a0fb4ec77457ebce1547f4925571b\u0022\u003EBRETT HUDSON (National):\u003C/span\u003E It is with absolute pleasure that I rise to follow Mr Tabuteau, after that rather professorial dissertation. I would like to talk right at the moment, as we are on Part 1, about this issue around independence. I am drawn back to paraphrasing Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who noted\u2014and I will paraphrase so as not to bring the Chair into this debate\u2014that the member is entitled to his own opinion, but he is not entitled to his own facts. The facts are very simple around independence. Both the Standards Approval Board and the Standards Executive are granted statutory independence under this proposed amendment.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EI would draw members\u2019 attention particularly to clause 7(2) for the Standards Executive, and I will go to that clause and read, for their edification, that in the discharge of their duties, and in the functions of the New Zealand Standards Executive: \u201CIn performing the functions referred to in subsection (1)(a) to (j), the NZ Standards Executive must\u2014(a) act independently; and (b) have regard to\u2013(i) the value of standards: (ii) the legitimate use of standards: (iii) the importance of maintaining expert input into the standards development process:\u201D. Similarly, in clause 12(2): \u201CThe Board must act independently in undertaking its functions under subsection (1).\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003ESo members opposite can talk about independence until the cows come home. The fact of the matter is that both the Standards Approval Board and the Standards Executive are conferred with statutory independence under this bill. Parliament cannot confer any greater independence than that. Having worked in the private sector, I can tell you, Mr Chair\u2014because it is you, and other members present\u2014that, actually, co-locating in an office is not necessarily conducive to the collaboration that a private organisation might want to see. I have worked for multinationals. If you want to actually foster collaboration, it is not achieved simply by putting people in the same building. So we confer independence on the people who need it most. They will work in an organisation for reasons that support\u2014and I will now go back to Part 1 of this bill\u2014why we are actually making these changes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EI draw members\u2019 attention back to clause 3, the purpose of this bill: \u201CThe purpose of this Act is to\u2014(a) make provision for standards and conformity assessment systems in New Zealand that\u2014(i) are consistent with international practice; and (ii) facilitate trade; and (iii) protect the health, safety, and well-being of individuals.\u201D Why are we bringing this function or these groups into the agency or environment of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment? Because that is the agency that is tasked with business development and helping us to understand how we can help businesses position themselves to grow in and outside New Zealand. It actually makes sense. If you are going to have standards that are going to help us to conform and to sell our products both in New Zealand but particularly offshore, then actually having businesses working with the ministry that is tasked with helping to build innovation, scientific progress, and business development outside New Zealand makes extremely good sense. It makes extremely good sense to have these functions in the ministry.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EI will turn back for one moment, because real-world examples are fantastic things. I am just going to return very briefly to the issue of independence. Within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, where the Standards Executive will reside, we see today three extremely good examples. We have the Official Assignee, we have the Registrar of Companies, and we have the Commissioner of Patents. All three are independent bodies, through statutory independence, that reside in the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Not a single member opposite\u2014and not a single submitter\u2014raised any question as to the real independence of those bodies, albeit they reside in the same ministry that this bill would have the Standards Executive go into. Again, if you just look at simple evidence\u2014the member is entitled to his own opinion, but he is not entitled to his own facts. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u0022ada00db2a8af44b39c2465f99f87caa2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ada00db2a8af44b39c2465f99f87caa2\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E Put simply, the problem that we were supposed to address with this bill was a lack of funding. That was the issue that came up again and again at the Commerce Committee. It was an issue that officials acknowledged was significant in the setting of standards and so on. It was a question that was legitimate to ask. But what we got, and what we have, with this bill is the answer to another question: what structure would make it look like we are doing something without addressing the real issue\u2014the real funding issue? That is what we have got here in this bill. We have the answer to a different question\u2014to a problem that may not even have existed in the first place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EWe have heard members opposite saying defensively that just because you bring an organisation inside another organisation it does not mean that it loses its independence. That was the argument that we have just heard from Brett Hudson, the member opposite. We did not hear why you should bring it inside another organisation. We just heard that somehow when you bring one organisation under the purview of another, it does not hamper its independence. Well, I think that man\u2014to paraphrase someone else\u2014doth protest too much. I think that here we are in this Chamber debating a few sideshows when we avoid the real issue of funding that sits at the basis of the future of good standards and accreditation in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EMany of the submitters whom we had in front of us in the select committee expressed concerns about risks from the change in the model. Of course, there were concerns about being within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. We know from recent weeks that the culture that the Minister is setting within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment may not be in the interests of many business people in this country. I refer, of course, to the details that have come up about the expensive $70,000 sign out the front, and so on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022476ec9c0a4fc4f84b81c0d79dfb42d26\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: No, no\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222937e830e9ab44ffa3b750b139cd8245\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: This is germane to my argument, and I will come back to it, but I will try to make it clear so that I do not stray too far from the bill. This is about whether or not that department is independent enough and acting in the interests of those whom it is supposed to be serving. It is clear that the Minister has set a tone for that department that is about the interests of the big end of town. It is about $260,000 sun decks, it is about $140,000 TV screens, and it is about $76,000 reception desks.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022893adc11-ce4e-419c-a079-08f04b3d75f5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dab3be45e56c454da3a258b6f3029672\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch)\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002243579d4558304082aaa5b234a9c2f319\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: The Minister has sent a message that he is concerned with the big end of town. Those who would have standards and accreditations granted that are relevant and interesting for New Zealand businesses are often smaller businesses\u2014those who are trying to grow in the economy, those who are trying to diversify our economy, which is desperately needed in an economy that is under threat from being too commodity-focused and from not having enough diversity and enough other industries to share the burden of growing our economy, which leaves it all to the primary sector. So we do need businesses to be thriving.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EPart of what we learnt at the select committee, and part of what those who came and gave their time and wisdom\u2014those who were involved in the standards and accreditation process\u2014said to us was that, actually, one of the most important things is that we have representation in international fora where international accreditation and standards are agreed. When those standards are agreed, they can be agreed in the interests of some countries or in the interests of other countries, naturally enough. One example that was brought up in the earlier stage of the debate was a simple power switch in the wall that you charge your phone with or that you plug your heater into. That could be said to be in an international standard at some stage in the future. If there is a debate about that, who stands to gain from a particular standard that is set? It is probably the country and the manufacturers in that country that win the battle about what the standards or accreditation should look like\u2014the ones who have the existing patents and the existing abilities, structure, and so on to manufacture those devices in that particular way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EUp until now, New Zealand has enjoyed a particularly good international reputation by virtue of having many hard-working people who have served on international committees to ensure that New Zealand standards are a part of that debate, so that New Zealand industries can compete in the international market because the standards are set in such a way that New Zealand businesses can compete. So it does seem important that we continue to have that international representation in the standards and accreditation - setting process. In the select committee, when these concerns were raised, I have to say that I was not comforted that in the new model there would be sufficient emphasis placed on maintaining those international connections, on having the strong international voice in that standards-setting process. It was something that came up again and again, and it seemed that the focus had shifted, and it was more about efficiency gains within the ministry and so on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThe previous speaker brought to our attention this idea that they should be acting independently. Well, I would like to read from a couple of paragraphs further down in the same bill, the one we are debating. In Part 1 here, clause 8(1), it says: \u201CThe NZ Standards Executive may delegate to any employee of the Ministry any of his or her powers, or the performance of his or her functions or duties, under this Act or any other enactment.\u201D I want to ask how that would work in practice. What we see there is a ministry that, as we already know, I think, is under the thumb, under the micro-management of Steven Joyce, who chooses the colours and layouts of the documents he prints. We have officials there, who of course want to keep their Minister happy, but who are likely to have delegated tasks that include carrying out functions that the Minister would like to see in the standards and accreditations. That statutory independence is not as easy to guarantee when you have the employees in a ministry as a subset of the ministry carrying out these tasks, rather than a truly independent, industry-led body.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ESo I think that this is a legitimate concern to raise, and it is one that was raised again and again and again by people in the industry, those people who have been involved in the standards and accreditation - setting process up until now. Members opposite may say that they know better\u2014that they know better\u2014than those who were involved in standards and accreditation - setting up until now. Some of those who came to speak to us had been involved in the industry, and had served it over decades. But I would say to members opposite that if they think that they know better and do not even have to take those considerations into account, then they are showing just how out of touch they have become on that side of the Chamber. That is what we see here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EOnce again, also, we see here something that was designed as a cost-cutting measure, as well, without an eye to the bigger picture, without saying: \u201CHow does this reflect upon us in the international setting? How does this forward our international interests? How does this grow our exports?\u201D. We know that the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment is not meeting the Government\u2019s target of 40 percent of our GDP as exports. In fact, under Minister Joyce it started around 32 or 33 percent; it is now down around 27 percent, and it is projected to drop further. I would suggest it is not the ministry that is at fault; it is the micro-managing Minister, who has this programme going on, then wants to select the pamphlet colour, then wants to turn the document round, then wants to reword his own text. My heart goes out to the officials who have to work with that Minister, who is proving to be ineffective but is also chasing things down the wrong track. Here we have an example where we have had plenty of advice from the public, plenty of advice from experts that we should do things a certain way, but the Government has blocked its ears and said: \u201CWe know better, we are going to do it our way, and bother the public and those pesky people who work in the industry.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ESo my submission is that what we have here is the answer to a problem that does not really exist. That problem is around funding; it was not with the structure. That is what we heard from submitters, and in fact we had additional risks within the new structure. One of the points I have not raised yet is that there is no worker or consumer representation in the new structure\u2014again, something raised repeatedly by submitters and given no convincing response from officials. Again, my heart went out to the officials, because one could see they had their riding instructions. They were given a clear picture of how things should be, and it was very difficult to come up with legitimate explanations as to why it should be that way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ESo this is a bill that we will oppose. We do value input from the industry. We value having New Zealand on the international stage setting those standards, helping to shape the future of the world markets\u2014those markets that we want to be competitive in. Goodness knows that under this Government exports are plummeting as a proportion of GDP. We need it to be going in the opposite direction, and we believe we need to actually get alongside industry instead of always knowing better than industry. I do not know why members on that side of the Chamber hate business, but they seem to persist with telling business that it is wrong.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u00229957ff081f5b4967a0a40bdfe4e1c3d1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229957ff081f5b4967a0a40bdfe4e1c3d1\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs):\u003C/span\u003E An extraordinary contribution from the previous member there, Dr David Clark. It has been an interesting debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EI think it might be helpful just to go back and just outline the rationale for the changes proposed by this legislation. If we go back to 2012, the standards and conformance infrastructure review identified that the Standards Council, as it was, was not financially sustainable over the medium to longer term, that the development of standards was not as responsive as it could have been to the needs of firms, regulators, and consumers, and that there was much potential to strengthen the contribution of standards to the Government\u2019s desired outcome in the areas particularly around innovation, productivity, international trade, and safety. So officials considered, and the Government was persuaded, that three underlining problems were constraining the existing model.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThey were, first, tensions existing between the Standards Council\u2019s statutory function of developing standards and promoting standards and standardisation throughout the economy\u2014the difference between being a focused service-delivery organisation and an advocacy organisation. The second area was the distance from Government inherent in a Crown entity model, making it difficult for the Standards Council to maintain its relevance, visibility, and credibility within other parts of the Government. We saw that other parts of the Government were not using the standards to quite the extent that they could have. Also, finally, there were difficulties of a small, stand-alone organisation with a limited client base to achieve the flexibility and the scalability required in a dynamic environment. So those were the things that we were dealing with or concerned about, leading into the legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe have heard a lot of talk from some members around whether the new proposals would be sufficiently independent, and absolutely they will be independent. The New Zealand Standards Executive and the Standards Approval Board are required to act independently under this new legislation when undertaking their functions. The board will indeed make decisions based on transparent criteria outlined in the bill, and the balanced standards development committees, comprising experts from relevant sectors, are required to be used to develop the actual standards. So you still retain the experts from industry to help develop standards, but the New Zealand standards system will continue to operate in accordance with international expectations and directives from the International Organization for Standardization and from the International Electrotechnical Commission. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003ESo I do not have any doubts at all. If you look around the world, there are all sorts of arrangements. Some countries have their standards systems developed within a Government agency and some are stand-alone, so I think there is a lot of overblown talk about New Zealand being completely out of sync. There are lots of different ways that this is done, and this way the idea is to have the New Zealand Standards Executive operating within the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWill the new arrangements be financially sustainable? Well, absolutely. The bill strengthens the current cost-recovery model for standards by providing a fee-setting and cost-recovery framework for the standards, and I think that is very important. The bill provides for the full life-cycle costing of standards, including the development, the approval, the maintenance, and the access to standards. So the New Zealand Standards Executive and those commissioning the standards can negotiate a balance between upfront development and approval costs, and ongoing access and maintenance costs. So that is the core of what this bill is about\u2014trying to establish a more financially sustainable system. On that basis, I think it makes absolutely good sense. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022 data-id=\u0022c7bf89fb0c544470b072bd5ce84493fc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c7bf89fb0c544470b072bd5ce84493fc\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN (Labour\u2014Dunedin South):\u003C/span\u003E Well, I think everything that the Minister has just said right now has actually confirmed why Labour is opposing this bill and has some fundamental problems with it. What I did not hear the Minister do tonight was address what lies behind his Supplementary Order Papers 90 and 96 on Part 1\u2014what the rationale is for them and what he is trying to achieve. I am hoping that during the debate tonight we are actually going to hear a bit about that, because when you put a Supplementary Order Paper on the Table and you expect it to be taken seriously, then you should be able to get up and talk to what its purpose is and how it is going to enhance the bill\u2014this bill that we see as being fundamentally flawed\u2014and try to give us an explanation as to whether it improves the bill in some way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWe have a fundamental problem with this bill\u2014and can I say, and I think I said it in the second reading, that when we went into this process it seemed like a reasonably straightforward bill. It had gone through a process of review. We were not expecting there to be controversy around it. But every single professional body that came before us in the Commerce Committee\u2014and I did not hear the Minister refer to any of them in his speech just now\u2014had some serious issues with this. The serious issues were around the lack of checks and balances within the bill by removing the Standards Council and absorbing it into the great whale of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment\u2014absorbing it into a big Government department and its checks and balances\u2014and by the potential for the watering-down of standards rather than the strengthening of standards.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWe could talk until the cows come home about the lowering of standards generally by this Government, but what it is attempting to do here is fundamentally driven by the attempt to save money. That is one of our major problems with the bill. The Minister admitted it himself when he just got up. He read directly from the departmental report about what it said. In the regulatory impact statement, at paragraph 22 under \u201CProblem Definition\u201D\u2014which is what my colleague David Clark was referring to\u2014what was the problem that this was trying to fix? One of the main issues was that \u201Cthe Standards Council is not financially sustainable over the medium to longer term \u2026\u201D. We do not have an issue with that as being a problem, but the way to fix it is to look at how to strengthen the body and ensure that there are checks and balances, rather than to absorb it into a great big Government agency that has its own problems and where there are lots of questions around decisions that are being made.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThe standards body is a fundamentally important role that goes to our international reputation. It goes to our ability to maintain our credibility across industries like electrical engineering and building and construction. For buildings that could be affected by major events, we have to be able to stand up to international scrutiny on such things, and things like water safety and a whole lot of other issues.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThere was a troop of submitters who came before the select committee and gave very, very strong, credible evidence as to why they had serious issues with the direction that the Government was taking with this piece of legislation. We sat there and thought: \u201CWell, you know, they\u2019ve got a point.\u201D Unfortunately, despite our concerns, and despite the concerns that were raised over and over again about this\u2014they fell on deaf ears. That goes back to what the intention was\u2014what was the real intention behind this legislation? Was it to try to ensure that there was a strong, credible body that was independent?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EAnd you talk about independence\u2014you know, the member over there got up and talked about the fabulous independence. Well, checks and balances within a Government agency, when you absorb an entity like that\u2014there are significant issues that have not been addressed. Our big concern is that we are going to see a watering-down of standards, a lowering of standards. There is a question around whether or not the standards that are being developed are standards that are being developed according to an agenda rather than being driven by the entity itself. I would like to hear the Minister get up and say whether his Supplementary Order Papers on Part 1, clauses 10 and 13, are relevant to that argument, whether they are going to strengthen those checks and balances, and, if so, how.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EIn the regulatory impact statement the concern was raised that some stakeholders had indicated that there was a risk that experts may no longer be willing to participate on standards development committees, given their perception that the independence of standards would be eroded under the proposed changes. We consider that experts will continue to have incentives to participate. However, the actual impact is uncertain. The regulatory impact statement was produced before we had the stream of submitters before the committee. When they did come before the committee, we were still unsure as to whether those independent experts would still continue to have incentives to participate, how they would feel about continuing to participate, and what those impacts were going to be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EIf you are proposing to create a new entity within a Government agency, then there has got to be a really careful process gone through in doing that, and you need to take the stakeholders with you. Unfortunately, in this process that has not happened, and we have ended up with a situation where the Government is pushing this legislation forward. It seems to be largely driven by a desire to cut costs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWe have got concerns around independence. We have got concerns around the probity, and also around what kind of review mechanism there is going to be as to whether or not this new system is actually going to be working. I would not mind the Minister answering that question, as well. What is built into the legislation around providing a review to show that the legislation is working as it says it is intended to, rather than as is expressed by the concerns of those who submitted?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003ESo, therefore, Labour cannot continue to support this bill. We are at a loss as to what added value the amendments in the Supplementary Order Papers are going to add. We would like to hear from the Minister on that. We look forward to hearing his explanation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u002282f97285ba75422a8e47c6e4dff6a0ae\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002282f97285ba75422a8e47c6e4dff6a0ae\u0022\u003ESTUART NASH (Labour\u2014Napier):\u003C/span\u003E I find it quite surprising that Mr Hudson and the Minister in the chair, the Hon Paul Goldsmith, have stood up and talked about independence in the way they have. I want to clarify that there is a difference between independence and competence. I am not suggesting that those who are going to be appointed will not be competent, but I am suggesting that they will not be independent. I point to clause 6: \u201CThe chief executive must appoint a suitable employee of the Ministry to be the NZ Standards Executive.\u201D Immediately, the New Zealand Standards Executive is beholden to the chief executive officer. He is an employee of the ministry. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EUnder the \u201CFunctions of the NZ Standards Executive\u201D, in clause 7(3), it says: \u201CIn performing the functions \u2026 the NZ Standards Executive must \u2026 act under the direction of the Minister and the chief executive.\u201D To me, that does not suggest in any way, shape, or form that this is an independent position or a person who has been given a mandate to act independently. It actually states in the legislation that they must act under the direction of the Minister and the chief executive. As mentioned, I am not saying that this person will be incompetent in any way, shape, or form\u2014in fact, they will probably be highly competent\u2014but independent? No, I do not buy that. What I would also like to talk about is the fact that this New Zealand Standards Executive may in fact delegate authority to anyone within the ministry, as well. Again, that just flies in the face of what constitutes independence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EWhat I would like to talk about briefly, though, is the New Zealand Standards Approval Board. The board is the governance role of this whole process. Clauses 11 and 12 talk about the functions of the board, but first of all I want to go to schedule 1, which talks about the appointment of board members. The Minister in the chair said that absolutely there will be experts in this field, and therefore there is nothing to worry about. Well, in schedule 1, clause 1(2) it says: \u201CThe Minister must only appoint a person to be a member of the Board who the Minister considers has adequate skills and experience to perform the functions of the Board \u2026\u201D. The English language is wide and varied and there are many words that we can use that describe a person\u2019s competency, expertise, or experience, and \u201Cadequate skills\u201D is not one of those. To me, the term \u201Cadequate skills\u201D does not denote expertise in any way, shape, or form. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe other thing I would like to say is that when we look at the nomination of board members\u2014this is schedule 1, clause 2(1)\u2014it says: \u201CIf the Minister considers it appropriate, he or she may invite public or private nominations before appointing a member to the Board.\u201D So, again, I do not know at what point in time, or how, we quantify what \u201Cappropriate\u201D is, but the other thing this actually says is that the Minister may in fact shoulder-tap someone and say: \u201CCome along, I want you to put forward your nomination to be a board member of the standards authority.\u201D, and that is not independent in any way, shape, or form. I will go back to the point: it does not mean that the person may be incompetent, but if there is a private process where someone is being shoulder-tapped by the Minister, I think that flies in the face of what constitutes independence. If we do not get this right in terms of independence, then all it does is it devalues the work that the standards authority and the standards board undertake, because if there is a perception of cronyism\u2014and I do not use that word lightly\u2014then, even if it does not exist, the ability of this board to gain the credibility needed will be greatly diminished, and that will be a real shame. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe other thing, if I go to clause 3 in schedule 1, is: \u201CThe Minister appoints or reappoints a member of the Board, and a chairperson of the Board,\u201D. So, again, this is not independence; this is the Minister determining who is on this board and who is chairing this board\u2014so, who has the most powerful position. Clause 4 in schedule 1 says: \u201CThe acts of a person as a member or chairperson of the Board are valid even though\u201D\u2014sorry, this is another thing that I do not quite get, and I am not too sure where this leads from. Clause 4 in schedule 1 actually says that if a person on the board has been elected or nominated through an appointment process that is defective, then they are still able to sit on that board. I am not too sure how that comes about or where, again, is the independence, let alone the validity or the mandate, because the board is a very important part in terms of this whole process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe board has the ability to \u201Capprove or decline proposed New Zealand Standards:\u201D, to \u201Cadopt or decline \u2026 other standards organisations\u2019 standards [as standards for New Zealand]\u201D, to \u201Capprove or decline modifications to New Zealand Standards:\u201D, to \u201Cadvise the Minister on any matter referred to the Board \u2026\u201D, to \u201Cadvise the Minister on the currency of New Zealand Standards,\u201D\u2014I mean, you get the point. What I am actually saying here is that the board has a very important role to play, and yet the legislation says that the board members have to have only \u201Cadequate skills\u201D. I am hoping that what the Minister is going to do is stand up and let me know, or give a feel for, what the definition of \u201Cadequate skills\u201D is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI will go back to a point that I often make in this Chamber, and that is that we are held up in the global market place as a country that stands for something, a country that has really robust processes around our standards, around our export quality, etc., etc. If we do not get this right, then what we end up with is a devalued brand where people begin to question the efficacy of what we stand for. That is why this is so important. And the shame of all this is that, as Ms Curran alluded to earlier, as a Parliament we have the mandate, and we actually have the responsibility, to get this right. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EI know in these sorts of circumstances that Labour is always willing to work with the National Government in the select committee process to ensure that the processes and the legislation governing such an important area are done in a way that gains credibility not only for our Parliament and our country but for us on the international stage. It is such a shame that the Government did not take up the opportunity for all MPs to work together to get this right. In fact, yesterday, I think, I spoke on a bill for environmental reporting standards where, again, the Labour Opposition offered a way through where the Government could work with Labour to come up with something that was a robust and responsible piece of legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003EThe thing is that I actually believe that the people of New Zealand expect us to work together. We are not here to get in the way of the Government when we are putting forward this sort of legislation, because we understand how important this legislation is. We are not not supporting this because we do not believe that standards are important. We think standards are incredibly important, but we will never support legislation where we think it is not the right thing to do. So to the Minister in the chair I would like to say that this is a real missed opportunity. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003ESome of the wording in this bill greatly concerns me. When Mr Hudson stood up and said: \u201COf course these people are going to act independently\u201D, I think that is a little naive, with all due respect, because if you are beholden to the Minister for your appointment, or if you are beholden to the chief executive officer of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for your appointment, then you are going to undertake the sort of direction that the Minister or the chief executive officer puts on the table and purports to represent. That is the concern I have. It could have been better, it should have been better, and it is a shame it is not. Thank you very much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u0022d9a849051fef451a861ba74a68004311\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d9a849051fef451a861ba74a68004311\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much for the chance to take a second call on Part 1 of the Standards and Accreditation Bill. I would like to take just a few moments to respond to some of the comments made by the Minister. With this bill, you get the distinct feeling that the Government is taking a \u201Cburn the village to save the village\u201D approach, because the Minister said, in some of his remarks, that one of the concerns about why the changes in this bill needed to be made is that the Standards Council lacked visibility, and that is one of the reasons why we need to make the changes and the structural changes within the council.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThe Government\u2019s recipe for curing that lack of visibility within the New Zealand Standards Council is to morph it into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment\u2014probably the biggest Government department in New Zealand. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment engulfed about five or six different ministries, and currently it has a reputation for not necessarily managing its money very well. Morphing the process, the body, and the structure of the current New Zealand standards process into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is the Government\u2019s solution to that problem. Well, I do not think that makes sense. I do not think that makes sense to people on this side of the Chamber, and it does not make sense to a number of the very, very experienced industry organisations that came and gave submissions on this piece of legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EOne of the interjections from across the Chamber was in response to our argument about the independence\u2014or lack of it\u2014in this bill, and it was to read the legislation. And to give Mr Hudson his due, there is provision\u2014fleeting provision\u2014in this bill to give a degree of independence to the New Zealand Standards Executive. But what happened during the select committee process was that we had a number of submitters come through\u2014a lot of them industry people\u2014and their voice, their concerns about independence, has been completely and utterly ignored. I think that is really important, given that we thought that the Government members on that select committee might listen to those submitters\u2014that they might take those messages back to the Minister and say: \u201CHey, we may have got it wrong here, Minister. A lot of the industry submitters are saying that this is not the right thing to do. We may have to rethink the structure.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003ESo we may have expected some Supplementary Order Papers to amend the bill wholeheartedly, but that is not in front of us. The two Supplementary Order Papers that we have in front of us are purely technical ones changing very small technical details within the bill. So I think that it is appropriate, in this Committee stage, for members on this side of the Chamber to give those organisations within the industry their voice, to make sure that we can flag that they have said this is the wrong thing to do. I would like to take one example, and that is the New Zealand Building Industry Federation\u2014an organisation that I hope the Government would have listened to, in its concerns about this bill. In the opening comments of its submission, the Building Industry Federation said: \u201CThe intent of the Government to move Standards setting from an independent body with a high level of private sector governance input to one administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) was not greeted with enthusiasm by many in the building industry.\u201D If I were in the National Government and the New Zealand Building Industry Federation had said that in the opening line of its submission on this bill, I would be a little bit concerned. It is not a small organisation, and it covers a very important function in our country, so I would be a little bit concerned by its opening remarks.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThen we get to its comments around independence. Mr Hudson has said that, yes, the bill does cater for independence, but let us look at the reality of what may be the case within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. I think that this was a very brave submission for the Building Industry Federation, because it went on to say in its submission that with the New Zealand Standards Executive, the: \u201CInternational best practice has historically been to allocate the Standard-setting function to industry. The required technical expertise is principally found within the ranks of day to day practitioners within the sectors to be covered. Further, Standard-setting should not be subject\u201D\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u0022b2c70b22f882426b89996bcabcf1a370\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b2c70b22f882426b89996bcabcf1a370\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002201443f2b530a490b825b19f18a0875c6\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 question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; 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 58\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000579\u0022\u003EThe question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Papers 90 and 96 in the name of the Hon Paul Goldsmith, and the following amendment in his name, to Part 1 be agreed to:\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000580\u0022\u003Ein the cross-heading above clause 26, replace \u201Clegislative instruments\u201D with \u201Cregulations\u201D; and\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000581\u0022\u003Ein schedule 2, clause 4(4), replace \u201Cthis Act\u201D with \u201Cthis Schedule\u201D.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022111aa729a7d24f1d9a0dcb447e24c652\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 amendments be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAmendments agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000582\u0022\u003EPart 1 as amended agreed to.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00224f34ce42e47e43bfb12aae7d859b52c4\u0022\u003EPart 2  Miscellaneous provisions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u00228d6586c600454adf8e48eb4c236b41be\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228d6586c600454adf8e48eb4c236b41be\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you for allowing me to take some calls on Part 2 of this Standards and Accreditation Bill. I would like to focus on clause 40, which is the \u201CDisestablishment of the Standards Council\u201D. It is only a two-line clause, but the Standards Council, continued under section 3 of the Standards Act 1988, is disestablished.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThat sets up the ability for this Government to set up a new body that is housed within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and this is the NZ Standards Executive. This is the body that will be replacing the Standards Council, and it is that lack of independence because of its housing within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment that we have a problem with. Just as I was saying on Part 1, there is massive concern that we are losing the Standards Council and we are having a new entity within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the NZ Standards Executive.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EI just wanted to continue with some concerns from the Building Industry Federation around losing the Standards Council. In its submission, again, and quoting from it\u2014and I want to say that it is a very brave submission from the Building Industry Federation\u2014it says that this bill, to the extent that it \u201Cbreaks with this historic global practice the Building and Construction sector was, and is, concerned that the position of Executive is now to be filled by an executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Development (MBIE) appointed by the Chief Executive of that Ministry.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThe Building Industry Federation in its submission to the select committee, which is the public\u2019s opportunity to come and have its say, says: \u201CThe industry does not question the integrity of the Chief Executive of MBIE but is concerned that the appointment process and the subsequent administrative tenor of the appointee will be influenced significantly and dominated by public sector and government requirements at the expense of industry requirements and needs.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EWhy has this Government, which always claims it is close to industry and in touch with industry, completely and utterly ignored the many voices of industry when it came to this bill at the Commerce Committee and completely and utterly ignored their concerns around independence and around whether or not the new structure affords itself to cover costs? It has completely and utterly ignored it, because it has made no amendments to this piece of legislation\u2014or no substantive amendments to this piece of legislation\u2014at all after it left the select committee. They have been ignored, and I think that that is a mistake and a missed opportunity from this Government to make sure that this piece of legislation was as good as it could have been. It is a missed opportunity and one that the Government should have seen coming at the select committee consideration.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EClause 40, again, is around the disestablishment of the Standards Council. The main aim in doing this was to deal with the lack of financial viability of the New Zealand Standards Council. Again, in the select committee process we heard from a number of submitters who questioned whether the new structure within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment would actually solve that problem. A number of my colleagues have raised this issue. I think Dr David Clark did, and my colleague Stuart Nash certainly did.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EAlso, this issue was raised by Diane Baguley, and I have quoted her submission extensively through this debate. She is someone with around 20 years\u2019 experience in this area, and she has grave concerns not just about the financial sustainability of the standards process but also concerns around the independence, which we share. Ms Baguley sent her submission to the Commerce Committee on 1 January; so concerned was she about this piece of legislation that on New Year\u2019s Day she thought she would send her submission in. She said in her submission: \u201CThere is no guarantee that the new structure will, in the long run, save public money rather than merely shift it from one part of the budget to another. The effect on overall expenditure will be difficult to determine, given that there will be practical limitations to the specificity of financial reporting within MBIE.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThere is another clear reason there why this Government should have taken heed of a number of the recommendations from the submitters at the select committee. Clause 40 does provide for disestablishing the New Zealand Standards Council. A number of submitters said we should not have been doing this. The arrogance of the Government to not see that and to push on through\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c724c60a8a4547f08cde51ff65a23f68\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Ha!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ba810821c33f432daeba2512b0b01e34\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Bishop can laugh, but his members sat around that table and listened to the industry submitters come along, and for them it was an important chance to have their say. It is an important part of the democratic process\u2014scrutiny of legislation by the people who are going to be most affected\u2014but this Government did nothing. It pushed on and did not listen to people with decades more experience of this sector than the people sitting around that select committee table. I am glad to say that we, on this side of the Chamber, did listen to those concerns. We hoped that the Government was going to make changes through a Supplementary Order Paper that the Government may have brought through, but to this date we have seen nothing and to this date we will probably continue to vote against this piece of legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThis is a missed opportunity for this Government. I think that earlier on the Minister in the chair, Paul Goldsmith, said that the Standards Council, which is being disestablished under clause 40, was not visible at all, and that was one the problems that the Government was trying to solve. As I said in relation to Part 1, the solution that the Government had to that problem was a novel one. It was not to continue to keep it independent. It was not to give it more funding to ensure that it was financially sustainable. It was to morph it into a department that is probably the biggest department in the country\u2014the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. It has taken in five or six other Government departments: immigration, labour, building, housing, and economic development. The problem was visibility, so this Government said: \u201CWell, if it\u2019s not visible, let\u2019s put it in MBIE where it will be even more invisible.\u201D I do not think that those organisations that came to submit and were concerned about the disestablishment of the Standards Council will be impressed. They were not impressed, certainly, at the select committee hearing. I think they left hopeful that the Government would listen, but it did not. There is nothing in this piece of legislation that in any way goes to meet the concerns that they had at the select committee, and those have been well traversed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThis is a Government that is actually, in most areas, trying to push responsibility away, whether it be social bonds or whether it be social housing. Government members are trying to say that less Government is better. But in this instance, they are saying: \u201CThat\u2019s an independent body. Let\u2019s morph it into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.\u201D That does not make sense to us. It means that because we are trying to solve one problem around costs, we are creating another fundamental problem around independence, and the industry wants independence to make sure that we have credibility on the international stage when it comes to our standards setting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EWe have got huge credibility there\u2014we have\u2014and we had submissions to the select committee, and they did have concerns. I will just quote one more of those. It is from Diane Baguley again. She said: \u201CI oppose the disestablishment of the Standards Council \u2026 I do not consider that the provisions set out for the establishment of the standards functions within MBIE can adequately control the risks associated with the new structure.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EThis is a case where this Government has burned the village to save the village. We are not convinced it is going to solve the issue around costs, and we certainly know that it has created another issue around independence, one that is fundamental and one that puts our reputation in this area seriously at risk.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u00228c3b7defefa1426283922031e16be128\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228c3b7defefa1426283922031e16be128\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E I want to make my first contribution focused on Part 2, clause 41: \u201CTransitional provisions\u201D, which are, actually, surprisingly interesting. I challenge members opposite to have a look through these transitional provisions, because there is some cracker stuff in here. There is some stuff that tells us a bit about what the Government is on about here, and it is buried in the related schedules, which are referred to in this part of the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EClause 41(1) refers to schedule 2: the transitional provisions relating to the transfer of the functions, work, and employees of the Standards Council. One of the things that is immediately obvious in there is that the assets, records, liabilities, and debts of the existing Standards Council will transfer and become vested in the ministry. With that comes both opportunity and risk, of course. I am not familiar with the detail that is recorded in those records, and I do not know whether they will capture all of the intellectual property that goes with the existing members of that council or a portion thereof, and exactly what grace there will be in the handover of that, given the fact that the members on that council will be feeling a little like they have not been listened to and like their contribution has not been valued for what it was and is currently. The opportunity lies in there, though, for the Government to learn something from it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EI have already expressed concerns around international connectedness, representation in international fora, and having New Zealand represented at the table when standards are set to ensure that New Zealand industry interests are protected, as well as New Zealand interests more generally and the relationships that are built around that. I want to skip from there to clause 4 of schedule 2, which talks about determining whether each subcommittee\u2019s work will continue or not. This is a crunch issue, and it will be in these decisions that we see where the Government\u2019s agenda lies\u2014which things it wants to flick on, which things it wants to continue with, and where its funding priorities lie. I suspect strongly that we will see that it will focus on those industries that are already wealthy and can afford to fund the development of standards readily, and focus less on those industries that are nascent, that are full of entrepreneurs, full of people who wish to make a mark on the world stage, the young and growing enterprises that we would want to encourage to ensure an increasing diversity in our economy.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThe diversification issue is one that comes up again and again around this Parliament. We know that we are too reliant for our wealth on the primary sector. We know that we are incredibly grateful for the efforts of the primary sector, but this Government is content to blame them when it goes wrong, and it seems to have no strategy for diversifying the economy. Here we will see, in this particular handover, in these transitional arrangements, just where its priorities lie. We will see whether the Government chooses to continue on with the work that would diversify our economy, or whether it focuses instead on those industries that are already entrenched. So this is where the rubber hits the road\u2014Part 2 is an incredibly important part of the bill, but in this part of my contribution I am focusing just on that clause, because there are other clauses I wish to speak to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThe next thing that leaps out at members here, and will outrage some, of course, is clause 5(3) of schedule 2, and I will read it out for members, who will not have read it before, I am sure: \u201CThis clause overrides Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000.\u201D It is a very short clause, and\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002275a05f96-2474-4c90-a6ea-cf7b5798e03e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002275fc396e926343c1beac24a1df28402b\u0022\u003EHon Ruth Dyson\u003C/span\u003E: Say that again.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cd06db859d804c93af994ab864781ec6\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: It says: \u201CThis Act overrides Part 6A of the Employment Relations Act 2000.\u201D This is the protection for vulnerable workers that is in the legislation. The Government has, in a schedule at the back of this very thick bill, shoved in a clause that overrides the protections for vulnerable workers. It is right here. Why? Why in this bill of all places? It just goes to show that the real agenda of the Government is tucked away here, and I would be very interested to hear from the Minister just why this clause is so important. How many people who work at the Standards Council are vulnerable workers? There are probably one or two cleaners, maybe, and some part-time workers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EI am not sure, but the Minister has it in for them. He has put in a clause specifically to ensure that they are not protected in this transition. And it goes on in clause 6, where it talks about terms of employment of transferred employees being treated as continuous employment. It states: \u201CThe employment of a transferred employee by the Ministry is to be treated as continuous employment for the purposes of any enactment.\u201D So if they are transferring people, they do not want to be giving any special privileges. They do not want to be making any redundancy payments first or carrying over, or anything. It is all in the interests of the ministry and in the interests of this particular Minister, I would suggest. It is an outrage that that can be put in the schedules, at the back, hidden away, to be discovered only when the fine print is read on this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThese transitional arrangements tell us a lot about the Government. They will be where the rubber hits the road, as I have said, in this bill. There are also clauses in here about the Government Superannuation Fund, and what people are entitled to. It specifies what they are not entitled to quite precisely because the Government does not want people to be better off for this shift. This is a Government that is so mean that in the subclauses of the bill it overrides the vulnerable worker protection that we have ensconced in our legislation in this Parliament. I consider that to be an outrage, and it shows just how out of touch this Government has become if it thinks it can get away with hiding these things away in the fine print and not have it noticed in the debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThis is certainly something that was not brought up at the select committee. I think there would have been something in our minority report had we spotted that particular schedule at the time. I do not think we spent much time on the schedules at the back of the bill. But it is something that has leapt out at me right now in this debate. I would be interested to hear whether the Minister would consider making an amendment to that at the last minute, because it is certainly within his powers to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EBut, as I said at the outset, one of the other tests will be when we see what the ministry transfers, what work it carries on with, and what work it does not carry on with. These are the things that will matter for the industries that are seeking the support of standards that are in their interests as they develop products and want to put them out on the international market. Can the New Zealand products and the New Zealand manufacturers be guaranteed that the international standards will be easy for them to reach in terms of the manufacturing techniques and varieties available here, or will they be standards that play to the interests of whoever is in the room, with an excluded New Zealand component, because it is just not a priority for this Government? The funding, as I said at the outset, has not been a priority. It will come down to this \u201Cwhere rubber hits road\u201D section, and we will see that it is also not a priority, and that is signalled clearly by the fact that the vulnerable worker clause overrides existing legislation here in the schedule at the back of the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EOf course, Mr Faafoi has already noted the overriding of the concerns of industry members in the select committee\u2014I suspect that those same concerns will be thrust aside in the transitional arrangements as the Government tries to give its handover and says that this is the valuable work of the Standards Council\u2014these are the international fora that are the most important that we attend, and this is where we have got the most traction and where we have the relationships that can ensure New Zealand\u2019s interests are protected. On the track record of what we have seen so far, this Government has blinkers on. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThe Minister is dead set on doing things a certain way, of drawing more into his mega - multi-enterprise, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment monolith, with the big sign outside. It is a power grab, and there can be no mistake about that. This is an attempt to bring more under his control, to direct officials, to skew it towards the interests that he is interested in, and as we see these transitional arrangements I am sure we will see more of the same.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ESo my submission to this Committee is that it would be very good if the Minister would explain why the clause in the legislation that protects vulnerable workers needs to be overridden in this schedule. Whom in particular is he trying to target here and why, and, also, why is it being so specific around any payments that are carried over and any arrangements around employment? It feels a little bit like the Government is being mean-spirited in targeting a small group of individuals who made a genuine and lasting contribution to New Zealand\u2019s economic development, and there is a deep irony in that coming from a Government that is driving down exports as a percentage of our GDP. That is, unfortunately, making life hard for small businesses, with fewer small businesses being created under this Government than the previous Government. That is the irony, I guess, in this bill: we have a Government obsessed with controlling the transitional provisions to ensure that no one\u2014no one\u2014is looked after in the transition. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022 data-id=\u0022aa2fae9d9d774797b1bcc61e932837aa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022aa2fae9d9d774797b1bcc61e932837aa\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS (Labour\u2014Rimutaka):\u003C/span\u003E I want to take only a very brief call on the Standards and Accreditation Bill because I basically have a few questions for the Minister in the chair, the Hon Paul Goldsmith, and I am sure that they are ones that he will be able to deal with relatively quickly.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ESitting here in the Chamber tonight, I picked up a copy of the bill and I read Part 2, clause 39, which is the regulation-making powers that the bill provides. There are not many people in the House who get excited about regulation-making powers in bills, but I am one of them\u2014I am one of them. As a previous member of the Regulations Review Committee, I am one of the people who find regulation-making powers quite interesting. Clause 39 states: \u201CThe Governor-General may, by Order in Council, make regulations providing for any matter that is contemplated by this Act as necessary\u2014(a) for giving it full effect; or (b) for its administration.\u201D Those are incredibly wide-ranging regulation-making powers, and, although I have looked at a number of regulation-making powers in bills, I do not think that I have seen ones that are quite so broad.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000614\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ESo my question for the Minister in the chair, really, is what the justification is for there being such a wide regulation-making power in this legislation. We have established over a long period of time the primacy\u2014the sovereignty\u2014of Parliament when it comes to establishing the laws of the land. The Regulations Review Committee has typically taken a very dim view of legislation that creates uncertainty by giving overwhelming regulation-making power to the executive, which this very, very broad clause seems, on the face of it, to do. The current approach to regulation making tightened up significantly after the Muldoon Government because, back then, Rob Muldoon would frequently pass laws through the House that basically gave him regulation-making power to, effectively, make new laws without reference back to the Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002285ce695d5a414cbb9858a942bb1f40a3\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: The Economic Stabilisation Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df1be8ee0e2343b3a203dfbdcab31aef\u0022\u003ECHRIS HIPKINS\u003C/span\u003E: Chris Bishop is very excited about that. He works for Steven Joyce\u2014or he used to work for Steven Joyce. I think that is a regulation-making power they would have loved to have, and he would have loved to have when Chris Bishop was working for him.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000617\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EThe reality is we frown upon those, and we frown upon those because we have an established principle that it is the Parliament that should be making laws, not the executive. While the executive proposes laws to the legislature, it is not solely responsible for their passage. The House has that prerogative. We put them through a select committee process and we make sure that they are robustly tested, and yet this clause here\u2014clause 39\u2014seems to give the executive the power to make any nature of regulations under this bill. That does seem incredibly broad.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003ESo I guess the question that I have for the Minister in the chair is: why such a broad regulation-making power? Have I misinterpreted that? But I do not think I have, because I have looked at many regulation-making powers provided for in bills and in legislation, and I have never yet seen one that is as broad as this one. So I think it is important that where the House is giving such wide regulation-making powers to the executive, that is tested.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221dbd2811-8e58-4ffb-848d-31c0eaa9690a\u0022\u003EI note the Regulations Review Committee has provided feedback on another part of the bill, which is clause 2, the commencement clause. I am sure the debate on that will tease out the concerns of the Regulations Review Committee on that, but I notice that it has not provided feedback on that particular clause. It may well be that there is a good explanation for why such a broad power is being allowed, but I would very much like to hear it. I hope that the Minister in the chair will give the Committee the benefit of that argument and that information before we vote on Part 2, clause 39. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022 data-id=\u0022b0aedbb3468946e897c29522f628e213\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b0aedbb3468946e897c29522f628e213\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE (Labour\u2014New Lynn):\u003C/span\u003E May I begin my contribution by picking up where our chief whip has left off? As chair of the Regulations Review Committee, I too would seek an explanation from the Minister about why the Government has introduced a part as sweeping as clause 39.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003ELet me read it again: \u201CThe Governor-General may, by Order in Council,\u201D\u2014which, of course, is dictated by Cabinet\u2014\u201Cmake regulations providing for any matter that is contemplated by this Act as necessary\u2014(a) for giving it full effect; or (b) for its administration.\u201D So the regulation-making power is very, very broad. It allows, essentially, the Governor-General, on advice from Cabinet, to make regulations. That means basically that the Minister is ordering up regulations, as the Chair knows, on any matter that the Minister sees fit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EI turn then to a partner provision under clause 7 of schedule 1 of the bill, entitled \u201CRemoval of Board members\u201D, which provides that \u201CThe Minister may at any time remove a member of the Board from office.\u201D, by written notice and publishing in the Gazette. Once again, it is an almost unfettered power by the Minister to remove any member of the independent standards board. How very interesting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThen I turn to the regulatory impact statement prepared by the Government\u2014by Treasury and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment\u2014and what I was curious about, as a non-member of the Commerce Committee that considered the bill, was the fact that the Labour Party had supported the bill\u2019s referral to the select committee, but on the weight of submissions received by the select committee we are changing our vote and are now opposing the bill. This, I say for the benefit of people listening, is quite unusual. Sometimes an Opposition will oppose a bill\u2019s referral to a select committee and then be reassured on the points that are of concern and vote for a bill thereafter. It is more unusual for us to vote against a bill on the weight of submissions, having got it to a select committee in the first place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003ESo what is it that is the core problem with this? Well, let us start with what the problem is that the legislative process is designed to solve, because this reform programme has been under way since the current Government canned the previous Government\u2019s 2008 reforms in 2012. That is a 3-year ride to get to the point where we are today. So the problem definition is, at No. 1, that the current arrangements of an independent statutory board are too unwieldy and too expensive, and one reading between the lines might add the phrase \u201Ctoo independent\u201D. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EA range of options was considered for different aspects of this, but the key conclusion is in paragraph 30 on page 6 of the regulatory impact statement, which says: \u201COne of the key issues identified was the sustainability\u201D\u2014they mean the financial stability\u2014\u201Cof [Standards New Zealand]. MBIE\u201D\u2014that is, the Government Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment reporting to Minister Joyce\u2014\u201Chave considered the current funding model and consider that it remains appropriate,\u201D\u2014here is the punch line\u2014\u201Cwhere regulators and industry \u2026 are able to exercise choices about the use of Standards and \u2026 their development \u2026\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003ESo the Government\u2019s officials, and the businesses that are being regulated, are able to exercise choices about what standards are developed and how. That way they can cut out the ones they do not want and get only the ones they do want, and that will be cheaper because the body will be doing less. The way to ensure that is to insource Standards New Zealand executive and board within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, reporting to the Minister\u2014the same Minister who can write any regulation he or she wants and sack any board member he or she wants under this bill. It is insourced within a Government ministry. Any pretence of independence upon which New Zealand\u2019s international reputation for effectiveness in this area was built has gone out the window. Not surprisingly, that is exactly what submitters have told the select committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003ENational has chosen to go for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment embedded option for regulation of standards against the run of the public comments supporting full operational independence. I will boil it down again. Under the guise of addressing issues of financial sustainability\u2014i.e. can we pay for the thing on its current budget\u2014the Government has sneaked through a Trojan horse, which is to remove the statutory independence of the chief executive and the board to bring them under a Minister within a Government department where the Minister can write any regulation he or she chooses and can sack any board member upon notice. There is a line official within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment who has day-to-day operational responsibility for the development of standards.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EWell, that has got to be a backwards step, and that is exactly what the weight of submissions has said. They go on and on and on\u2014the negative submissions criticising the Government for this Trojan horse move. They warn us that not only will it trash New Zealand\u2019s international reputation in the standards area but it could lead to other countries, perhaps developing countries with less robust systems of governance, adopting the New Zealand model to their detriment\u2014adopting the New Zealand model to their detriment. These are very disheartening words to hear. Why would the Minister, why would the Government, want to have more control, direct control, over standards? Well, it is lovely to see the Minister entering the Chamber at this moment, and I hope that he will take a call and address himself to that matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EHere is what the New Zealand Building Industry Federation\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f14110c78dbf42daaecc4930da023862\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: Come to Part 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b6e0526d37d4859b752fccc56a5f84c\u0022\u003EHon DAVID CUNLIFFE\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014said in direct relation, Mr Chairperson, to Part 2. It said: \u201CStandard-setting should not be subject to direct political influence by the government of the day.\u201D Part 2 contains the schedules, which contain the ministerial regulation-making power and the \u201Cfire\u2019em, sack\u2019em, or back\u2019em\u201D power. A consumer representative on a wide variety of standards committees, Patricia Cunniffe\u2014no relation\u2014said that she was completely unconvinced that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment embedded model was either viable or well functioning.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EAnd there were many, many, many more submissions in a similar vein. Diane Baguley, a member of the joint Australia-New Zealand committee since 1995, one of the international leaders in this area, criticised it for its lack of independence and robustness. Here is a Government that is making a name for the decline of standards: the decline of broadcasting standards, the decline of expenditure efficiency standards, the decline of swamp kauri standards\u2014the decline of standards all around the country. Maybe there is no surprise that it would want to have a tamer, more compliant, more malleable, more directable, more sackable standards body than currently exists.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EUnder the guise of financial stability, here is a Trojan horse by which this Government\u2014which is always going for the short-term, high-control solution\u2014is ebbing away our independent institutions; ebbing away, corroding away our independent institutions. This is another step along a road vested in Part 2 of this bill, which is leading to ultimately more risk, more fragility and, down the track, greater costs, because if we get standards wrong we increase our insurance premiums, we increase health and safety problems, and we may have inter-operability problems that become more pressing in an interconnected world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EI see the Minister of Health opposite. The Minister well knows that New Zealand\u2019s 22 district health boards find it difficult to talk to each other online because they do not have and have not had a common set of inter-operability standards. That is a living, glowing example of the importance of standards. If we want to shift patient data from an operating theatre in Northland to the family GP in Southland, oftentimes it is very difficult to do it because the standards are not as robust as they should be. If we had had more standards of mining regulation, we might not have had Pike River. So there are many practical examples about why standards matter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e0192ed9-5715-4f6c-bd52-8db4f3466087\u0022\u003EThe gist here, in conclusion\u2014I see you are leaning forward for your time button, Mr Chair\u2014is this. It is a matter of regret that we are insourcing the standards independence within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. That is a backwards step.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u00226a9eee5fd6a44fe69e87c80097ea5e22\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226a9eee5fd6a44fe69e87c80097ea5e22\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022 data-id=\u002212a188cbdfda4857879f648e3d32d4e5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002212a188cbdfda4857879f648e3d32d4e5\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN (Labour\u2014Dunedin South):\u003C/span\u003E Well, taking up from where my colleague David Clark left off, around the impact of the Standards and Accreditation Bill on vulnerable workers, and Part 2, with the clause that he referred to earlier, I say that this bill will also affect consumers and vulnerable consumers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EI want to specifically refer to a submission from the Barrier Free New Zealand Trust, which is committed to ensuring that the built environment is accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. Its submission was quite an important submission, because what it brought home was why it is so important to have good standards. It talked about consumer confidence, and I want to broaden that out into further consumer confidence, but, for this group\u2014it believes that independence and balance in standards committees is absolutely critical and that there has to be consumer confidence.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EOne of the things about this bill that really worries us on this side of the Chamber is that what this bill is doing is moving away from a system where consumers can feel confident. I think we have raised enough issues tonight, and through other speeches about other parts of this bill, to actually really red flag what is actually being achieved through this bill. The entity is being taken away from being an independent Crown entity. It is being weakened, watered down, and absorbed into a major Government department, where there is an appearance of independence but where the extraordinary checks and balances that were in the original entity are not replicated in the new entity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThe Barrier Free New Zealand Trust says: \u201COur concern is that should the Standards development and approval process be manipulated in anyway by virtue of its operational requirements sitting within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, then this could be lost.\u201D I think its submission is actually quite important. I think that if you have got a consumer group that is vulnerable like this, it should be significantly listened to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EI want to also refer to another submission, which was from the Fire Protection Association. This is a completely different organisation. But what it said was: \u201CWe are concerned with the very poor quality in thinking and analysis and the lack of even the most rudimentary data evident \u2026 MBIE\u2019s apparent (to our mind) obfuscation of its thinly disguised attempt to (to use its own words) \u2018capture\u2019 the Standards system\u2014either for its own ends or in response to a very influential lobby \u2026\u201D. It went on to elaborate on those concerns. When you have got that kind of a body saying those kinds of things, then there should be major red flags being raised. In Part 2, with the disestablishment of the Standards Council, which is going to be replaced with the New Zealand Standards Approval Board\u2014we do not believe that the test has been met for the independence and the probity of the new organisation that will actually ensure that it will provide consumer confidence, that will provide industry confidence, and that will alleviate the concerns that have been raised.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EAnother submission\u2014I also refer to Patricia Cunniffe\u2019s submission, where she talked about consumer confidence and consumer concerns in standardisation. She used some illustrations to raise the issue of how important it is to continue to develop certain standards. Another one of the concerns that was raised was around whether there will be a continuation of the standards being developed that need to be developed to provide that consumer confidence and that industry confidence, and also to maintain our international reputation. She uses the example of the standard currently in use for medical alert systems, which is a 20-year-old Australian one, and says that there is no willingness by any Government department to update this standard as it does not fall neatly into any particular department\u2019s bailiwick. I ask the Minister in the chair, Paul Goldsmith, tonight: will standards like this be updated under the new regime?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThe second example is from technologies being developed in isolation, with insufficient regard to their interaction. She uses the example that it is known that implanted defibrillators are adversely affected by scanning equipment. Scanning equipment is used not only in airports; it is commonplace in supermarkets, for example. The interaction between the two is dealt with by warnings, rather than by standardisation. So will we have work being done on those things, where new technologies are having impacts on people\u2019s health and where standards need to be developed?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThe third case was in the building sector, where the building code has been developed with insufficient regard for those most at risk, in that there are incompatibilities between the code and NZS 4121, the standard relating to requirements for people with disabilities\u2014going back to that issue again. The Malatest report from June 2014, which was Access to Buildings for People with Disabilities, considers that \u201CLack of leadership and coordination has contributed to missed opportunities, duplication of efforts and inefficiencies, and gaps in knowledge.\u201D I ask the Minister in the chair what he has to say about that. What confidence can he stand up and give this Committee that consumers and those sorts of standards will be looked at under this new regime?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EJust to conclude, two devastating events form the backdrop to this bill and also to the health and safety reforms before Parliament: the Pike River mine explosion in 2010, which killed 29 miners; and the collapse of the CTV Building in February 2011, which killed 115 people. I would just like to remind everybody that Standards New Zealand was established after a similarly shocking tragedy, which was the 1931 Hawke\u2019s Bay earthquake, which had a death toll of 251 people. Following that event, Standards New Zealand was tasked to ensure that future such events did not result in the same loss of life. Well, I put it to you, Mr Chair, and to the Minister in the chair, that this bill is not going to maintain that standard and maintain that level of scrutiny, of independence, and of surety for New Zealand consumers and for industry bodies that are trying to maintain their own reputations and build economic credibility and economic development. Also, our international reputation will be affected, will be watered down by the impact of this bill. Therefore we cannot support it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022 data-id=\u0022075b8bb480e84790ba1feab737ee05eb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022075b8bb480e84790ba1feab737ee05eb\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR (National\u2014T\u0101maki):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u0022249c6e1075b7497f9aa3f904b82859cf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022249c6e1075b7497f9aa3f904b82859cf\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I am just looking around a process issue. There was a late amendment tabled in my name because of something that was discovered during the debate. I am seeking the call to see whether we could take an opportunity to highlight that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022 data-id=\u0022debfa9f2eab14d09814349c6d5c6fd44\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022debfa9f2eab14d09814349c6d5c6fd44\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry; I have put the question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00224dc256a4a0c6491f9587b47113712b9d\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 question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 63\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; 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 58\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000649\u0022\u003EThe question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 90 in the name of the Hon Paul Goldsmith to Part 2 be agreed to.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00222d61fc6d07084a37800cb4cb8578b893\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 amendment be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 75\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand National 59; Green Party 14; ACT New Zealand 1; United Future 1.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 46\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAmendment agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u00220d077c16404d44a2a429b65e31de61b4\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220d077c16404d44a2a429b65e31de61b4\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E I raise a point of order, Mr Chairperson. I am just clarifying whether there is going to be a vote on the amendment put in by myself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d431f40eb29b45d7b42c56d6321feb06\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: That comes in schedule 2, which is yet to be put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022058f750e98964e9f868e54e61981a5ae\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: Apologies, Mr Chair.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022ab6a972792fe418e8e5ab245138d0d61\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 Part 2 as amended be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EPart 2 as amended agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002262c2341f43ac4ae8a51a7e08c44f65ef\u0022\u003ESchedule 1\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022f0a51d82fa474632a84e09b7c9c60b0f\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 schedule 1 be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ESchedule 1 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a4910579fd1446708a13f73f3a91d35d\u0022\u003ESchedule 2\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000655\u0022\u003EThe question was put that the amendment set out on Supplementary Order Paper 96 in the name of the Hon Paul Goldsmith, and the following amendment in his name, to schedule 2 be agreed to:\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000656\u0022\u003Ereplace \u201Cthis Act\u201D with \u201Cthis Schedule\u201D.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022e2b598e1c3864b68b633346f01a207cc\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 amendments be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAmendments agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000657\u0022\u003EThe question was put that the following amendment in the name of Kris Faafoi to schedule 2 be agreed to: \u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000658\u0022\u003Eomit clause 5(3).\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022b2ab931126164a39bbaf54d2cc4704c1\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 amendment be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENoes 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\u003EAmendment not agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002278fbb601431a4fd8afe67c99235f0c5b\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 schedule 2 as amended be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ESchedule 2 as amended agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00223e8667c5bb6646628ff8fe268a5b9963\u0022\u003ESchedule 3\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000660\u0022\u003EThe question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 96 in the name of the Hon Paul Goldsmith to schedule 3 be agreed to.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00229bfa9b58d24846ddb872f9b8f0e2e854\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 amendments be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAmendments agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022682a3eee0d1942189d3690da8f37eb05\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 schedule 3 as amended be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ESchedule 3 as amended agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022bd6534bd59424eabb93b2b7b62bafbc9\u0022\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002212e0921c18444cb99a00eb09aaf0ec5b\u0022\u003ESchedule 4\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00223f4f353005de4f71bbaa6acb2e3e8ac6\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 schedule 4 be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ESchedule 4 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022615f5233f9fb4c7e9d8e1f4047e01c4f\u0022\u003ESchedule 5\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u002277eb0eb54cfb4743a0b4f662ac748490\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 schedule 5 be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ESchedule 5 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c264934bc6614c199080c192ce740618\u0022\u003EClauses 1 and 2\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u00222a71e0d141164b7d87c88aa03b4d78f9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222a71e0d141164b7d87c88aa03b4d78f9\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much for the opportunity to have a discussion around clauses 1 and 2, the title and commencement clauses to the Standards and Accreditation Bill. This is an opportunity when we can seek alternative titles to the bill that is being debated. A very simple change to the bill as it is is that we just change it to the \u201CLower Standards and Accreditation Bill\u201D, because that is exactly what this bill does. It does lower the standards and accreditation of New Zealand\u2019s processes around this, not just in the eyes of the people who practise here in New Zealand but also in the eyes of the international community, which should be of major concern to this Government but it does not seem to hear about that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EA number of people and organisations came to the Commerce Committee and made that very point: that if we change the structure of our standards and accreditation process, New Zealand would be looked at in a much dimmer light in terms of our international reputation around standards and accreditation. You would have thought that the Government would take that on board because it was not just one or two of the around a dozen and a half submissions that came to us. It was a very strong vein of opposition and concern around our international reputation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EYou would think that the members on that committee would have taken that feedback to the Minister and said: \u201CMinister, we think we\u2019ve got a problem here. We have got all these people with much more experience than us in the industry who actually do this day in, day out, and they say it is a bad idea. Do you think we should do something about it?\u201D. But, no, they did not do that. They completely and utterly ignored the submissions from those submitters, like the Building Industry Federation, which I do not think we should ignore, to be frank, and many other submitters who were mainly from around the construction industry who have serious concerns around what the Government is doing. Their submissions were that if we do this, things will get worse.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EMy alternative title for the bill is that it should be the \u201CLower Standards and Accreditation Bill\u201D. These are not just my words. I am not being in opposition just for opposition\u2019s sake, which you think the Government will have a shot at us about\u2014\u201CWhy are you guys being so negative? You always oppose everything.\u201D Well, that is not the case in this case. There were many submitters who came to us who made the point that I have been talking about. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EOne of them, and I want to quote from her submission, was Diane Baguley, who has been a member of the joint New Zealand - Australia committee around standards since 1995. It is a long time, 20 years. Twenty years is a long time to be an expert in something. So when Diane Baguley turned up we were paying attention, but it seems that the members on the opposite side of the House on our select committee did not really care about Diane\u2019s 20 years of experience and expertise around standards, because she did have concerns around lowering standards through this bill. To quote Diane Baguley\u2014who I think is a submitter who spent her New Year\u2019s Day putting her submission together, which is, I think, a commitment to the cause\u2014she said: \u201CI do not consider that the provisions set out for the establishment of the standards function within MBIE\u201D\u2014which is the loss of independence that we are talking about\u2014\u201Ccan adequately control the risks associated with the new structure, whether to the management of standards development or the reputation of New Zealand in the international standards community.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EWhen someone with 20 years\u2019 more experience than me in the standards sector says that, I think we should listen to it. We think that the Government should have listened to it, and maybe the Minister in the chair would like to take a call as to why he did not listen to it and why his party did not listen to it, therefore lowering the standards of the standards and accreditation process here in New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EDiane did not stop there. She went on to say more about this piece of legislation. She said: \u201CThe model proposed in the Bill, if realised, might even be used as an example by countries without robust government systems, with undesirable results. New Zealand is well respected\u201D\u2014she may use that in the past tense now\u2014\u201Cin the international standards community\u201D and an argument can be made that other countries may say \u201CWell, if New Zealand does it this way why don\u2019t we do it this way\u201D and that could be influential. Diane Baguley is directly saying that because we do this and we have got a good reputation, other countries that do not have such a good reputation may say: \u201CWell, you know, look at New Zealand. They have been the shining light\u201D\u2014have; past tense\u2014\u201Cso why don\u2019t we do what they do? If they don\u2019t think independence is important any more, then we\u2019ll do it too.\u201D We do not think that is the kind of example that New Zealand should be setting. We want to make sure that our systems are robust and that they continue to be looked upon by the international community as some of the best, if not the best.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EBut we think the changes within this bill lower the standards, which is why I offered up a cheeky\u2014well, not too cheeky\u2014alternative title to the bill. An alternative title\u2014and a good alternative title that you should take because I think it more accurately describes the bill as it stands at the moment. It was not just Diane Baguley; there were other submitters who had concerns about the lowering of standards and also about the amount of political influence that could now come in to the setting of standards. It was the Building Industry Federation, which I quoted extensively earlier in the Committee stage that said, quite simply, in one sentence: \u201C \u2026 Standard-setting should not be subject to direct political influence by the government of the day.\u201D We could not agree more with that, and why the Government ignored that, I do not know. Maybe the Minister in the chair, who, I think, has taken the time to answer some of the questions that we have posed, might take a call in this late stage of the Committee of the whole House to answer some of the questions that we have posed here.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003EIt is lowering standards because the Minister, in that contribution that I mentioned earlier, said that one of the problems he is trying to solve is a lack of visibility for the New Zealand Standards Council, which, for a short period of time, will continue to be the body that looks after standards in New Zealand. His novel approach to curing the visibility problem that he pointed out was to put the new body within the uber-ministry run by Steven Joyce\u2014the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. From my reckoning, taking a small, independent body that lacks visibility and putting it in a ministry that has eaten six other ministries, that has thousands of employees, and that cannot seem to spend money wisely is not the right solution to that problem. If you want something to be more visible you do not put on camouflage. So I think the Minister may want to revisit his thinking behind that because, to me, that does not make sense. If you want something to be more visible\u2014as you know, Mr Chairperson, health and safety is very important; it is something that we all think is important\u2014you put something on that is more high-vis so you can stand out. But in this case the solution to a visibility problem is to put camouflage on the new body, and to put it within a ministry that has, as I say, taken on so much responsibility that it cannot control itself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e35206f97d4a47a49cd6aff68b47b1dc\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: Title and commencement.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221be0637b4dd4ed2be76a146112afd76\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: So the title of this piece of legislation should be the \u201CLower Standards and Accreditation Bill\u201D. This Government has lowered standards because it has not taken on a lot of the recommendations that have come through the select committee process: to keep independence, to make sure that there is a viable financial model, and to make sure that we do address the issue of whether we can properly cost and fund the standards process. This is another example of the Government trying to solve a problem, and where it has not solved the problem that it is trying to solve, it has actually created others.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003ESo we will watch very closely whether our predictions of our international reputation being even more dimly viewed by the international community will come to fruition. We believe they will, and I would like to say to the Government: you were warned\u2014by about 19 submitters who all said the same thing\u2014that this lack of independence will lead to our international reputation being affected. In the end we will have lower standards in our standards and accreditation processes. It is a missed opportunity for the Government to have done something properly, and it is a really wasted opportunity. Thank you very much.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u002293159700d4104cc2b8ab7420f3061e7c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002293159700d4104cc2b8ab7420f3061e7c\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E That act from Mr Faafoi is going to be a hard one to follow, with his excellent suggestions for alternative titles. I, however, wish to attempt a few of my own, and one of them is to draw attention to the fact that we discovered in the fine print of schedule 2\u2014in a Supplementary Order Paper that we did not really have an opportunity to discuss at length because of other pressures\u2014a concern that vulnerable workers\u2019 rights are removed in this bill. The ability to contest the nature of employment, with the transitional arrangements, is not protected in the bill. It is explicitly ruled out in that schedule, so we may actually say that this is the \u201CStandards and Accreditation (And, By the Way, Removal of Vulnerable Workers\u2019 Rights) Bill\u201D. The slipping in of that particular little line there is rather mean-spirited, I think. Some of my colleagues have agreed with me, and I suspect many people watching at home will agree, that targeting those who formerly worked for the accreditation committee that will now transfer to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and ruling some of them out from taking any action based on what they perceive to be an injustice in the transfer, is a pretty mean-spirited step. So we may give it that alternative title, just to make people aware that that is part of the Government\u2019s agenda here. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EPart of the Government\u2019s agenda beyond this bill, I would suggest, is to remove the protection for vulnerable workers. It really is a shame, and there is no need for it, I would suggest, in this bill. Some of the other provisions in it are designed, in part, to cover that off, but just to make it perfectly clear, the Government put a special clause in there to say that Part 6A of the relevant employment legislation does not apply\u2014i.e., vulnerable workers cannot go back to that protection if they feel hard done by in this transition. So we could make that point by putting that in brackets in the title of the bill. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ETo raise another thing that has been brought up in the debate, the \u201CDetraction from Our International Reputation and Influence Bill\u201D may be another title that we could adopt, given that we have seen in the bill that the change in structure will interrupt the existing successful arrangements we have whereby members of the existing committee participate in international fora. We have seen in the submissions process in the select committee that that will be less highly prioritised. So we may choose a title for the bill that reflects that change in emphasis, that focus on collecting of fees for the setting of standards and accreditation from successful existing industries, and the likely lower priority given to new and emerging industries as this Government seeks to protect entrenched interests over those that are coming through\u2014those that would diversify the economy; those that may actually grow the economy in a way that protects it and ensures that our future prosperity is protected. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EI would be interested in the Minister in the chair, the Hon Paul Goldsmith, taking a call on this, because he has not addressed this problem in the debate, in my view, and he could probably quite well address it in this particular title and commencement debate, which lends itself to a quite wide-ranging debate within the confines of the nature of describing a bill, but none the less wide enough that the Minister in the chair could give, I am sure, an illuminating response, if he had one at his disposal. But we shall see. That test will remain. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EWe could also call it the \u201CStandards and Accreditation (And, By the Way, \u2018Henry VIII\u2019 Clauses Slipped In As Well) Bill\u201D, because that is another point that has been well made in the debate\u2014that there are clauses that are very wide ranging in this bill that appear at the end that give the Minister the ability to hire and fire, and that allow the Minister to make some quite significant changes. They were referred to by my colleague the Hon David Cunliffe in his contribution to the debate. So we have seen that in this legislation there are many things that reflect the Government\u2019s wider agenda, and that sense of being a little bit arrogant, a little bit out of touch. It thinks it can pop things in here that wipe out protection for vulnerable workers. It thinks it can slip things in here that give the Minister or others rights to do away with the usual parliamentary process, with the \u201CHenry VIII\u201D clauses, when it wishes. Also, we have seen here that arrogance in the ignoring of the advice to select committees from industry representatives\u2014that sense of being out of touch with where industry is today.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022 data-id=\u0022935df047af3c426ca45783b2d05ebf19\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022935df047af3c426ca45783b2d05ebf19\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN (Labour\u2014Dunedin South):\u003C/span\u003E I would like to take a call on the title and commencement clauses and, in the prevailing theme of my colleagues, suggest a new title for this bill, the Standards and Accreditation Bill 2014, as being the \u201CWatering Down Consumer Confidence Standards Bill\u201D. I just, I suppose, reiterate the fact that there are numerous issues with this bill that have watered down and lowered down the standard of what a good standards system should be. Consumer confidence is a really important measure of that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EUnfortunately, we have heard from the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs only once during this debate. He basically read out tracts from the ministerial report to justify the rationale for the bill before us tonight. He has given us no indication of what the purpose of his amendments are, and has, essentially, given no response to any of the issues that have been raised. So I suppose what that tells you is that another alternative name is the \u201CUsual Arrogance and Out of Touch Nature of the Government when Developing a Standards and Accreditation Bill\u201D\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ab09e7a8c0ed49a99db1cd32e9e40d0f\u0022\u003EKris Faafoi\u003C/span\u003E: Usual\u2014usual. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d583474322cd4d34a418283bdac2228d\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN\u003C/span\u003E: Usual\u2014arrogant and out of touch, as usual, and that is the syndrome to which we are all becoming accustomed. The issues that lie behind our criticism of this bill go to the issues that lie behind so many things that this Government is doing. It is removing independence. There are suggestions of conflicts of interest, there are impacts on our international reputation, there are impacts on consumer experience and consumer confidence, and this is just one of numerous\u2014it is a trend in Government legislation that is coming before this House. If anyone is listening at home tonight, at 9.30 p.m., or watching this on the TV, then I imagine they will be shrugging their shoulders and saying \u201CWell, what\u2019s new?\u201D. We think the bill is deeply problematic and that it is going to need a review by this side of the Chamber when we become the Government. We are going to have to come back to the drawing board on this, and we are, you know, signalling that. The work that was done by officials on this\u2014there has been a lot of work done on this bill, and thank you to the officials. However, we are not convinced, and we are not convinced because of the very, very strong weight of concern that has come from reputable industry bodies and people with long history and credibility in this area. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWe know that the standards framework needed a review. Everything needs a review, and it is important that we do that, and so that was undertaken. We know that there were financial unsustainability issues, but is that a reason to water down and suck an independent entity into a great, big amorphous beast that is called the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment? It has its own issues in terms of how it operates and the consumer confidence of people, particularly with regard to ensuring that there is good management of processes around health and safety. And here we are\u2014we have created another entity within that. So to consumers listening tonight, people out there: be a bit afraid about where our standards are going and how well they are going to stand up internationally. We do not believe that it is independent. We believe that because it is inside\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022 data-id=\u0022f1af8a2c496240a0a391b7c1243b8ebf\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f1af8a2c496240a0a391b7c1243b8ebf\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK (Labour\u2014Dunedin North):\u003C/span\u003E The majority of the contributions on the title and commencement clauses so far have focused on the title, and I want to applaud my colleagues for their creativity in producing titles that describe the debates that we have had here in the Chamber. There have been some lively debates and there have been some genuine concerns raised, and some frustration from this side of the Chamber that the Minister in the chair, the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, has not made more contributions to perhaps justify the direction that has been taken in putting this legislation inside the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment when the independence in the past has served us so well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000688\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EI wish to focus my contribution on the clause that relates to the commencement of the bill and suggest an alternative date for commencement, and suggest that new subclause (2) of clause 2 be amended so that the effect of it is that the bill comes into effect in April 2018. That would allow, of course, for a more sensible decision-making process by a more sensible Government. I am hopeful that in 2018 we will have a more sensible Government that will actually listen to the submitters on select committees; a Government that listens to the people. That is something that we on this side of the Chamber would like to see. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EThe feedback I am getting from across my constituency\u2014in fact, across New Zealand as I go and make small business visits and so on\u2014is that the Government is no longer listening. It is a Government that has said: \u201CGoodbye. Farewell. We\u2019ve got our own agenda, and we\u2019re implementing it. Here we go. We\u2019ll listen to your submissions with beans in our ears. We\u2019ll sit in the select committee, we\u2019ll nod, we\u2019ll shuffle our feet, but we won\u2019t really listen, because we are under instructions from Minister Joyce to get on with it, to subsume everything into the massive monolith of \u2018MoBIE\u2019, which has its great big sign outside, its $140,000 TV screen, its $260,000 sun deck with barbecues, its hair straighteners, its $23,000 fridge. That ministry should absorb everything.\u201D That is Steven Joyce\u2019s agenda, as we have seen\u2014to create this monolith. This is another aspect of that empire that he is building. He is pulling the standards-setting procedures inside that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003ENo doubt within a matter of months he will be choosing the colours of its brochures. He will be saying to the standards and accreditation committee: \u201CYou\u2019re not communicating with the public the way I like. Set your brochures out in landscape format\u2014landscape format. I\u2019ve had enough of this portrait format; we need some landscape format.\u201D That will be Steven Joyce. You can guarantee it. He has got a track record on this stuff. He will be rewriting the submissions. He will be controlling the whole jolly thing. We will still see exports falling as a percentage of GDP, as they have continuously with this Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dcc47396e2e34ab89efb69763fab74e1\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: Title and commencement\u2014title and commencement, remember that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c34f01e03fb9494398971e2f6deedb70\u0022\u003EDr DAVID CLARK\u003C/span\u003E: Title and commencement. And so, if we push this out to 2018, we would see more sensible decision-making. We would not see this particular aspect of our important arrangements pulled into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment under the control of Steven Joyce and his mega-ministry, which is appealing to the multinationals. We would see it focused more nearly on the interests of small and emerging businesses\u2014those businesses that are going to diversify our economy and those businesses that are going to bring future prosperity to our country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225bbd9f26-fdb0-4b85-a836-0fc46e1bba3c\u0022\u003EWe need a Government with vision. We need a Government that makes sensible decisions and that listens to submitters. Therefore, if we push the commencement of this bill out until April 2018, we hope that we will have such a Government\u2014a Government that listens to the people, a Labour-led Government, a Government of the future that is looking to diversify the economy. That is why my submission is that we should change that clause to ensure a more sensible decision-making process. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022 data-id=\u00221f551da472374c2f8a200709a6d60da3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221f551da472374c2f8a200709a6d60da3\u0022\u003EBRETT HUDSON (National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the question be now put.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002203fd985b-4fb8-4111-ba38-5033a254d962\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022088f1d6330e64c8699e2136afd82929a\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 clause 1 be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EClause 1 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u0022ca64c8711f1e4c2cb2e1651420ffca17\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 clause 2 be agreed to.\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 60\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 32; Green Party 14; New Zealand First 12; M\u0101ori Party 2. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EClause 2 agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000696\u0022\u003EBill to be reported with amendment presently.\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=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00225a0fa42ece024155a8cba2bf0f4e5fe4\u0022\u003ERadio New Zealand Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ff58920bee114cea95a0586f457f9a32\u0022\u003EIn Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022 data-id=\u002280012dc8871244b2aad6138f049a4a8a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002207d42dbe-f05a-4a7a-8c23-0eecc14b72aa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002280012dc8871244b2aad6138f049a4a8a\u0022\u003EPAUL FOSTER-BELL (National):\u003C/span\u003E I seek the leave of the House that the debate on the next bill be taken as one question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022 data-id=\u00229004bc1a929f4e299f949dedbdaabba9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000700\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229004bc1a929f4e299f949dedbdaabba9\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? The question will be put as one question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000701\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002294582a5de7e740008d2dbfd2125f141f\u0022\u003EClauses 1 to 6\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022 data-id=\u002221531d19744c49a59fbe706f03baf5d9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002221531d19744c49a59fbe706f03baf5d9\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN (Labour\u2014Dunedin South):\u003C/span\u003E Well, 6 years it has taken for this modernisation and futureproofing bill to come before the Committee\u20146 years; 6 long years. In the debate on the second reading of the Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill there was much discussion about the importance of Radio New Zealand National and how much we all valued it. But it took this Government 6 years to get this piece of legislation to this point of the debate in Parliament.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000703\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThe review of the charter is supposed to be conducted every 5 years. As a result of the 6 years that this legislation has been sitting on the Order Paper, it has actually skipped a review. And so my first question tonight to the Minister in the chair, the Hon Amy Adams, is, in her, hopefully, comprehensive contributions on this bill, to ask for some clarity to be given to the Committee on what the legal status is of the Radio New Zealand charter, given that it has actually skipped a review that should have taken place some time within the last 6 years. Instead, we are now voting on legislation from a review of the charter from back in, I think, 2006\u2014it might have even been 2005. So that is the first question that I have got for the Minister in the chair tonight, because I am sure she will have received some advice from officials. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000704\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EHowever, there is no doubt that this bill is worthy of support, and Labour has supported it because of the importance of Radio New Zealand National and the Radio New Zealand charter. We believe, though, that the Government should be highly embarrassed for treating this bill and calling it a modernisation and futureproofing bill. We note that there is a Supplementary Order Paper before the Committee tonight. I am looking forward to hearing what the Minister has to say about it, but, ultimately, the fact that it has taken 6 years to get this bill back to the House shows the disrespect for Radio New Zealand, the fundamental disrespect for Radio New Zealand and the disrespect that this Government has for public broadcasting generally. We believe that that is just another example of the arrogant and out-of-touch nature of this Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000705\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EIt was 3 years ago this week, actually\u2014the Committee might be interested to know, and certainly the people listening at home will be interested to know\u2014that New Zealand\u2019s only attempt at a true non-commercial public television broadcaster, TVNZ 7, got the chop. That was shut down due to the National Government\u2019s refusal to continue its funding. TVNZ 7 was the brainchild of the former Clark Labour Government\u2014and it made an extremely good fist of managing, with a reasonably small amount of funding, to bring us many jewels of programmes. However, the Government, as soon as it could, decided that it was going to discontinue that and give it the axe, and it did. Around that same time, the Government was under fire because it gave a $43 million handout to MediaWorks. It came under a lot of criticism for that. That was around the same time that it was axing the only public television broadcaster\u2014the point of this is the attitude in general that this Government has to public broadcasting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000706\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EAt the same time\u2014around that time, if a little bit earlier than that\u2014New Zealand On Air had been embroiled in a big controversy because of the appointment and the behaviour of one of its board members, who happened to be the Prime Minister\u2019s electorate secretary, Stephen McElrea. He had questioned the timing of a New Zealand On Air - funded documentary, Inside Child Poverty, which was broadcast just 4 days before the 2011 election. Fast-forward 3 years, and there are now allegations of editorial and political interference swirling around M\u0101ori Television, the behaviour of the chief executive, and the impact on the current affairs programme Native Affairs. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000707\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EMeanwhile, Radio New Zealand, New Zealand On Air, and M\u0101ori Television have endured\u2014endured\u2014a 7-year funding freeze, with the inevitable shrinking of New Zealand - made quality content. What is the impact of that? It is a huge impact. Here we have a bill that has taken 6 years to get before this Committee, 6 years to reform, review, and look at how its charter can be improved. That charter, and the improvements to that charter, we have no issue with; we have no problem with. We support the bill. What we do have an issue with is the way that the Government treats public broadcasting in general. It treats it with disdain and disrespect, and we ask how long\u2014how long\u2014can Radio New Zealand continue on under its current funding regime and still provide the quality service that it does?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000708\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EA few months ago its own chair said in the select committee, in response to a question from me about the possible cuts as a result of the funding freeze, which is, essentially, a 25 percent funding cut over the last 7 years, \u201CClare, you\u2019re right. The impact of inflation has eroded the purchasing power, but we are getting to the point where those limited rations are getting more difficult to handle. And I am quite happy to go on the record on that.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000709\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EThat was the chair\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229dd925fda681471c878bc109876ee5f5\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: Come back to the charter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000711\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227d8205c3d26f45bbaac09171eb09875e\u0022\u003ECLARE CURRAN\u003C/span\u003E: In relation to this bill, which is about the supposed modernisation and futureproofing of Radio New Zealand, the Minister of Broadcasting has Supplementary Order Paper 94 on the Table. Before I talk to that I am hoping that she will get up and explain to the Committee what lies behind that. Labour has also got three amendments on the Table tonight as amendments to that Supplementary Order Paper, which we will talk to during this debate. We hope that that will be a constructive discussion. We support the Supplementary Order Paper as being the only indication that we have seen in the last 6 years of a desire by this Government to actually show that it is about modernising and futureproofing Radio New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000712\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00222aa0b524-c38d-45aa-bd5b-99c5927085f4\u0022\u003EWe have got just a few concerns with some of the clauses in that amendment and how they can be interpreted, and that is why we have put up some suggestions for some amendments to that Supplementary Order Paper. In general we support this bill. We think that Radio New Zealand is one of our most treasured parts of our broadcasting environment, and we think that the vast majority of New Zealanders support it. It has very high listenership and support in the community, and that is due to the fact that it is commercial-free, that it puts the public interest first, and that the people who work and create the content for Radio New Zealand are absolutely committed to telling New Zealand stories and to doing it in a way that is providing a high degree of editorial integrity and high-quality standards. We heartily support that and put on record our support for Radio New Zealand and all that it stands for.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022 data-id=\u002234e3831c31b2434bab91c843e1519ca8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000713\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002234e3831c31b2434bab91c843e1519ca8\u0022\u003ETRACEY MARTIN (Deputy Leader\u2014NZ First):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Chair. I just want to take a quick call on the Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill. New Zealand First will be supporting the bill. There is no reason why not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000714\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EIt has taken a long time to get here. If I look at my notes, the review began in 2005. It was completed in 2006, but it did not result in legislation during that Government\u2019s term. It resulted in a review in 2009. It is now 2015. There you go. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000715\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EThere is Supplementary Order Paper 94 now on the Table with regard to this bill. New Zealand First, again, will support the Supplementary Order Paper. We think it makes sense. We did check with the Minister of Broadcasting\u2019s office earlier this morning about this Supplementary Order Paper. It allows Radio New Zealand, once it has broadcast its main programming with taxpayers\u2019 dollars and it has broadcast it free and commercial-free for the benefit of all New Zealanders, to sell it to, let us say, America or somewhere that wants to pick up that programme. We think that Radio New Zealand should quite rightly have the opportunity to sell it to them. We do not think that New Zealand taxpayers should subsidise the American radio market.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000716\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EHowever, we did want to make sure that it did not affect in any way, shape, or form Radio New Zealand\u2019s delivery to the Pacific. We just wanted to make sure that there was no way that that was going to commercialise or interrupt the supports that Radio New Zealand is required to do and is doing into the Pacific. We were assured by the Minister\u2019s office\u2014I have it in writing, so I will use it if I need to\u2014that it does not do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000717\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022530ce0c4-c977-40cb-90fb-754f54931ff1\u0022\u003EAll in all, it is time. It is time to pass the bill. It is time to get on with it. It is time to give Radio New Zealand the charter that it needs and the direction that it needs. It probably needs more money. I will just go as far as that, Minister. Perhaps we can look at that next year. But all in all, there is no reason to hold up the legislation. New Zealand First will support it. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u0022686a80bbcc474088b09a1fb887a7ff44\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000718\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022686a80bbcc474088b09a1fb887a7ff44\u0022\u003EKRIS FAAFOI (Labour\u2014Mana):\u003C/span\u003E I thought the House had not had enough of my dulcet tones tonight, so I thought I would take a call on this Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill. I do want to point to new section 8, which sets out the charter for Radio New Zealand as we know it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000719\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003ENew subsection (1) says it must be an independent and commercial-free public service broadcaster, new subsection (2) says that it has to have freedom of thought and expression around the foundations of a democratic society, and new subsection (3) says that it fosters a sense of national identity. I think they are very laudable principles to have as a public broadcaster. They should be defended at every opportunity, and not just from anything that is a real risk. So if there is a risk of lack of\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022 data-id=\u0022841852c92c814a61a948565ece4977ab\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000720\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022841852c92c814a61a948565ece4977ab\u0022\u003EThe CHAIRPERSON (Hon Chester Borrows)\u003C/span\u003E: I am sorry to interrupt the member, but the time has come to report progress to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000721\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EHouse resumed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000722\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EThe Chairperson reported the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill with amendment, the Standards and Accreditation Bill with amendment, and progress on the Radio New Zealand Amendment Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000723\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EReport adopted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 9.56 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id20150701acf12396e04b42f5907abb787e7d9055000725\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225f1453f8-c44e-4ce6-b699-64d600322276\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"