"\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=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000001\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022192bc15752ee4f6d9d46bc32331d53e4\u0022\u003EWEDNESDAY, 16 MARCH 2022\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000003\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e18f9d07342543aab553fa1fa96b70ab\u0022\u003EWEDNESDAY, 16 MARCH 2022\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000002\u0022\u003EThe Speaker took the Chair at 2 p.m.\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000004\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ef09cdc39ff44c5faf47785fafe6fb72\u0022\u003EKarakia/Prayers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000006\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022035379a36d074156831afebacfbd704a\u0022\u003EKarakia/Prayers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u0022b5f0285ac23e486daf1308bf98628532\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000005\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b5f0285ac23e486daf1308bf98628532\u0022\u003EHon JENNY SALESA (Assistant Speaker) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E: Ke tau lotu. \u2018E \u2018Otua M\u0101fimafi, kuo mau taa\u2019i m\u0101lie \u2018i ho\u2019o \u2018of\u00E1 mo e ngaahi t\u0101puaki hono kotoa. \u2018Oku tuku homau lot\u00F3 ka mau h\u016B atu ke malu\u2019i ange mu\u2019a \u2018a e Kuin\u00ED, mo tataki ange \u2018emau fua fatongia \u2018i he Fale Ale\u00E1 \u2018aki \u2018a e poto Faka-e-\u2019Otua, \u2018ofa pea mo e \u2018ulungaanga mal\u016B, ko e \u2018uh\u00ED ko e mo\u2019ui mo e melino \u2018a e fonu\u00E1. \u2018Oku mau kole atu \u2018a e ngaahi me\u2019\u00E1 ni hono kotoa \u2018i he huafa ho \u2018al\u00F3 p\u0113 \u2018e taha ko S\u012Bs\u016B Kalaisi ka ko homau fakamo\u2019u\u00ED. \u2018Emeni.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000007\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022be5ce9f9bf654bfeae6fd5d75ce9956b\u0022\u003ENEW ZEALAND Winter PARALYMPIC TEAM\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000008\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002266e2447e4b0e473fa9c7e199cb5448ab\u0022\u003ECongratulations\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022f57cb062863344a39d517386df16b762\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000009\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f57cb062863344a39d517386df16b762\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister for Sport and Recreation):\u003C/span\u003E I seek leave to move a motion without notice to congratulate the New Zealand Paralympic Winter Games team.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000010\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f5da24a262164690a3c2c14e500f31ee\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Just with a warning that we take a little longer over these things now. Is there any objection to that course of action being followed? There is none.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000011\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022af69070f3a75435ba88c596f92f5a031\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: I move, That this House congratulate the New Zealand Winter Paralympic Team for their outstanding achievements at the Beijing Winter Paralympics.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000012\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EWith one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals, this was the most successful Paralympic Winter Games for New Zealand in 20 years. This was the biggest Paralympic Winter Games to date, so for the three person New Zealand team of Adam Hall, Corey Peters, and Aaron Ewen to win a total of four medals is quite remarkable. All three athletes can be very proud of their Paralympics campaign, which saw Corey Peters win gold in the men\u2019s downhill sitting and silver in the men\u2019s super-G sitting, and Adam Hall won a bronze medal in the men\u2019s slalom and in the super combined event, the most technical of the alpine skiing disciplines. New Zealand\u2019s newest Paralympian, Aaron Ewen, finished ninth in the men\u2019s slalom, a brilliant achievement in his first Paralympics.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000013\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003ECorey Peters\u2019 gold in particular was a remarkable achievement, given that that he hadn\u2019t competed in a downhill event for two years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also missed the world championships two months ago after catching COVID himself. Adam Hall\u2019s bronze in the men\u2019s standing slalom was described by commentators as \u201Cmillimetre perfect\u201D, a reflection of his skill in this discipline.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000014\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EQualifying for the Winter Paralympics is an enormous achievement, and it\u2019s made New Zealanders so proud to see the skill, determination, and hard work of our Paralympians come to fruition in Beijing. I\u2019d also like to acknowledge the enormous contribution of chef de mission Jane Stevens, head coach Ben Adams, and assistant coach Scott Palmer to the team\u2019s success, as well as Paralympics New Zealand and their chief executive Fiona Allan and all the other team officials and support staff.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000015\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EThe ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, including the challenge of competing in Beijing without their friends and wh\u0101nau on the side line for their events, meant that the support staff on the ground played a crucial role in our success at these Games. We have a great tradition of achievement at the Paralympics, and that also serves as a platform to challenge misconceptions about disabled people. These athletes have shown us that achievement can be limitless.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000016\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003EAudiences for the Paralympic Winter Games continue to grow, and this was the first time New Zealanders were able to watch every Paralympic event, with TVNZ providing extensive coverage of the Games. Seeing the incredible performances across the full range of Paralympic winter sports has no doubt inspired disabled people and all New Zealanders. Again, I offer on behalf of the Government our congratulations to the members of the 2022 New Zealand Paralympic Winter Games team. They have made us extremely proud and are an inspiration to all New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u002214d30177b9c247088bd91e5b67f72dcc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000017\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002214d30177b9c247088bd91e5b67f72dcc\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022 data-id=\u0022006da5c176f24a6a8a2788bdb810d46d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000018\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022006da5c176f24a6a8a2788bdb810d46d\u0022\u003EPENNY SIMMONDS (National\u2014Invercargill):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. As National\u2019s disability spokesperson, I am delighted to pass on warmest congratulations to the New Zealand Paralympic team as they return from Beijing. New Zealand has a notable history with the Winter Paralympics, attending annually since the second annual games held back in 1980 in Norway. Since then, we have won a total of 31 medals, including 16 gold, six silver, and nine bronze. This year\u2019s team has been small but mighty, bringing home four medals\u2014as Minister Robertson said, the most a New Zealand Paralympic team has won in 20 years. What a great result.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000019\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003ESpecial credit must go to Aaron Ewen, our youngest competitor, who returned to the Paralympics this year after an injury which prevented him from competing in 2018. This year, despite being unable to finish two events, Aaron still ranked ninth in the men\u2019s super-G sitting and the men\u2019s slalom sitting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000020\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EAdam Hall, one of our veteran Paralympians, added two bronze medals to his collection of three, amassed over an amazing 16-year career representing New Zealand.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000021\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003ECorey Peters continued to demonstrate what a special athlete he is with his drive and determination, on his first hectic two days competing in Beijing earning a gold in the men\u2019s downhill sitting competition and a silver in the men\u2019s super-G sitting.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003ECorey, Adam, and Aaron have made us all proud and have shown us that there really can be triumph over adversity, with the moments of triumph all the sweeter because of the struggles that they each have, as individuals, faced. Living with a disability takes courage and determination, and to then go on and scale the heights that our Paralympic team have done reflects remarkable fortitude. We can all learn from their actions. Despite what life has thrown at each of these men, they have not backed down and have not given up. Instead, they have set goals and focused with determination.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000023\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003ECorey, Adam, and Aaron are a great inspiration to us, but more particularly they are wonderful role models to the hundreds of children and young people across this country who live each day with a disability. These young people will have watched our Paralympians over the past weeks and dreamed of what is possible, and that motivation is indeed a very special gift to share. The camaraderie, enthusiasm, energy, and sheer sense of fun Corey, Adam, and Aaron showed together embodied everything that is good about sport. As the International Paralympic Committee president Andrew Parsons said about the competitors in his closing ceremony address, \u201CYou produced moments of magic and moments to savour \u2026 You thrilled, you surprised, you inspired.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000024\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EWe know our athletes were the stars, but we acknowledge the support from organisations such as High Performance Sport New Zealand, Paralympics New Zealand, and Snow Sports New Zealand. We also acknowledge and congratulate chef de mission Jane Stevens, her deputy Lynette Grace, head coach Ben Adams, and assistant coach Scott Palmer, who accompanied our Paralympians to Beijing and created the environment for athletes to excel.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000025\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EOf course, the love and support of family and friends is always key to the success of athletes, and no doubt our triumphant New Zealand Paralympic team will be looking forward to returning home to celebrate their success with those who are closest to them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000026\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d2995873-613f-4202-a773-5ea2d57cc953\u0022\u003EWe congratulate our Paralympians. We thank them, and we welcome them back to New Zealand. You have made us proud. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002219ed20db-5d6c-4464-9327-6cdd072bb4fe\u0022 data-id=\u0022ce035b9c8f9f4cd9bc66200f98fc4052\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000027\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219ed20db-5d6c-4464-9327-6cdd072bb4fe\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ce035b9c8f9f4cd9bc66200f98fc4052\u0022\u003ERICARDO MEN\u00C9NDEZ MARCH (Green):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. It\u2019s a privilege to rise on behalf of the Green Party to congratulate our athletes who participated in the 2022 Winter Paralympics. Like many, I want to note that this was a very successful Winter Paralympics for our athletes, who brought home four medals. I want to pay tribute to Aaron Ewen, Adam Hall, and Corey Peters for their amazing their performances, as well as their coaches, support staff, and wh\u0101nau who worked with them along the way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000028\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219ed20db-5d6c-4464-9327-6cdd072bb4fe\u0022\u003ELike many disabled people have told us across the years, it\u2019s important that alongside congratulating our athletes we also look at the narratives that centre the Paralympics, and as part of that I wanted to take some inspiration from a piece from S E Smith, who wrote a blog\u2014which I\u2019d love to call, but it probably has unparliamentary language in the title. But they wrote The Olympic Paradigm: How the \u201CInspiring\u201D Narrative Restricts and Fetishizes Disabled Athletes. I want to echo their calls about the language that we use when we talk about the Paralympics and how we must continue supporting disabled people who are constantly advocating to have equitable platforms in terms of coverage with the Olympics.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000029\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002219ed20db-5d6c-4464-9327-6cdd072bb4fe\u0022\u003EAnd so, as in my previous speeches on behalf of the Greens, I resume the calls to have the Paralympics happening at the same time as the Olympics so that they get equal coverage and that we continue advocating for the rights of disabled people so that the narratives about success are not limited to high-performance sports but are taken outside into everyday life. I hope that our future athletes are as successful as this lot, and that we all continue working alongside our communities so that they can thrive. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229d892f20-579d-4c43-8247-7ab72c4f7c2e\u0022 data-id=\u0022a38b40051cbb44439d7376837e578f51\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000030\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229d892f20-579d-4c43-8247-7ab72c4f7c2e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a38b40051cbb44439d7376837e578f51\u0022\u003ETONI SEVERIN (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E I\u2019m proud to rise on behalf of the ACT Party as the disabilities spokesperson, to congratulate our Winter Paralympic team and support staff. Welcome home. As well, I\u2019d like to thank their family and friends, who were unable to attend the Games, because they are usually their biggest supporters, but they were unable to attend due to our COVID times. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000031\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229d892f20-579d-4c43-8247-7ab72c4f7c2e\u0022\u003EFirstly, Adam Hall, five-time Paralympic medallist: gold in 2010, Vancouver; gold and bronze in 2018, PyeongChang; now adding two new bronze medals to his tally. An interesting fact I found out about Adam Hall is he is actually a snowboarder at heart, but switched back to skiing to compete in the Paralympic Games in 2006. Corey Peters, four-time Paralympic medallist: silver in 2014, Sochi; bronze in 2018, PyeongChang; and now he\u2019s added a gold and silver. Aaron Ewen, competing in his first Paralympic Games, was unable to compete in 2018 due to an injury. However, we cannot take the pride away that he achieved two ninth places and an 11th place\u2014well done.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000032\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229d892f20-579d-4c43-8247-7ab72c4f7c2e\u0022\u003EYou have made us all proud, and I hope you have inspired many able and many disabled New Zealanders to achieve goals that you think are out of your hands. But we can all achieve; we just have to set those goals. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022 data-id=\u0022ffb70b44682c48ea8a8fe5ccb72991d6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000033\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ffb70b44682c48ea8a8fe5ccb72991d6\u0022\u003EDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te P\u012Bka. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou e te Whare. Te Paati M\u0101ori support this motion to congratulate the New Zealand Winter Paralympic Team for their outstanding achievements at the Beijing Winter Paralympics. E mihi ana ki t\u0101 t\u0101tou t\u012Bma i k\u014Dkiri i te mana o Aotearoa i ng\u0101 H\u0101kinakina o te Ao. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000034\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E[I acknowledge our team who bolstered the prestige of Aotearoa at the Winter Olympics.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000035\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EI want to join by acknowledging our three sportspeople from Aotearoa who completed in this year\u2019s Paralympics: Aaron Ewen, Adam Hall, and Corey Peters. All three of our athletes competed in alpine skiing. I mihi to Corey Peters for winning both the gold and silver medal and to Adam Hall for winning two bronze medals\u2014a small delegation with a tonne of physical, mental, and X-factor talent. You have all done Aotearoa proud presenting our people on the global stage. You inspire us and you make us scared\u2014a fear of the speed that you went by as well\u2014but it was absolutely motivational. Hoki mai ki \u014D k\u0101inga. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000036\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E[Return to your homes.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000037\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003ETe Paati M\u0101ori support the calls for the Paralympics to be held alongside the Olympics to increase the visibility and profile that it receives. All of our athletes deserve the same recognition, praise, and support. It is well past time that organisational structure, coverage, and institutional support reflected that. We also acknowledge that athletes with more severe impairments or disabilities face greater barriers to participation in sports that athletes with less severe impairments need. At the Paralympics the event viability rule often prevents those with more severe impairments or disabilities from competing due to a range of barriers. This needs to change. We need to do better. We must work together towards a world that is inclusive, accessible, and empowering for all people whether it is in sports or any other field. Let us commit to that. T\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000038\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000039\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022eb3d673ce7a44eac98c2c6dee651569d\u0022\u003ESpeaker\u2019s Statements\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000040\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00220d7d8b1c46354a58b0bb85dbf04e5b2c\u0022\u003EParliament Grounds\u2014Reopening Ceremony\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022014c4f70ae6c4cbd95f3dcf58f5e2c19\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000041\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022014c4f70ae6c4cbd95f3dcf58f5e2c19\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Before we move on to petitions, I want to apologise to the members who were not invited to the ceremony this morning. That was my responsibility in that we were limited to 100 people, and I felt that it was better to invite members of the community who had been locked out, as well as members of Parliament and staff, to that ceremony. I will place on my record my thanks to Te Atiawa - Taranaki Wh\u0101nui for the work that they did and helping us with the spiritual or emotional cleansing that goes along with the major physical decontamination of the site that has occurred. I will note that it is my intention to hold a \u201Cgrand reopening of the grass\u201D, or something similar, possibly in early June, leading into Matariki, to which all members\u2014COVID willing\u2014will be invited. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000042\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00223132ea3aa840420eb2bc93d71c9b1ae0\u0022\u003EPETITIONS, PAPERS, SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLS\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000044\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022312ea4e167744df995a4305bcca8bac9\u0022\u003EPETITIONS, PAPERS, SELECT COMMITTEE REPORTS, AND INTRODUCTION OF BILLS\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u00222daaf9d369f840b98c38b8bbb9f63656\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000043\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222daaf9d369f840b98c38b8bbb9f63656\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: A petition has been delivered to the Clerk.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u0022df0d1952eed045d9aa1fd2638c0d5cbb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000045\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022df0d1952eed045d9aa1fd2638c0d5cbb\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: Petition of Grey Power Hastings \u0026amp; Districts Association Incorporation requesting that the House urge the Government to keep water assets owned and managed by local councils.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022c10724459a8348818c26507fc132e15c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000046\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c10724459a8348818c26507fc132e15c\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That petition stands referred to the Petitions Committee. Ministers have delivered papers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u0022b1869924eb7a4ba8b2b295213d93214b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000047\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b1869924eb7a4ba8b2b295213d93214b\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: Government responses to the referral of the petition from Juliana Carvalo and referral of the petition of Esther Hansen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022c7d5110077e042ad962fd050470510da\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000048\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c7d5110077e042ad962fd050470510da\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Now, those papers are published under the authority of the House. Select committee reports have been delivered for presentation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u0022e296f000066845efa899ddbd89aba3ee\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000049\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e296f000066845efa899ddbd89aba3ee\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000050\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EReport of the Education and Workforce Committee on the inquiry into school attendance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000051\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ejoint reports of the Environment Committee and the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee on the report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Te Kaitiaki Taiao a Te Whare P\u0101remata: A review of the funding and prioritisation of environmental research in New Zealand, and\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000052\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ethe reports of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment: \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000053\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003EPristine, popular... imperilled? The environmental consequences of projected tourism growth, and \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000054\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003ENot 100%\u2014but four steps closer to sustainable tourism\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000055\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ereports of the Intelligence and Security Committee on the:\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000056\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E2020-21 annual review of the Government Communications Security Bureau, and\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E2020-21 annual review of the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000058\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ereports of the Petitions Committee on the petition of Sophie Handford and the petition of Linda Manning, and\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000059\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ereport of the Social Services and Community Committee on the Human Rights (Disability Assist Dogs Non-Discrimination) Amendment Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022f8da7afaf4d7412c9d140956f4a00c24\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000060\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f8da7afaf4d7412c9d140956f4a00c24\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The bill is set down for second reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000061\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003EThe report of the Education and Workforce Committee and the joint reports of the Environment Committee and the Economic Development, Science and Innovation Committee are set down for consideration. The Clerk has been informed of the introduction of a bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u00226fede0dcfe5e4d3eb35a111d75bfdc0f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000062\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226fede0dcfe5e4d3eb35a111d75bfdc0f\u0022\u003ECLERK\u003C/span\u003E: Natural Hazards Insurance Bill, introduction.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022cd5535c7c71c427fbdb5225280b65533\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000063\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cd5535c7c71c427fbdb5225280b65533\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The bill is set down for first reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000064\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002206cca03676664d59b1e11a7ee8bcb7dc\u0022\u003EOral Questions\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000065\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022948312716b4b4486a8fe6c8da3f2fce3\u0022\u003EQuestions to Ministers\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000066\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002213029d2d7dd34dcc9cd1ad187b97014f\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 1\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022 data-id=\u002223b68e74d432414f915a148ea7614aaa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000067\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002223b68e74d432414f915a148ea7614aaa\u0022\u003EDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora e te P\u012Bka. Does the\u2014oh, sorry. To the Prime Minister: does she stand by her Government\u2019s decision in 2017\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022ffd17d30e69c47e4a8a9a3388316b38e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000068\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ffd17d30e69c47e4a8a9a3388316b38e\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! I think that might be the supplementary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022421421\u0022 data-id=\u00228e4bb91a484f428ea7021d10ee673073\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000069\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022421421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228e4bb91a484f428ea7021d10ee673073\u0022\u003EDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, it is. I appreciate it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022 data-id=\u0022315361641e73479aa5783ce057eef546\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000070\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E1. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022315361641e73479aa5783ce057eef546\u0022\u003EDEBBIE NGAREWA-PACKER (Co-Leader\u2014Te Paati M\u0101ori) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government\u2019s statements and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u0022fcfb3db3af9f43daa9b97d8207c168a8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000071\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fcfb3db3af9f43daa9b97d8207c168a8\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, particularly the Government\u2019s actions to increase wages and focus support for low and middle income earners, including reducing fuel excise duty by 25c and instituting half-price public transport to take steps to reduce the impact on New Zealand families during the continued volatility of fuel prices caused by the war in Ukraine. I also stand by our decision to increase the minimum wage to $21.20 per hour; to increase Working for Families, which will make around 346,000 families better off by an average of $20 each a week; adjusting the income thresholds for childcare assistance annually in line with average wage growth, benefiting 1,500 children; benefits to increase up to $35 a week from 1 April, bringing the total increases for beneficiaries with children to an average of $175 per week, including to $207 per week during the 2022 winter period; student allowances will increase by $25 from 1 April; and superannuation will increase to $52 per fortnight for a single person, and $80 for a couple from 1 April. There\u2019s no silver bullet that will fix the cost of living, but we have a plan and are implementing a range of measures that, together, will help to make a difference. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000072\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224927fce2a25b47c5bc93b0808df40eab\u0022\u003EDebbie Ngarewa-Packer\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000073\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229a51cd4c324a4a829003b0043c3067ca\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Go for it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000074\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b204033e7d454e8d92b5467d1018c74c\u0022\u003EDebbie Ngarewa-Packer\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. Does she stand by her Government\u2019s decision in 2017 to ignore their own policy and not remove GST from fruit and veges? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000075\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222424ca42f57645cb8da8d300026a4746\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: When it comes to the policy of the removal of GST on fruit and vegetables, obviously, that was some years ago, rather than 2017, that that policy was held. I would point out that\u2014just for the point of comparison\u2014from what the member\u2019s party has released today, which is the removal of GST, as I understand, off all food, it is interesting to point out that the Tax Working Group calculated a GST exemption on food would save families in the bottom decile of income roughly $15 a week, while families in the highest decile would save $53 a week. Again, I come back to the targeted policies that we\u2019ve been promoting as a Government, like, for instance, increases to the Best Start payment for families with young children\u2014which will also increase on 1 April\u2014and those increases in the family tax credit, which, on those numbers, would, for many families, be a higher rate of increase than the removal of GST on food. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000076\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e1e73d30dc2c43e4bc5fdd7f8dece159\u0022\u003EDebbie Ngarewa-Packer\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000077\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226c9644dd993840cf80d6347bbeb95d6d\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, just go for it\u2014don\u2019t wait. Don\u2019t wait\u2014all right? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000078\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227a76db18-baa4-41c1-b366-89e2c753a1e7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002276bfce27a4a84a0fbdf73755c5fea5cc\u0022\u003EDebbie Ngarewa-Packer\u003C/span\u003E: OK, thank you. I know when I do that, you\u2019ll kick me out. But anyway, back to the question. Why is she unwilling to regulate retailers and break up the duopoly to prevent unreasonable price hikes on food and prevent them absorbing savings if GST on food was removed? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000079\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225012d5791f9b42738655a71dec66ba2c\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Well, actually, the member in her own question has highlighted one of the issues that is often raised around the removal of GST in any space, and that\u2019s your ability to guarantee pass on. It\u2019s quite different to the way that the market operates for fuel, where we do have devices that can give greater transparency around pass on to consumers, and the Minister is using those tools to ensure that, for instance, the 25c being removed off fuel is being passed on. When it comes to the Commerce Commission\u2019s report which they only released just recently into supermarkets, it has confirmed what we feared as a Government: that the market could be more competitive and that, currently, that is coming at a cost to consumers. We have taken seriously the recommendations. We\u2019ll be taking those to Cabinet and giving an official response, but we have kept open the option of going further because we are concerned that there needs to be greater competition in the market for consumers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000080\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e33f3608569e4f27a0d9eb85a7971339\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary question, Rawiri Waititi\u2014clearly remote. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000081\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002283c320525cfb4e23a775842f25e599c7\u0022\u003ERawiri Waititi (remote)\u003C/span\u003E: Clearly, Mr Speaker. Kia ora. Does she accept that GST is a regressive tax that targets lower-income wh\u0101nau, who are forced to spend nearly every cent they earn; meanwhile, the rich have untaxed wealth accumulating in housing, investment funds, and trusts? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000082\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a6cc23e6411f49d0b6c3a6905fbf8b2b\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: There are many areas in which the member and I would likely agree on policies. I actually reflect back on\u2014it was the M\u0101ori Party at the time\u2014Hone Harawira, in this House, who promoted, for instance, food in schools. I want to acknowledge that that is the origin of that initial policy debate that we had, and I\u2019m proud now that it is a policy for over 200,000 children now that are benefiting from that policy. But when it comes to just the blanket removal across the board of GST on food, you will have heard me reflect that\u2014by just taking it off all food, at a cost of $5 billion per annum\u2014there are targeted ways where we actually can provide greater support for low and middle income families. That is what we have done as a Government, using the Working for Families tax system to make sure that wh\u0101nau are receiving more in their pockets during this period, and you would, for instance, see greater benefits to higher-income earners through a blanket removal of GST.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000083\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00220f7d126e-c18d-4466-9ebe-d424ae5c4bf6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e33bb6143ab49699afbd3dd32959a8f\u0022\u003ERawiri Waititi\u003C/span\u003E: Why has the Government, despite being in power for more than four years, not shifted the tax burden from the poor to the wealthy, through new taxes on accumulated wealth, such as on capital gains, \u201Cghost houses\u201D, financial services, and pollution?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227b711dbfa91d4dad9c7ab99d71441e76\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! The question is quite a long way wide of the\u2014I think we\u2019ll be a little bit liberal now, but I think we might have a developmental session on making sure that questions are within order. I\u2019ll ask the Prime Minister to respond, but with a bit of a warning that we\u2019re not going to stay that wide in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000085\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220fa58fd48a034088ae6f07345b77d0c2\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: When it comes to our approach to tax policy, you know, I would argue that, actually, we have focused on trying to ensure that the incomes of our low and middle income families have increased. In fact, when you look at the impact of our policies on, for instance, the likes of a low-income earner, someone on the minimum wage, we have increased their wages significantly. We\u2019ve also, at the same time, for instance, put in place an additional top tax rate at those earning $180,000 or more. We have introduced, for instance, an extension to the brightline test. We\u2019ve removed interest deductibility and removed other tax loopholes, which we believe were weighting the market more in favour of those who are investors in the market, relative to first-home buyers. All of those things, we believe, are not only evening up the playing field but making our tax system fairer for all New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022 data-id=\u0022e33efb7c6b9c4beeb955ab7a4cf2582b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000086\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e33efb7c6b9c4beeb955ab7a4cf2582b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Right, I\u2019ve got a slight dilemma now because I was told the M\u0101ori Party was going to have five but no one\u2019s taken the call for the fifth one. We\u2019ll move on to question No. 2; it\u2019s in the name of Christopher Luxon.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000087\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c2153ece1618419da952c00761938f3e\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 2\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022 data-id=\u0022174e2e7054984486a8a48f707f45e56e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E2. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022174e2e7054984486a8a48f707f45e56e\u0022\u003ECHRISTOPHER LUXON (Leader of the Opposition)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all of her Government\u2019s statements and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u00223666c099b98e455fb6e6e0ec5892c6c8\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000089\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00223666c099b98e455fb6e6e0ec5892c6c8\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes. In particular, I stand by this Government\u2019s decision to bring forward the date for opening our border to tourists, in a move that will help further accelerate our economic recovery from COVID-19. From 11.59 p.m., Tuesday, 12 April, Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand, isolation-free, and just in time for the school holidays. Not long after, from 11.59 p.m., Sunday, 1 May, vaccinated travellers from visa-waiver countries will be able to travel to New Zealand again. This includes for our key tourism markets, like the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, Germany, Korea, and Singapore. We know it will take time to see tourism scale up again, but today\u2019s announcement is a great boost for an industry who has had it very tough over the past two years. And, finally, to those considering a visit to New Zealand in the very near future, welcome. Can I say that we missed you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000090\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227fd3bef0049c467693c837bf35594a69\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: How much better off will a family with two teenage children, where both parents earn $60,000 a year, be after the Working for Families\u2019 changes on 1 April?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000091\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022755cc31616f1496193931dedba819003\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: What I don\u2019t have, necessarily, is a specific example\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000092\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c773a52648854610acafa396fbab66d6\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Oh!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000093\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d7a9127a67d04390854b92b7b0eb5689\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014to run through for every\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000094\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002280afc8d0c38b4e4e8ebb5ceda3910429\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I\u2019m going to interrupt right now. Standing Orders are very clear, and that is when a general primary question is asked, Ministers cannot be expected to give specific answers. And I will not have\u2014I mean, the member\u2019s probably got the disadvantage now that he\u2019s closer to me and his loud volume interjections will appear to be louder than me. I will not have criticism of a Minister who does not have specific information that that Minister has not been asked for.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000095\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002262307f9cd43340d8b97dfef99229c2ef\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000096\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d01ffc19981040238fea63fd0825d1b6\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: If the member\u2019s going to disagree with me now, he might have a short term in the Chamber.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000097\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002265f0048a7af4448c9f90d3dc43fda8e6\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: I just want to clarify: am I no longer allowed to express reaction to the answer of a Minister?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000098\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002218fd6c6c2d034ba4bd62c670cc7dcc9a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Not at that volume.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000099\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002246e33f98c656409aaa61531766935064\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, the Speakers\u2019 rulings are very clear: interjections ought to be rare and reasonable. He didn\u2019t break any of those rules. Is there now\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000100\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002286756eac81bc47b18382a7f78bc8d5e2\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member will resume his seat right now. I ruled it was unreasonably loud.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000101\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e7cb425595134095969125518f603706\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am happy to share two examples, though. For instance, if you took a single person at an income of $55,000, with children, they would be better off an average of $21 per week. I would note that it depends also on the age of the children. We are increasing the Best Start payment, which benefits low and middle income families if they have a child, for instance, under the age of three. The other example I could give that perhaps is in keeping with the member\u2019s example in terms of wages, if you take, for instance, a new police graduate, who in 2017 may have been earning in the order of $62,000, they now, as a result of some of the wage work that we\u2019ve done across the public sector, are earning an additional $12,292. I could give further examples across nurses and teachers as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000102\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022694f44c8e31b4719821e0913c26d2331\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Can she confirm that that family with two people earning $60,000, and two kids, will not gain a single dollar in income from her so-called cost of living relief package, but if she reset the tax brackets for the last four years of inflation, they\u2019d be $1,600 a year better off?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000103\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022027290ce3f794e4d9b942dca4ef6596d\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Again, it would depend on the specifics of the family make-up. But I would also point out across a range of examples that I could also counter with where the member\u2019s tax bracket changes do not, for instance, benefit families to the same degree as, for instance, even with the reduction we\u2019ve added with fuel, the family tax credit increase, the Best Start payment increase. It will come down to the circumstances of those families. Bottom line: the member\u2019s proposals, which for some families on very low incomes delivers $2, in many cases won\u2019t deliver the same amount as our changes, and, also, he has not demonstrated how he will pay for them and continue to provide the healthcare and the other range of services that Governments are obliged to provide. [Member interjects]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000104\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f76c42427175409da12134461232455b\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Can she explain how a family earning the average household income, who have seen the cost of living increase by as much as $5,000 over the last 12 months, are supposed to cope, let alone thrive, when this Government is completely ignoring them?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000105\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224bbc5010c6744dc1a2ad3da1d39d23f4\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Again, I totally reject the premise of that member\u2019s question. Again, if we run through all of the work that we as a Government have done since we\u2019ve come into office, we have been completely focused on ensuring we\u2019re doing what we can to lift the incomes of New Zealanders. Now, whether or not it is, for instance, our policy to get rid of school donations so we take a bit of extra pressure off families to be paying for when their kids are going to school when they should be receiving free education; whether or not it\u2019s free doctors visits for under-14s; whether it\u2019s healthy food in schools for 200,000 children across the country\u2014even period products in schools. That is on top of the Best Start payment we introduced. That\u2019s on top of extending paid parental leave; increases to the family tax credit, which was on top of those that we brought in when we came into office; or even the creation of the winter energy payment. We have had a relentless focus on the cost of living for New Zealanders since 2017. Now, I don\u2019t deny that times are absolutely tough now, which is why you saw us this week, again, reduce fuel excise, whilst also making sure we don\u2019t cut the projects that those families want us to continue with.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000106\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220032f7e5c82240f28ee036a035c81dad\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Before the Leader of the Opposition asks his next question, I do want to warn him that his last supplementary was out of order. The last phrase in it made it that way. While I\u2019m on my feet, I will again admonish Mr Bishop. When he interjects he doesn\u2019t interject in the second person. I think he\u2019s a third-term MP now. He should know that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000107\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa6903998e414e07aa446c51ded7c357\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: When she said yesterday that the Government was \u201Cgiving back to \u2026 middle income earners\u201D, does she believe someone earning $60,000 a year is a middle-income earner?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000108\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f69287eab7714d8d9de237a4b60cf405\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: The first thing that I would say is that whether or not you are using tax cuts or tax credits, ultimately it\u2019s a different way of ensuring that support is going to families, but the difference being there is either targeted or untargeted. By being targeted, we can reach low and middle income. I acknowledge, of course, median wage is putting people generally at about $72,000, from memory. But what we\u2019re focused on is how we can lift the amount of support that exists whilst families are facing an increase in the costs of living\u2014relative to the member\u2019s proposal, where he would reduce taxes the most for those who are on the wealthiest incomes and cannot tell us how he will pay for the other services that those families rely on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000109\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002294e001dff0d44d1286ac9efce79d042b\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does she agree that resetting the tax brackets in real terms to where they were four years ago is not even giving back; it\u2019s simply the Government not taking more of what Kiwis earn because of inflation?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000110\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dabebe615687429888278f50eecd1166\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: As I just said in my last answer, whether or not you do it with a tax bracket adjustment or a tax credit, it is simply a targeted way of trying to achieve that same thing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000111\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f68868401f5344918be54fb909935392\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Budget contain meaningful tax relief for Kiwi families earning an average household income, who are facing record price increases while paying more tax under Labour because of bracket creep?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000112\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a8dc113f808a4efcaabfca78cc839333\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: As you will have seen from our initiatives, we haven\u2019t waited. From December of last year, we saw, based on what many economists were forecasting by the simultaneous recovery globally of economies, that we would see extra pressure on supply, extra supply chain constraints\u2014those things which have contributed to inflation in a number of countries and economies we compare ourselves to. So we moved in December to put those increases in place for 1 April, and then this week we moved immediately\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000113\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002206b21e31549c4f4f9b247169c30e8e13\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Immediately? Straight after a poll. Ha, ha!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000114\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f9476d27029e441da0acab8319730538\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014when we saw just the volatility in fuel prices\u2014within 24 hours from announcement, seeing reduction at the pump. If Mr Bishop thinks the 25c reduction is laughable, for many people it is not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000115\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ea31fdd3-90e9-47d7-92a4-20b6a3109eef\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e64813bd7b24d12b6bf1f0a7b746bb7\u0022\u003EChristopher Luxon\u003C/span\u003E: Does she believe that families on the average household income, who are paying more tax while getting smashed with inflation, are somehow immune to the cost of living crisis, and, if not, can she explain why she is refusing to give them tax relief at the Budget?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000116\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224ef10d86c031401d9259843976be5139\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Again, as I\u2019ve already said in my answers, we have focused on using the tax credit system to ensure that we are lifting the incomes of our low and middle income earners\u2014particularly focused on those with children and those with younger children, where we know the cost burden is higher, and that\u2019s where the Best Start payment has been particularly useful. Contrast that with the member\u2019s proposal, which would see a couple on $280,000 or more receiving an extra $23 a week as the result of his tax cuts at the highest-income bracket. Taxpayers need us to do a bit of everything. They need us to look at the cost of living\u2014and we have with fuel and, of course, the package which comes in on 1 April. But they also want to know they can get the healthcare they need when they need it. They also want to know that they have the best-quality schools possible. Governments have to make sure that they do everything. The member has not told us how he will pay for everything with his policies and his fiscal hole. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000117\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cb80fdb06a9d40db9d753344b050ca2e\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 3\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022 data-id=\u00229d26ede0616c419ab5881163dc58204e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000118\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E3. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229d26ede0616c419ab5881163dc58204e\u0022\u003EDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour\u2014Christchurch Central) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: What recent reports has he seen on the New Zealand economy? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022442acb8b475847d7ae5f00b23e0a9654\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000119\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022442acb8b475847d7ae5f00b23e0a9654\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E The manufacturing sector is continuing to support the economy. Statistics New Zealand reported last week that manufacturing sales jumped 12 percent in the December quarter compared with the previous September quarter, as restrictions related to the Delta outbreak were eased. Stats New Zealand said this marked an all-time high for the industry since data collection began in June 1992. Manufacturing activity has remained resilient in 2022, and, on Friday, the seasonally adjusted BNZ BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index for February rose 1.3 points to 53.6. A reading above 50 indicates that manufacturing is generally expanding; while below 50, that it is declining. The long-term average is 53.1. New orders and production rose, while employment moved back into expansion. BusinessNZ called the result positive, but cautioned that the spread of Omicron could still affect business plans in coming months.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000120\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f334fdf4d6024d0b822bf1d85cb19d0e\u0022\u003EDr Duncan Webb\u003C/span\u003E: What other reports has he seen on the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000121\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b59d169fa2c4fb9b416bd38c7a74a37\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: The labour market has remained strong, with job ads near record highs. Earlier this month, the Seek NZ Employment Report for February 2022 edged down 0.1 percent on January, but it is up 68 percent for the year. BNZ economists said that this may reflect the need for businesses to plan for staff with Omicron having to self-isolate, but the high number of ads also indicated that firms are taking a view of the labour market beyond the near-term impacts of the pandemic. One exception to the result was in hospitality and tourism, which declined 13 percent. But BNZ noted that the reopening of the borders, as announced today, and the easing of restrictions are expected to help revive the fortunes of these sectors. Overall, the BNZ said that the result signals that unemployment will stay at record low levels at the beginning of 2022.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000122\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b2973da900d643ebadab44a5f832b24d\u0022\u003EDr Duncan Webb\u003C/span\u003E: What reports has he seen on support available to deal with the challenges of Omicron on the economy?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000123\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3dc61af22974df890b0caf635887f71\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Index, reported earlier this month, shows that consumer confidence had fallen to its lowest level in the 18-year history of the survey. We acknowledge that this is a challenging time for New Zealanders, and these results reflect the spread of Omicron and the rising cost of living due to global factors. We have acted to support households through temporarily cutting taxes on fuel, and further support that will be available with the cost of living measures from 1 April. We\u2019re also supporting businesses through this time, through the targeted COVID Support Payment. The second payment opened on Monday and so far has paid out $70.1 million to 14,627 applicants. When combined with the first payment, we\u2019ve now had a total of $424.4 million being paid out to 85,794 applicants. We are continuing to protect jobs and support New Zealand businesses by providing cash flow and confidence. We recognise that this is a tough time for many businesses and we are here to support them. The experience overseas indicates that Omicron has an intense but relatively short peak, and, once that passes, confidence will return quickly and spending will rebound.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000124\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002254bf8f7d2f4644fc84f3a0a02608acbe\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 4\u2014Finance\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022 data-id=\u00226ba24777f3894c588c5b0e5108d278a6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000125\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E4. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226ba24777f3894c588c5b0e5108d278a6\u0022\u003ENICOLA WILLIS (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Finance: Does he agree with ANZ economist Miles Workman that \u201CInflation is now running laps around wage growth\u201D, and \u201Chouseholds are going backwards at an alarming rate\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022 data-id=\u0022ff75666200a04406a98e30bf4b222969\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022ff75666200a04406a98e30bf4b222969\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON (Minister of Finance):\u003C/span\u003E First, can I congratulate the member on her new role. I note that Mr Workman\u2019s comments are in a document titled, \u201CRebound 3.5\u201D, which predicts a strong bounce back in December quarter economic growth. I agree to the extent that, at this current point in time, households are facing significant cost of living pressures as a result of high inflation driven by global factors such as COVID-related supply chain issues and the war in Ukraine. However, when it comes to the relationship between inflation and wage growth, I think it is important to look past temporary spikes and, rather, at long-term trends, which has seen wage growth outstrip inflation in recent years, something which is predicted to continue in years to come. Right now, the Government\u2019s focus is on supporting the incomes of those New Zealanders most affected by the rise in prices, also while easing pressure caused by the global energy crisis, through a 25 percent litre cut to the fuel excise duty and equivalent reductions to the road-user charge.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000127\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227fe4e588ad86406fb8c35c298e82c588\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Why does he keep gaslighting New Zealanders by claiming his stats prove\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000128\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022392df230ae5045e5aa34bafed3e4b491\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member will start\u2014no, the member will start another supplementary now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000129\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225fca50a1bec944e69c9a5dc2539732b3\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Why does he keep patronising New Zealanders by claiming\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000130\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c153fde1ed848d0a8a9c371c0cb413f\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member may start another supplementary now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000131\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002275236bd80cd2450f9bc609a2c1fff5a9\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Why does he keep trying to fool New Zealanders by claiming his statistics prove they\u2019re getting ahead under his Government, when they know they\u2019re not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000132\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002240acaae8f8a7487cb762c4120fd7d96f\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: I reject the premise of the member\u2019s questions, and I would point her to the fact that wages have outpaced inflation between 2018 and 2021 and are projected to do so again. There are periods of time in New Zealand\u2019s history when inflation does in fact outpace wage growth. One of those was in 2010 and 2011 under a National Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000133\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f8b25b47db5434e93bd9834ea9ea9e7\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: What does he say to Karl, who wrote to me saying, \u201CI get what you would think is a nice amount of money a week. Yet even I am struggling at the moment.\u201D, and can the Minister explain how he expects middle-income Kiwis to cope with the cost of living crisis, when they are not eligible for the 1 April changes to benefits and Working for Families?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000134\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dc69c1b762284ae089c1884a862572a7\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: As the Prime Minister outlined in her earlier answer, the Government has instituted a number of measures across the four years that we\u2019ve been in Government to help ease cost of living pressures, be it taking away school donations, be it things like food in schools and a range of other supports. On this side of the House, when we put a Budget together, we\u2019ve got difficult choices to make. Among those choices is whether or not we stop investing in long-term issues, like, for instance, building roads or public transport routes, or whether we have to balance that against making sure that we support those on the lowest incomes. There are no easy choices. We have chosen the ones we have; the member\u2019s party has chosen tax cuts for the most wealthy New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000135\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221b0d38b1964d4a4cb1d5639ff00e97c6\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Is he concerned by surveys showing one in three under-35-year-olds are planning to leave New Zealand in the next five years, and does he agree with economist Tony Alexander, who says we could soon see a brain drain of Kiwis attracted to Australia by \u201Clower house prices, lower cost of living, higher incomes\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000136\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002234a915055b8f4562887013c9ee4b1606\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019d be interested to know if the National Party\u2019s policy was to ban the OE, because that\u2019s what we heard just there from the member today. What we do know is that, in New Zealand today, we have the largest number of New Zealanders in work in modern history in New Zealand, the lowest rate of unemployment, and a Government that\u2019s backing a productive economy. In contrast, we have a National Party offering tax cuts to the richest New Zealanders and two bucks\u2014two bucks\u2014a week for those on lower incomes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ac2601044a7d46268431ab9ca6ab9139\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: What is his response to Merva, who wrote to me saying, \u201CWho can afford $500 to $600 a week rent, when you are lucky to bring home $800 a week in the hand? Shame on the Government.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000138\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fb7896f26dae4a8f8af4867b99e9bd40\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: What I would say to Mervyn is that this Government is building more houses than any Government since the 1970s, that we did not deny the existence of a housing crisis, and that record building consents mean that supply is now catching up with demand, and perhaps the Government that Mervyn was calling shame on was the last National Government that failed to build houses.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000139\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b80b28741cf6416c913f4c577478b640\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I\u2019m going to remind the member that including unparliamentary things within quotes does not make them parliamentary. I think the member probably knows that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000140\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002287658b5d64ab49db88926b77853a9942\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Does he accept his policies are failing Jordan, who wrote to me saying, \u201CI too struggle to afford food. Sometimes we only eat toast. I\u2019ve had KiwiSaver since I was 16. Now I\u2019m 30 and I don\u2019t have enough for a house deposit. I\u2019m scared we\u2019re not going to have a home for my unborn baby.\u201D, and is he concerned that his policies are failing a generation of New Zealanders?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000141\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fa46e2ae927540269c662ae97906e413\u0022\u003EHon GRANT ROBERTSON\u003C/span\u003E: On this side of the House, we are proud of the fact that we\u2019ve made a massive investment in housing to make sure that New Zealanders do have a secure future. On the other side of the House, they have a record of selling off housing, and now their promise to low and middle income New Zealanders is $2 a week while they\u2014members in this House\u2014would get thousands of dollars a year in tax cuts. That\u2019s not the way to a fair society. That\u2019s not the way to making sure that people have economic security.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000142\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ffe087980eb743e7be249256b8efb80a\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 5\u2014Energy and Resources\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022 data-id=\u00225a4aef973af64635af5a9846af19710a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000143\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E5. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225a4aef973af64635af5a9846af19710a\u0022\u003ETANGI UTIKERE (Labour\u2014Palmerston North)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Energy and Resources: What responses has she seen to the Government\u2019s decision to cut fuel excise and road-user charges by 25 cents per litre?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022 data-id=\u0022943e36b6398c446db48761f0e7c76e5f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000144\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022943e36b6398c446db48761f0e7c76e5f\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Energy and Resources):\u003C/span\u003E The most immediate response I saw to the Government\u2019s announcement to cut fuel excise by 25c per litre was fuel prices across New Zealand dropping. Little over an hour after the announcement, prices at the pump started falling. From the lowest fuel price in Greymouth, there was a 29c per litre fall in the price of Regular 91 today, compared to Monday. For the lowest fuel price in Auckland, there was a 31c per litre fall in the price of Regular 91, Monday to Tuesday, and a 29c fall in Hastings, and these figures show our reduction in excise is already making a big difference to consumers across the country. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000145\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f6fa453b160a4c779c913d3f63559f01\u0022\u003ETangi Utikere\u003C/span\u003E: What feedback has she received on the Government\u2019s decision to cut fuel excise by 25c per litre? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000146\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c72bec81d43748c099ff68a7acc0bd3b\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ve seen a number of enthusiastic and positive responses to the Government\u2019s decision to cut fuel excise and road-user charges by 25c a litre. The Auckland Business Chamber said that the Government\u2019s reduction in fuel excise exemplified the decisive leadership New Zealanders expect and deserve. Julie Wyatt from Hospitality New Zealand said that the Government\u2019s reduction was an essential move that would provide New Zealanders with urgent relief, while the Motor Trade Association has said cutting taxes on fuel without impact on funding for major roading projects is a win-win for motorists. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000147\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002262ff759d-9586-405a-a6e6-208ad65adeb5\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022593880dc3e4a40dfb6908627e353d756\u0022\u003ETangi Utikere\u003C/span\u003E: What response has she seen from New Zealanders?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000148\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228d5862ad4ebf4e32a9e6b97906826b53\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ve seen a number of responses from New Zealanders to the reduction in fuel excise. Radio New Zealand reported an Auckland mother who said the excise reduction will mean her family \u201Ccan buy some of the things for the girls, more fruit, and some meals that are more healthy than just eating frozen vegetables\u201D. Tema said the reduction \u201Cwill really help us in this crisis situation that the whole country\u2019s going through\u201D. I\u2019m proud of the action that our Government is taking to give Kiwi families immediate relief through the current global energy crisis, triggered by the war in Ukraine. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000149\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00228697a535acd34168b1775c8af7ec54f0\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 6\u2014Housing (Public Housing)\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u002224d75d28fa0b49dea2fdd03ef00255cb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000150\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E6. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002224d75d28fa0b49dea2fdd03ef00255cb\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing): What was the national weekly median rent in October 2017, and what is the current national weekly median rent according to MBIE rental bond data?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022 data-id=\u002206a90254e5d646568b7bb0385c6986f7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000151\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002206a90254e5d646568b7bb0385c6986f7\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS (Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing)):\u003C/span\u003E And can I congratulate the member on\u2014welcome to housing. There are a range of measures used to analyse rent prices of which Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) rental bond data is one. The Government uses the Stats New Zealand rental price index, which shows that, from October 2017 to December 2021, rents rose 16.4 percent. To put this in context, we saw the same 16.4 percent increase between August 2013 and October 2017. According to MBIE tenancy bond data, the national weekly median rent was $400 in October 2017 and $550 in January 2022. I would note that officials and commentators have warned that the MBIE data is often significantly revised, often downwards. That is due to bonds for more expensive properties being lodged earlier, and lower bonds being lodged later. This can result in exaggerated rent increase data for the most recent months. This Government recognises that the rental market is under pressure right now and we will continue to support renters and that is why we have limited rent increases to once a year, banned rental bidding, and increased the wages and benefits for low and middle income earners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000152\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022872b46db59f342f39105edb104aaffa1\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Is she aware that rent has increased by $150 per week since the Government came into office, and why does rent affordability continue to decline under this Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000153\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226cf3f06e9c934a2fbecd861ab174a031\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: What I do accept is there are some people who are doing it tough right now, but we have made a number of changes to support our renters during this time. A married couple, for example, receiving jobseeker support now receives $88 more per week in their weekly benefit after tax compared to March 2020. The average rent reported by couples renting and receiving the accommodation supplement increased by $38 per week for the same period. An adult working a 40-hour week on the minimum wage saw their income increase by almost $75 per week after tax between March 2020 and December 2021.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000154\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1b811bd5317465f85cb1a55763aea38\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order. It was an interesting answer, but it didn\u2019t go anywhere near addressing the question as to why rent affordability continues to decline. It\u2019s just a bunch of stuff about welfare benefits.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000155\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226007dc96-f459-4cdd-9972-4fde2c994088\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002212f6ee22d49444f687d991493154ba35\u0022\u003EHon Grant Robertson\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order, there were two questions, and, in actual fact, the member had actually answered the first of those in her primary answer.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000156\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00227ba17c7148634a5d9e426e3aeb5e5369\u0022\u003EHon Dr Megan Woods\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000157\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022666d91c500e749a58529ea61cd41cfed\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, we\u2019ll see if Mr Bishop wants another supplementary first. I haven\u2019t\u2014I mean, I don\u2019t think I need to rule on it. I\u2019m sorry, Mr Bishop. I\u2019m sure you are aware that when you ask a two-legged supplementary that the obligation on the Minister is to only answer one of them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000158\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a2b9755085fc452a88bb633f6b89cb83\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: She could have addressed both of them, but she didn\u2019t. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000159\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223c4eaf99fd424162be20f88051760875\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry\u2014order! The member doesn\u2019t comment on my rulings. No, he\u2019s not in the school debating team anymore; he\u2019s in the House of Representatives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000160\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c6ceff9e8b614a5f85fed997e9d9bcd0\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: What is her response to statistics which show the weekly median rent for three- to four-bedroom properties across New Zealand saw the biggest annual increase of 8 percent to $650 a week last year, and why does the average rental house continue to become more unaffordable under this Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000161\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb45570e250b420fb7f83526505ab481\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: What I can say is that there is no doubt that there are people who are doing it tough right now. The response from this Government has been from the time we came to Government to increase the incomes of low and middle income earners to cushion themselves from just the kinds of shocks that we are seeing right now. Not only that, this Government responds to issues that come up by ensuring that we have wages that keep pace with the cost of living, that we are in a particular time right now due to the impacts of what\u2019s happening in the Ukraine. And this Government responds by ensuring that families can have more of their income to put to those things because we reduce the cost to them in terms of petrol, in terms of payments to schools. We have, as a Government, made sure that families have got more in their pockets to cushion them against the times that come up, such as this one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000162\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bfac2a59ba2248dfb078255760d43bc8\u0022\u003EHon Dr Megan Woods\u003C/span\u003E: Is the member aware that the four-year increase since we came into Government between 2017 and 2021 of 16.4 percent in rents is exactly the same as the four-year period from 2013 to 2016 when the National Party were in Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000163\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022aaf7415996c84e1e9d9f4b61e7a4c141\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister has no responsibility for the 2013 to 2016 period.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000164\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002257778c34f92d454ab438408683087622\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019ve heard members from that side regularly ask for comparatives between the period that the current Government\u2019s responsible for and the previous one. And that is entirely in line with that. And I just want to say, I think the member actually knows that. He is getting to the point of going from being disorderly to highly disorderly. Supplementary, the Hon Poto Williams. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000165\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a1a0a4a26b9044f49549cf02b417e54a\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, I am aware. And, as I answered in the primary question, I am aware of that. But what I do want to say is: this Government recognises that the rental market is under pressure right now, and we continue to support rentals. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000166\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cd78b3378e2463496a4ca7f7be861e1\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! Order! The member has answered the question. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000167\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b4bcdc66588f4308a9f4c4cd668228d3\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: When does she expect rents to stabilise or drop under this Government?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000168\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ed34484a52b242f4b517f0d42cee5d62\u0022\u003ERt Hon Jacinda Ardern\u003C/span\u003E: Auckland, it\u2019s 2.7.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000169\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223e985c7efacb46b8ad83b764e777d1b3\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: I asked her, not you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000170\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf889f154f584478a66add5367847ff4\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: What I can say is that\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000171\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220c3537b909d8403bad48d59c9785927f\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! The member will resume his seat. The member will now stand, withdraw, and apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000172\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229b7e3456b03141f780176d744e306146\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Withdraw and apologise. A point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000173\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f34e8db81748441aa66a28fdad3e2e21\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: If this is disorderly, the member will be leaving the Chamber.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000174\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c484f98d8fc14801bb3850cc32791ee6\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Well, Mr Speaker, I asked a question, and as I was finishing asking the question, the Prime Minister answered for me, when the question wasn\u2019t to her; it was to the Associate Minister.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000175\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220af624687a8248e6b2bec35e17e32c26\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: And the member, for the fifth or sixth time today, from a seat very close to me, referred to me in his interjection. He knows what the rules are; he\u2019s not a stupid member. I can only assume he\u2019s doing it deliberately.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000176\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c3eef298cec14b39ac17401bdf553b55\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: Can I say one thing that I\u2019m enormously proud of this Government, and that is for pressing ahead with increasing the supply of housing. If there is one thing that is going to ensure that we do our best to reduce the cost of housing, it is building supply. And that is what I\u2019m proud that this Government is doing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000177\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221206fa722d2e4bba89a714261496d819\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Does she think that there is a connection between weekly rents increasing by $150 per week since the Government came into office and 4,000 children growing up in motels, and, if so, what is she going to do about it? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000178\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222b12039038b0473bb21dcc9158c1ae79\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: What we have to do is increase the supply of housing. That is how we address the issues that that member has just raised. And that is what this Government is doing. The record number of building consents demonstrates the fact that we are well on our way to ensuring that we have got housing supply for our people, and I\u2019m enormously proud of the work of this Government in that space.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000179\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d3db4521fe5242b3a483ccc920b06f40\u0022\u003ERt Hon Jacinda Ardern\u003C/span\u003E: Can the member confirm the direct correlation between increasing supply and rent increases, by the fact that when you look at the Stats New Zealand rent price index between February 2021 and February 2022, in Auckland increases are 2.7 percent\u2014the area where we have seen record consents?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000180\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d39a7812c6a430c9af989be48abc152\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: I can confirm that, and, further, I can confirm in places like Canterbury, where the supply of housing has increased, the same as evident. That demonstrates that increasing supply\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000181\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c4a01ab11f63498890931a9efce91a70\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Nine years we\u2019ve said that to Labour.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000182\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002219e9e3c8bb574d71a5de1fe029efd3ff\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000183\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0e0c86e-e14d-4daa-9bc8-1b5a3d7defeb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c36d9d9622bf4db0b857bf67888291f7\u0022\u003EHon POTO WILLIAMS\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014has a positive effect on the cost of housing and therefore on the cost of rents.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000184\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e08a57aaf454aa9bda766684eae2596\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, turns out supply works!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000185\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f307b9d8fc95409ca5a9c439e94fb71a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! I am now going to refer Mr Bishop to Speaker\u2019s ruling 61/1(1): he will stand, withdraw, and apologise.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000186\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228a3757bb22bd404eadaa3712713639e4\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: For what? I withdraw and apologise, but for what in particular, Mr Speaker?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000187\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022196bfd1a49d140af9e2a183cd48cc472\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: If the member\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000188\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eba3fb84e783416b873b44f46e0d81fd\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000189\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229e7b8590337f49cd9c21b0f3f7af91fd\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, I\u2019ll deal with this one first. Does the member not realise when he laughs out loud so the House can hear him, while I\u2019m on my feet, while I\u2019m ruling about him? I was drawing his attention to one Speaker\u2019s ruling; I\u2019ll draw his attention to the second which is 61/2(3), and the consequences of that should probably have occurred already. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000190\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022169c52d5002d483883fb3409a60ea8bf\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 7\u2014Prime Minister\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u0022a7a13f614b48454594a9dbeaaf8aa52e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000191\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E7. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a7a13f614b48454594a9dbeaaf8aa52e\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT)\u003C/span\u003E to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by all her Government\u2019s statements and actions?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022 data-id=\u002292075b91a64c46e79c82e9c552716833\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002292075b91a64c46e79c82e9c552716833\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister):\u003C/span\u003E Yes, particularly the Government\u2019s action to increase incomes of New Zealand families through a range of measures, including measures to protect lives and livelihoods during the one-in-100-year COVID-19 shock, including the wage subsidy and Resurgence Support Payment; our decision to increase support for those relying on main benefits that will mean 110,000 beneficiaries with children will be better off by an average of $175 per week; the introduction of the Best Start payment and its increase to $65 per week on 1 April; raising the minimum wage, which over time has come from $15.75 to $21.20 as at 1 April; introducing and extending the free Healthy School Lunches programme to over 200,000 students; reducing education costs for parents by increasing funding for deciles 1 to 7 schools that agree not to request donations; and by removing NCEA fees. All of these initiatives are one of the reasons we\u2019ve seen progress against all nine child poverty indicators in New Zealand since we took office. I especially stand by the decision to prioritise these changes over the member\u2019s plan to provide over $9,900 a year to someone earning over $300,000 and not a single dollar to someone earning $45,000. We\u2019ll continue to work to grow the incomes of all New Zealanders, not just the highest-income earners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000193\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002269bdad7da4454d40ad043c2e8f14de0f\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: A point of order. I find myself in a very difficult position, because the Prime Minister is telling the House what ACT\u2019s policies are and getting it wrong. It actually would give a lot of relief to people\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000194\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226a450be30e1e4e489b1853ac21e24cee\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, the member will resume his seat. I think the member knows that I don\u2019t have responsibility for the answers. If the member thinks that a Minister has got something wrong, there are ways of taking that up, but points of order is not one of them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000195\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002265e967ac1de148428dd62b361fe0208f\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Speaking to the point of order\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000196\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022359560d5d3f543b6874e1ba785a25b10\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, no. I\u2019ve ruled on the point of order.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000197\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a9a1ba1c01eb45d3a02a76af4219ac93\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: A fresh point of order, and I in no way mean to dispute your ruling; however, you said you don\u2019t have responsibility, but, actually, the Standing Orders do require that answers do not contain unnecessary arguments or information. Now, the Prime Minister has, very arguably, done that. She\u2019s not responsible for ACT\u2019s policies and she doesn\u2019t get them right either.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000198\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e0b6f791de574b4488e94d19837bd97b\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry, I\u2019m just\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000199\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b4312dfd7a9141ffb14f1a4102673661\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker, may I speak to the point of order, given you haven\u2019t yet ruled?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000200\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022294de63c581943358ef6b9894214bf75\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: You can. It will give me a chance to look up the references.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000201\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d7c57e02311e468d8401d3a73b46d75f\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Somewhat tentatively, if I could buy you some time\u2014speaking to the point of order, I would be happy to table the member\u2019s own Supplementary Order Paper, dated Tuesday, 15 March, on the tax rates that he is proposing, which is the basis of the answer that I gave.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000202\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dff7d4adbc5247d6bb59a273fa647960\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, I think now I\u2019ve got to the point where I\u2019ve got my head around the appropriate Standing Order and it is 367, and that is something which is done in writing. So we\u2019re not going to go any further on this point of order now. If the member wants another supplementary question or if the member wants the first supplementary question, he can ask it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000203\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ffaedfa35d534ea580217f5ae1818dae\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: OK, a fresh point of order, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000204\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229dcdaf9ee64944af91afd80b64b86718\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Unrelated?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002205a5ec5052ef4a31b53d5125b73c4a88\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Unrelated. In the point of order that the Prime Minister just raised, she offered to table a Supplementary Order Paper which has already been published publicly by the House. Surely she knows that, and it\u2019s disorderly to suggest it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000206\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002203cf66de56d943f5b8ad286a1d8025d3\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m trying to work out whether the member wants to stay or not. Supplementary question, David Seymour. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000207\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241bfd83e8fb545008015c3a3604a6a2c\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: It\u2019s a good point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000208\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225e90400e83af4147b2e11438eeb12f75\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000209\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022849236bca4564fd7a7be5a2c50e899b8\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Ha, ha!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000210\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225cd719991e8a4056bf6a95f30241c48a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Look, Mr Bishop. No, the member will resume his seat. One thing that\u2014you know, it may be a disadvantage to the member with a new seat; I have sat in that very seat.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000211\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002292235b6dea794911a83e211115b4c1ac\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to be a new seat for me.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000212\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228615297a55d345c5931d6e8c81a23c2a\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! There he goes again\u2014there he goes again. I mean, if I was either of my predecessors, he would have been gone half an hour ago. The member must not run a commentary on Speakers\u2019 rulings. It may be that I can hear him more easily now he is sitting in that seat. I have sat there before and I know that it has advantages and disadvantages. And I\u2019ll say to Mr Goldsmith: his running commentaries are much easier to hear as well now that he is sitting there, but what I\u2019m not going to have is constant comments on my rulings. And if the member\u2019s going to comment on this one, he\u2019s asking to leave the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000213\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b83fd1358dc41599bf69fb8655a8f99\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: Just a point of order, Mr Speaker. Just\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000214\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220d94f42a08bd466a829a9a3366dbcf57\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, as long as it\u2019s not going to comment on this ruling.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000215\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f88b49e6e41c4d0e97f35e049b6bb143\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m just trying to be helpful.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000216\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d6bcaa9144c340748a12e9cb30aca0e8\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: If it does, he\u2019s going.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000217\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f4a086a3b58a48149b948464e656afdd\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m just trying to be helpful. Would it be useful if we had a coffee afterwards so that you can understand the difference between sotto voce when I speak and, actually, speaking in public? I\u2019m happy to go for a coffee to discuss\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000218\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c9bfaaa9adc945ba9e76adb6e6e47f77\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Well, I\u2019ll decline the member\u2019s invitation for a date, because I have meetings that go on for some time afterwards. But I will say to the member: just because it\u2019s quiet for him, doesn\u2019t mean I can\u2019t hear it. David Seymour [Interruption] Now, have we got up to supplementary questions yet?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000219\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022c4ae0a98ec3a48569b6c2212e82695a6\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: I was just wondering if Chris Bishop would like to have a coffee. [Interruption] Oh, cool\u2014see you later. After question time? Yeah, cool. Supplementary question, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000220\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002203a184a32f8741bb91bf107220d35298\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: David Seymour.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000221\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002241219279a649426a9449bee21b149a74\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Does the Prime Minister stand by the statement she made to this House just two weeks ago, \u201CTo simply carte blanche open the borders would be at a great cost, potentially, to New Zealanders, and we\u2019re not willing to do that at this time.\u201D, and, if so, how does she reconcile that with her statement this morning that \u201CIn short, we\u2019re ready to welcome the world back.\u201D?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000222\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022713c60aab7864600be348ab9496523b1\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Quite easily. We have said, even from the beginning of February, that the right time to open the borders would be at the point that we know when we are, essentially, reaching our peak, and when we have confidence that we are on the other side of it, and that cases are stabilising in our hospitals. Now that we are there, it is easier to anticipate how much longer we may expect some of that pressure on our hospital system.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000223\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224f1e89d844c947659c5a4ca18a1a466d\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Is the Prime Minister aware of a poll released on Saturday by news organisation One News showing 75 percent of voters want the border reopened, and, if she was aware, can she reassure New Zealanders it had no effect on her change of stance on opening the border?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000224\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220b7ecf1d6dae43e6838691cd7131d3fa\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: It had absolutely no effect. At the beginning of February, we announced our reopening plans, and at that time I said it was highly likely that we would bring forward all of those dates once we had reached the high peak of our outbreak, because, at that point, experts had advised us that it would make less difference to have a large number of people coming in. We also sought expert advice on when that reopening date would be, preceding any of the measures that the member is pointing to. We have never based our decisions on people\u2019s lives and livelihoods on something like a poll; we\u2019ve based it on evidence and advice\u2014I would assert that nor does the member, because I would have thought his policy, to say that everything that we\u2019ve done on COVID should have been reversed because he believes we would have been better off with people dying, doesn\u2019t seem to be based on popularity either.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000225\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223196d306b4fb4407bcd61c39c75da4d0\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Will the Prime Minister table all that advice she just referred to, to use the decision in this House, right now so everyone else can read it too?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000226\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022ae51a54cfcc4487b81aba1c2877614d0\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: We\u2019ve always released the advice that we receive from Professor David Skegg. We proactively release our Cabinet papers. We publicly release our public health advice, and it\u2019s contained in the Reconnecting papers that will also be released. The speech where I said that we would likely bring those dates forward, I believe, was on, possibly, 3 February, was live streamed, and is publicly available.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000227\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022517750d380c74244af1500b25795756d\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: How many cases and hospitalisations will New Zealand avoid by waiting another six weeks to open the border to all tourists, and can she explain why this reduction in cases and hospitalisations is worth the cost of continuing isolation to businesses, families, and people up and down New Zealand?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000228\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002296aa8bba692646ba8f9f1aa9dfaa715a\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: Just to be clear with the member, what we\u2019ve announced today is the blanket reopening for all tourists from Australia and visa-waiver countries, so it\u2019s actually not purely a decision about lifting isolation. When it comes to how many additional cases we receive, even if you had half, possibly 65 percent of previous returnees, you\u2019re looking at about an additional thousand cases on top of what you\u2019re already receiving in any given week. What we have to be mindful of is the wider impact on our hospital system. So, yes, we have high case numbers now, but we also have high case numbers in our hospitals. Whilst we may have peaked in Auckland, we have not elsewhere, and some of our regional hospitals, of course, they do have smaller numbers of high dependency unit and ICU capacity. We have to balance the need to ensure that people get the hospital care they need with our economic recovery. The final point I would make is that, actually, many operators have welcomed these dates. The 12th of April means that we will capture the vast majority of school holidays and it gives them, albeit a short time, time to prepare for their re-entry trip into the country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000229\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002221ec8b17a41540838a172991a055f312\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Can the Prime Minister confirm what she just appeared to tell the House, that she\u2019s keeping the border closed for another six weeks to reduce case numbers by a thousand a week in a country that is experiencing anywhere from 120,000 to 140,000 domestic cases right now?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000230\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022725c59a34f3a4fa7bc2cd0528fde1d91\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: As I said, that is only if you had, for instance, half, or roughly half, of those individuals return. And as we\u2019ve always said, all of our decisions have been based on the best advice and evidence that we have, and that advice from the beginning has said\u2014and Professor Skegg gave it just a week ago from the podium publicly\u2014that their advice would be not to reopen generally to tourists until we had reached the peak. We\u2019re not clear we have, but we\u2019ve estimated that by 12 April we will be in the best possible position. Most New Zealanders have welcomed this decision. I would have thought this might be an opportunity for the member to as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000231\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002232d34847ecf742cb825943c7c92a87e2\u0022\u003EHon David Parker\u003C/span\u003E: What would have been the outcome for New Zealand\u2019s pandemic in the January period when New Zealanders were on holiday, had the Government opened the borders in December before booster rates were higher?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000232\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022be1ccb3af4cf4583a59412f446a6c859\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: The member is correct that in this House it was the common position of both the member and the Leader of the Opposition to declare 1 December \u201Cfreedom day\u201D. That was within days of the World Health Organization declaring Omicron a variant of concern. We had only just begun the booster roll-out. Had we opened at that time, I fear that the outcomes in New Zealand would have been vastly different. Some people still trivialise COVID; it is not to be trivialised. Yes, we are working hard to bring as much normality back as possible. But when you look at the likes of Hong Kong that is experiencing similar case rates to New Zealand, the death rate is vastly different because\u2014different in vaccination rates. It made a difference for us to hold Omicron back for the time we did. Seventy-three percent of our eligible population is now vaccinated, and soon we will be ready to safely fully reopen.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000233\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dda85851a0dc4f51b1140e92fdf298f5\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: What would have been the effect on the pandemic had a country called New Zealand been at the \u201Cfront of the queue\u201D for procuring vaccines, and the booster roll-out was completed by December and we could open up and save billions of dollars?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000234\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022aa2209f1-1889-4c24-b51d-cb2aedc7aa93\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228c03e758930542658dbfcf951c0631ff\u0022\u003ERt Hon JACINDA ARDERN\u003C/span\u003E: The member there is just wrong. There was almost no country that had completed a booster roll-out by 1 December.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000235\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229889a2f7010246cf8aee64083c6627cd\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 8\u2014Education\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022 data-id=\u002261d9d154831d4f678f1731e2ffd3affc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000236\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003E8. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002261d9d154831d4f678f1731e2ffd3affc\u0022\u003ECAMILLA BELICH (Labour) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Education: What actions is the Government taking to support schools and early learning services to keep children and young people safe during the Omicron outbreak?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022 data-id=\u0022561b5a5591c54f78ad825a0e9e682f2c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000237\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022561b5a5591c54f78ad825a0e9e682f2c\u0022\u003EHon JAN TINETTI (Associate Minister of Education) (remote) \u003C/span\u003Eon behalf of the Minister of Education: Nearly an additional million rapid antigen tests are being made available and easier to access in schools and early learning centres. Schools, kura, and early learning centres can opt in to be provided with rapid antigen tests to give to symptomatic children, young people, and staff, and the people in their households. I know this is an uncertain time for a lot of us, and we want to keep schools and early learning centres open while keeping young people and children healthy and well. The advice and feedback I have received from the education sector is that greater access to rapid antigen testing could help them to do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000238\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e6f0599ddf314b008733fe1ed5e6f18a\u0022\u003ECamilla Belich\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any other provision being made for the use of rapid antigen testing in education settings?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000239\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df45893fb2db4e21afb27422128ebb70\u0022\u003EHon JAN TINETTI\u003C/span\u003E: On behalf of the Minister, early learning centres will also be able to access rapid antigen tests for reassurance testing so that parents can have confidence in their centre to stay open and for their children to continue to attend. Those centres that opt in will receive enough tests for staff to do twice-weekly testing. Staff at specialist schools and special-needs units will also be able to access rapid antigen testing for this purpose and will be prioritised for distribution, as will staff at school hostels. This is a voluntary short-term measure while we get through the peak of the Omicron outbreak. It will be reviewed again in a few weeks\u2019 time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000240\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00220cba27a735f043e2be4e4cd11ac748a6\u0022\u003ECamilla Belich\u003C/span\u003E: What other protections do schools and early childhood centres have?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000241\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229eef65cd-ce82-441c-af1b-954ea0782a04\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022be6560acc95e4a1f809dddebcf78b105\u0022\u003EHon JAN TINETTI\u003C/span\u003E: Schools and early learning centres already have very good protections in place, with all staff required to be vaccinated, mask use in year 4 and up, and good ventilation. In fact, portable air cleaners are already being sent to schools to be used in classrooms, staff rooms, and other spaces where there is a need to supplement natural ventilation. We expect all schools will have at least one portable air cleaner by May, with additional cleaners for larger schools. A further procurement is under way to identify suppliers to meet any future need for carbon dioxide monitors and portable air cleaners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000242\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c49f62ccec614df7b86cb1c5a6c0bf4c\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 9\u2014Oceans and Fisheries\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u00228237311f38fb44b59cdaf9d5d803de60\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000243\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E9. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228237311f38fb44b59cdaf9d5d803de60\u0022\u003EHon EUGENIE SAGE (Green) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Oceans and Fisheries: Will the Government ban bottom trawling on seamounts in New Zealand waters and support similar measures in international waters, including in the South Pacific?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022 data-id=\u0022814a0d8fcd834172939e57b1839a7024\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000244\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022814a0d8fcd834172939e57b1839a7024\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER (Minister for Oceans and Fisheries):\u003C/span\u003E Fisheries New Zealand and the Department of Conservation are establishing a multi-stakeholder forum on managing the effects of trawling on the benthic environment in New Zealand\u2019s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The impacts on seamounts and seamount-like features are being considered as part of the forum deliberations. Following the forum and public consultation, the Government will consider whether to impose additional restrictions on bottom trawling in New Zealand or EEZ waters. Bottom trawling in international South Pacific waters is regulated by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation\u2014SPRFMO. SPRFMO is due to review the issue at the 2023 commission meeting, and the issue is also being considered intersessionally by SPRFMO members, of which New Zealand is one. New Zealand will play a responsible role in that consideration.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000245\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d24819b176584e978b895456896f6e63\u0022\u003EHon Eugenie Sage\u003C/span\u003E: Does he stand by his statement that \u201CI do accept that bottom trawling has environmental impacts and we should be doing our utmost to moderate them.\u201D, and, if so, why has he set up a stakeholder forum rather than taking immediate action to moderate these impacts?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000246\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225ac248eafe5c4392afa564fd0b8d164e\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: Yes, and we will achieve that moderation through the steps that we\u2019ve taken.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000247\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d51424dc1ef642d493bd0285200bf0d1\u0022\u003EHon Eugenie Sage\u003C/span\u003E: Has he received any recent advice on creating a framework for defining and identifying habitats of particular significance for fisheries management, in accordance with section 9(c) of the 1996 Fisheries Act, following the report of the Prime Minister\u2019s Chief Science Adviser in March 2021, and, if so, what did that advice say?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000248\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022635e1cdab1dc48f5bf758ff0b0af0e38\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: If the member means \u201Cvery recently\u201D, no. Since the Chief Science Adviser\u2019s report was received, I have received some advice on that. And it also informed the measures that the Government took in response to the sea-change recommendations in the Hauraki Gulf.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000249\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226f0adbe6348e4ea2be2082fa904912d0\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Sorry, supplementary question, the Hon Eugenie Sage. Just a bit of a reminder: you get two and then you ask them after that. But we\u2019ll keep going until you stop, OK?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000250\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221a09ed92741e4426be01ec788ceefc16\u0022\u003EHon Eugenie Sage\u003C/span\u003E: Thank you. Does he agree with former Prime Minister the Rt Hon Helen Clark, who was reported last week as saying, \u201CIt is a concern to me that New Zealand still bottom trawls on sea mounts in the South Pacific high seas areas, and the Tasman Sea \u2026 there\u2019s incredible damage being done to our seamounts from this kind of activity.\u201D, and, if so, what action is he taking to avoid this damage?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000251\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00224336f3a2191846ce81e2529943e18833\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I agree that bottom trawling causes environmental damage, as I have previously said. I don\u2019t think these things are as easy to solve when you are in Government, as they appear to be after you\u2019ve left.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000252\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a3dbe2325b5b48c2aa7c7bd34b0fab83\u0022\u003EHon Eugenie Sage\u003C/span\u003E: Does he agree with the Rt Hon Helen Clark, who was also reported as saying last week that she hoped bottom trawling of seamounts in the South Pacific would be banned under a sufficiently strong global oceans treaty, and, if not, why not?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000253\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002266d9d8cf66914281801d5017c5e2ca37\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I have great respect for my former leader, but I don\u2019t agree with all of her prescriptions, which is not to say I disagree with this one.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000254\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002246206d464bec4c6d8295963a93270438\u0022\u003EHon Eugenie Sage\u003C/span\u003E: Does he believe New Zealand\u2019s position as the only country which has commercial fishing vessels bottom trawling on seamounts in the South Pacific is defensible in the face of an urgent global biodiversity crisis; if so, why?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000255\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f5d71749-ae91-4af7-b2bd-77260398912a\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229c86a4858d804815a662f4e55736fc09\u0022\u003EHon DAVID PARKER\u003C/span\u003E: I\u2019m not sure that I quite agree with the articulation of the way in which the member describes New Zealand\u2019s position compared with other countries. I would observe that some of the countries that take positions through SPRFMO take different positions in other parts of the world, including areas where they fish.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000256\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022cbc302fe5ac744c28b2fa4dc99d79f58\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 10\u2014Social Development and Employment\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00221cd33f16-add4-4363-a2d4-f457841a5c4c\u0022 data-id=\u0022e03f68542c6649b09e724a5761bbea1e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000257\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221cd33f16-add4-4363-a2d4-f457841a5c4c\u0022\u003E10. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e03f68542c6649b09e724a5761bbea1e\u0022\u003EGLEN BENNETT (Labour\u2014New Plymouth)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister for Social Development and Employment: What measures will take effect on 1 April to support people and wh\u0101nau with the cost of living?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022 data-id=\u0022492c808dc2af421aa5bb4e735d108f57\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000258\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022492c808dc2af421aa5bb4e735d108f57\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI (Minister for Social Development and Employment) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E On 1 April, a suite of measures will take effect that will see the Government delivering increases to main benefit rates, student allowance and living costs, childcare assistance income thresholds, Working for Families tax credits, and the orphans benefit and unsupported child\u2019s benefit and foster care allowance. Our Government are also lifting the minimum wage to $21.20, and, on 1 May, over 1.2 million New Zealanders will start receiving the winter energy payment. It is hard for many wh\u0101nau right now. There is no silver bullet that will fix this issue; however, our Government are continuing to take action to ease the pressures on wh\u0101nau.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000259\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221cd33f16-add4-4363-a2d4-f457841a5c4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df1ba2d6b9a44334a56030e2fc56cd3a\u0022\u003EGlen Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: How many people will be better off as a result of these changes?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000260\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002218670070c5bb4f84a7142c33508c857b\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: The changes taking effect on 1 April will see more money in the pockets of approximately 1.25 million individuals. Compared to 2017 policy settings, and as a result of our increases to welfare support since taking office, 364,000 beneficiaries will be better off by, on average, $109 per week\u2014increasing to $133 per week during the 2022 winter period. Of these beneficiaries, 109,000 beneficiaries with children will be better off by, on average, $175 per week, increasing to $207 per week during the 2022 winter period. It\u2019s important people are aware of these changes and know what they\u2019re eligible for. We encourage people to use the Ministry of Social Development\u2019s online tool, which helps people find out what assistance they may be able to receive based on their individual or family circumstances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000261\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00221cd33f16-add4-4363-a2d4-f457841a5c4c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022dd8f7093db024f47b85b608326cb204c\u0022\u003EGlen Bennett\u003C/span\u003E: What other changes have been made to lift incomes for people and wh\u0101nau?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000262\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c3a88c42-f60b-4cf9-8065-8bfb80a020eb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022861138c975ba4056b4ea7011468ba4fb\u0022\u003EHon CARMEL SEPULONI\u003C/span\u003E: In addition to the changes outlined before, our Government has continuously worked to lift incomes and improve support for people in need. Over the course of the last term and a half, our Government has raised benefit levels, removed the sanctions which impact children the most, invested $5.5 billion through the families package, increased the minimum wage year on year, raised the family tax credit, indexed benefits to average wage increases, raised abatement thresholds, and invested heavily in job training. We are seeing good progress, but we absolutely accept that there is more to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000263\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002224af7601c62148acbc2fbcf7519505ac\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 11\u2014Justice\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u002260cffcaec883462098549f9001ffe4c5\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000264\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E11. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002260cffcaec883462098549f9001ffe4c5\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Justice: Is the Government taking all possible steps to reduce violent crime and to prioritise the needs of victims of crime?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022 data-id=\u00227dca937c9d824f229895cd12bd79806b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000265\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227dca937c9d824f229895cd12bd79806b\u0022\u003EHon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Justice):\u003C/span\u003E The Government has a significant programme of work under way in both of those areas. We\u2019re taking steps to protect victims of family violence, including the excellent work undertaken by Minister Davidson to develop New Zealand\u2019s first strategy to eliminate family and sexual violence. We\u2019ve also introduced legislation to keep firearms out of the hands of high-risk offenders, and we\u2019re also reforming the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act to hit gangs where it hurts: to seize their assets and money when they can\u2019t prove it has been legitimately earned. Last year, this Government also passed the Sexual Violence Legislation Act, which makes changes to trial processes and evidence rules to reduce the unnecessary re-traumatisation that sexual violence complainants can experience in court. We\u2019ve increased funding for the likes of the Victim Assistance Scheme to ensure that more victims get the support they need. And we\u2019ve also invested in practical programmes to keep victims safe, like the Women\u2019s Refuge, Wh\u0101nau Protect, and the National Home Safety Service. All of these measures are designed to make sure we\u2019re reducing violent crime and prioritising the needs of victims.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000266\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226d3239ada4b14bd2bb362aa665b8ff3b\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: How does he argue these steps have been effective, when violent crime has increased by 21 percent over the past two years, while convictions have reduced 19 percent over the same time period?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000267\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00228ddb7564fde741878fa9dfdf0a93a5be\u0022\u003EHon KRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: If the member is referring to some of the statistics that were released yesterday, I would also note that the overall number of charges that are being put on have reduced. So I would ask that the member take a glass half-full approach as to the current glass half-empty approach.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000268\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002286d2cb53769f49f0bba7d306b9f29f0b\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: Does the Government accept responsibility for the 50 percent increase in gang numbers under its watch, and does he accept this is why many New Zealanders are seeing an increase of lawlessness and violence in their communities?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000269\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022402ce56a0d4645c3a32e80ede9982210\u0022\u003EHon KRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: I stand by the Government\u2019s track record to make sure we give the police the legislation to clamp down on organised crime\u2014as I have mentioned, the moves around the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act, and also our commitment regarding funding to the police to increase the number of police on the beat.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000270\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002295f2bd6660c34de99167531ce8f440bd\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: How can the Government possibly argue it prioritises victims, when the resolution rate, which measures when formal proceedings are brought after someone has suffered a violent crime, has declined from nearly 70 percent in 2017 to a mere 47 percent in 2021? That\u2019s fewer than half.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000271\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b7d101acd21b49e2aa2e189f6220a0fc\u0022\u003EHon KRIS FAAFOI\u003C/span\u003E: I stand by our track record to support victims. As I mentioned, this Government has increased the support to the likes of Victim Support and the Victim Assistance Scheme by the tune, I believe, of around $7 million compared to when that party was last in Government.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000272\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225edde7f86f6c46a9b3083c97fa2d5ea2\u0022\u003EHon Paul Goldsmith\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000273\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002268cfa06d87c84a41a04e1976bd473b51\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: No, the member\u2019s used all his supplementaries. That concludes oral questions\u2014oh, sorry, one more question.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000274\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u002244606883ec114ec0ac161f00cd3ea0c7\u0022\u003EQuestion No. 12\u2014Tourism\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022 data-id=\u00224ceb204b9316480d8a903a8061f88d60\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000275\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E12. \u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224ceb204b9316480d8a903a8061f88d60\u0022\u003ESHANAN HALBERT (Labour\u2014Northcote) (remote)\u003C/span\u003E to the Minister of Tourism: What announcements has the Government recently made about the future of tourism for Aotearoa New Zealand? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022 data-id=\u00228d7d3d432149408782483609743dc010\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000276\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228d7d3d432149408782483609743dc010\u0022\u003EHon STUART NASH (Minister of Tourism) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E This morning, the Prime Minister and I announced that international tourists will be welcomed back to New Zealand earlier than expected as the Government accelerates the country\u2019s economic recovery. From 11.59 p.m. on Tuesday, 12 April, Australians can travel to New Zealand. From 11.59 p.m. on Sunday, 1 May, vaccinated travellers from visa-waiver countries and those with valid visitor visas will also be able to travel to New Zealand. To support that reopening, I\u2019ve announced a new tourism marketing campaign launched in Australia by Tourism New Zealand to build demand for travel to New Zealand as we prepare to open borders for our first international visitors. That campaign is seeking to persuade Australians that our unique landscapes and Kiwi hospitality and friendliness are \u201CWithin Your Wildest Dreams\u201D. Tourism New Zealand has been working hard over the past two years to keep \u201CBrand New Zealand\u201D alive in the minds of international travellers and tourists. And with the announcement today, we\u2019re well and truly gearing up to welcome visitors to our little piece of paradise. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000277\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00226e9181466b2d418681cbac26e58a132f\u0022\u003EShanan Halbert\u003C/span\u003E: Supplementary. Why is it important\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000278\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b1149f577c614c73b760bfa9defc7d4e\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: The member may have a supplementary, but I\u2019m going to warn the Minister that his answer was far too long, and this is the only supplementary he\u2019s going to get. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000279\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00229c069cdb-968c-4f11-b126-92f9c655148b\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222e77cd189dac4a1ba9a9d7c07a7035d7\u0022\u003EShanan Halbert\u003C/span\u003E: Why is it important that Aotearoa New Zealand is still marketed as a tourism destination? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000280\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022bbded2ec-ac25-4a73-a380-3f4d87693084\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002274e8b60166904a4bbf46c9d1c3796092\u0022\u003EHon STUART NASH\u003C/span\u003E: It was a very important announcement today, Mr Speaker. It\u2019s a shame that you\u2019ve cut me off from one of my supplementaries. But anyway, reopening to Australia\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000281\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002209814465d6c746f0a83ca4aedac79ce9\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! The member\u2014he can\u2019t resume his seat because he\u2019s sitting down already, but he\u2019s going to stop talking. The member has commented on one of my rulings in the way that I\u2019ve been admonishing members not to do today. That will now conclude oral questions\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022efe33d157bc747498c9445258db97175\u0022\u003EHon Todd McClay\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000283\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002211ceda83b6b5432a973fa665f69902e8\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: That now concludes oral questions. A point of order, the Hon Todd McClay. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000284\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c0f78f60-c2fd-46f4-8138-72f39692fc20\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022746829a2cedd430b82e42af7ab37cbd2\u0022\u003EHon Todd McClay\u003C/span\u003E: Well, Mr Speaker, thank you. I was going to say a better punishment for the Minister would have been to offer the Opposition a supplementary question on this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000285\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002210456f0dd5c34eceb1d3d4437471e546\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Now, the member\u2019s team sacrificed a number of supplementary questions by being out of order. If the member really wants to get supplementary questions, he needs to work with his whips or work with his front bench not to do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000286\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000287\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022e443c4307ff043be9e617cbb8ac6399c\u0022\u003EGeneral Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000289\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022eb02ec6724114efa828f4dcde0de5df5\u0022\u003EGeneral Debate\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022 data-id=\u0022706e3837481a470398feff299f6deeb3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000288\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022706e3837481a470398feff299f6deeb3\u0022\u003EHon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the House take note of miscellaneous business.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000290\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EWell, it\u2019s been another week of change over in the National Party. We\u2019ve seen some shifting of the deckchairs once again, and I would like to welcome Chris Bishop to the housing portfolio. I know he was probably hoping for finance, but I\u2019m hoping he\u2019ll enjoy the housing portfolio. I\u2019d also like to offer him some helpful advice because that\u2019s the kind of person I am. I too have been an occupant of that chair, that seat in the House. I would like to call it the chair of doom, and suggest that no amount of attempting to date the Speaker will get you out of the fact that everything you say can and will be heard. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000291\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EBut this has also been a week when we\u2019ve seen significant improvements for New Zealand families. We\u2019ve seen that the Government, who has provided stable and united leadership through the most challenging of events for New Zealanders over the last couple of years, is showing that that is exactly the approach it will take in response to our recovery and how New Zealanders are faring. I do talk about the 25c-a-litre cut that we\u2019ve applied to fuel, and this is already making a positive impact on New Zealanders\u2019 pockets. They are already saving between $11 and $17 a tank every time they fill up their car. They will already be saving, from around the beginning of April, every time they get on public transport. This is significant, and this is going to make a difference.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000292\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EWe are a Government that has put the cost of living first and to the fore since we came into office in 2017. We\u2019ve done a number of things, but there are some significant measures that will come into play on 1 April that will make a real and meaningful change to people\u2019s lives. I\u2019d like to point to the 60 percent of New Zealand families who will get an increase under Working for Families of an average of around $20. I do not think we can underestimate the rises to superannuation that we\u2019re about to see: $52 a fortnight for someone on their own; $80 for a couple. That is something that I know all superannuitants will be celebrating. I also point to the fact that the winter energy payment will re-begin its payments on 1 May. I\u2019d also like to point to the fact that we\u2019ll see rises in student allowances. These are the kind of things that will make real and significant differences to people\u2019s lives and to their pockets. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000293\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EWe can put what Labour is proposing and already doing\u2014we\u2019re already seeing that real change\u2014against the proposals that we\u2019ve seen from the National Party. We\u2019re seeing a reheat\u2014a reheat of Simon Bridges\u2019 policies from the time he was leader. So I\u2019d like to acknowledge Mr Bridges\u2019 retirement from this House and the work the National Party is still continuing to draw on: the kinds of tax policies that are going to mean those on medium and low incomes will see something like $2.16 in their pockets a week, whereas those on the highest incomes are going to see thousands. I think on my rough calculation that I\u2019m set to get somewhere between $7,000 and $8,000 under the National Party proposals, while many of the people I represent will get $2.16. This is not something that is going to benefit ordinary New Zealanders.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000294\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002237a99b65-4919-4800-830d-3dd7c920d5cd\u0022\u003EBut what we\u2019ve also heard is another reheat of the familiar \u201CBermuda Triangle\u201D from National, which is that somehow we\u2019re going to spend all this money on tax cuts for the highest-earning New Zealanders, but they\u2019re saying that we won\u2019t have to cut services. Services will have to be cut. We will see cuts to education, we will see cuts to health, and we will see cuts to housing. I\u2019m already hearing the rhetoric from the National Party that they sound out, like they\u2019re gearing up for a sell-off of State houses. I\u2019d put the cutting of the Auckland regional fuel tax\u2014I ask the rest of New Zealand how they feel about a party that was only offering relief for Auckland. There are many parts of the country that, indeed, were paying more for their fuel than Auckland. So this is a party that is not only out of touch but it also doesn\u2019t realise New Zealand exists beyond the Bombay Hills. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u0022dbc2088821504ce5a556d4903914fd63\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000295\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dbc2088821504ce5a556d4903914fd63\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Well, isn\u2019t a week a long time in politics, because last week, petrol hit $3 a litre and MPs\u2019 inboxes around the country were filled with constituents saying, \u201CI can\u2019t afford to top up my car.\u201D; inflation was at 5.9 percent, twice the rate of wage inflation\u2014so, in other words, Kiwis are going backwards\u2014food prices are up 6.8 percent in a year, the largest increase in a decade, and it wasn\u2019t, according to the Prime Minister, a crisis. She used every word under the sun she could possibly think of to call it anything other than a crisis. It was challenge, it was a problem, and she acknowledged the difficulty many people were facing, and what happened last week was there was a poll which showed the National Party ahead of Labour for the first time in two years. What did the Government do? They panicked. They went into panic mode, and they were embarrassed over the weekend into announcing on Monday a 25c reduction in fuel tax and road-user charges. Panicked\u2014an embarrassed response from a Government that is out of ideas and is out of energy. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000296\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EThe Prime Minister refused to call it the cost of living crisis that all New Zealanders know they are experiencing every time they go to the supermarket, every time they go to the petrol bowser and fill up, and every time they pay their landlord. For the third of New Zealanders who live in rental accommodation, rents are up 150 bucks a week in the last four years. In Lower Hutt, Mr Speaker\u2014an area I know you know well\u2014rents are up 200 bucks a week in four years. Up from $375 when Labour came to office to $575 per week in Lower Hutt alone, and this is replicated in many places around the country. The simple reality is this Government is addicted to spending, and they can say all they like that it\u2019s the fault of Ukraine or it\u2019s the fault of international factors. Why Vladimir Putin\u2019s got anything to do with the rents that people in Lower Hutt pay, I don\u2019t know, but I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll hear more from Poto Williams about that in due course. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000297\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EIt is of course true that there are international factors driving fuel prices, but inflation of 5.9 percent is caused by Grant Robertson\u2019s addiction to spending: a 68 percent increase since 2018. Now, I\u2019ve got a question for New Zealanders: do they think Government services are 68 percent better than in 2018? Are there 68 percent more hip operations being done? No. Are there 68 percent more elective surgeries being done? No. Has there been a 68 percent reduction in child poverty? No. Has there been a 68 percent reduction in the number of people receiving the jobseeker benefit for longer than a year? No. Actually, child poverty has increased and the number of people on long-term welfare dependency has increased by 50,000 people, so we\u2019re spending more, but we\u2019re not necessarily getting more. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000298\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003ETo make matters worse, Grant thinks it\u2019s all OK\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000299\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002279db8b64-1f9b-4416-9b81-a12963db9cbf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bdc8e75a21c74d639b60c88d4c6bf260\u0022\u003ESPEAKER\u003C/span\u003E: Order!\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000300\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df234da01dc744a19ba9f8e292bb74e7\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Grant Robertson thinks he\u2019s all OK, because he\u2019s proposed in this Budget the single biggest permanent increase in New Zealand Government spending in history: $6 billion in the operating allowance, which from this year onwards will be baked into Government spending. In other words, it gets locked into the forward Estimates and it\u2019s a permanent increase\u2014$6 billion in this year alone. Even if you take out the National Party\u2019s very sensible and very pragmatic proposals to just reduce income tax thresholds to what they were when Labour came into office, just what they were four years ago or 4\u00BD years ago\u2014even if you take the cost of that, which is about $1.6 billion to 1.7 billion, leaving Mr Robertson $4.3 billion, it\u2019s still the single biggest increase in the operating allowance in New Zealand history. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000301\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003ESo this idea that Grant Robertson is a fiscal conservative is just belied by the reality. He is addicted to spending and New Zealanders are paying the price for it. We think tax thresholds should be adjusted for inflation. We think that\u2019s a reasonable and sensible step to take that would put real money in the pockets of hard-working New Zealanders to allow them to get ahead at a time of a cost of living crisis. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000302\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EThere are two big problems with this Government. The first is they think that good intentions are a substitute for good policy. We all care in this House; it\u2019s what you do that actually makes the difference. The second problem is they think that Government has the answer to everything, that Government can do everything, and that every social problem is solved by more Government and more Government spending, and we know from the experiment over the last four years that the truth is the opposite. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022 data-id=\u0022f779247ff1a7431ea9ab5ef849eed832\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000303\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f779247ff1a7431ea9ab5ef849eed832\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOOD (Minister of Transport):\u003C/span\u003E Well, I enjoyed hearing the speech from my colleague opposite\u2014the speech that he wrote two days ago when he thought that he was going to be the National Party finance spokesperson\u2014but it was the same old story from the National Party. The same old story: wide-roaming criticisms of Government spending, but did we hear a single proposal for what they would actually cut because that\u2019s what it comes down to. What actually is the vision? What actually is the policy from the members opposite about how they would secure our recovery and how they would take New Zealand forward, because it\u2019s all very well for members opposite to stand up in this House and wax lyrical about Government spending, but it don\u2019t mean nothing and it\u2019s not a plan unless they can say what they would actually do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000304\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003ESo far, we\u2019ve heard about boats: cameras on shipping boats. That is pretty much the one tangible proposal we have heard from the Opposition. If that party opposite, as per Mr Bishop\u2019s speech just now, genuinely believes that there are billions of dollars of overspending within the Government accounts, then start naming it now so that the New Zealand people know what they\u2019ll be getting if they vote for that party\u2019s agenda. I\u2019m very happy to tell the House what that agenda will be: it\u2019ll be cuts to health, it\u2019ll be cuts to housing, it\u2019ll be cuts to education, and, most foolishly of all as we come out from a pandemic, it is a party that is unwilling to make any tough decisions and make any calls around building a robust and good health system for our country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000305\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThat isn\u2019t the only confusion, the only lack of detail, that we\u2019ve had over the last week, because I have to say that I\u2019ve been watching very closely the comments of Mr Christopher Luxon on the matter of the minimum wage over recent weeks. We\u2019ve had a range of positions from the Leader of the Opposition. First, we heard that he was very concerned about the possible impact of a 10c increase on the price of his trim piccolo because the person serving him might have to be paid the minimum wage. We did then have a bold position and a noble one from the deputy leader and new finance spokesperson, Nicola Willis, who told us that actually the National Party isn\u2019t opposed to the Government\u2019s recent increase in the minimum wage. That got brought back into line pretty quickly. On breakfast television this morning, though, Mr Luxon was very happy to tell us that, in fact, \u201CWell, we\u2019re very supportive of increases in the minimum wage.\u201D before telling us that he opposed the one that we made last year at the same time as we got unemployment down to 3.2 percent. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000306\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EWell, I think it would be very helpful indeed for the House and for the country for Mr Luxon and the National Party to actually just narrow it down a little bit to just the one position on the minimum wage because it\u2019s my view that the cleaners, the security guards, the bus drivers, the supermarket workers who serve every single member of this House and who help to make our society work and who have got our country through COVID need to know what\u2019s at stake for them. This is a Government which has stood up for our low-wage workers, which is proud of the fact that we\u2019ve retained their standards of living and kept unemployment low during the crisis of COVID, and we don\u2019t actually know what that side stands for. Well, I think we know; they just won\u2019t say it. It\u2019s this side of the House which stands with them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000307\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EThe challenge that we have here is that at this time, as we move into a recovery from COVID-19, we need steady and focused leadership that is actually focused on dealing with the long-term issues that New Zealand faces, and that is what this Government is focused on. Our country has come together so well to deal with the challenge of COVID-19, and now is the time to recover and to move forward. That is why the announcements in recent days about New Zealand\u2019s plan for reconnecting with the world in a careful and staged way are so important. We can see the way forward there for our businesses and for our tourism, but if we had to follow the lines of the Opposition last year, we would have opened up New Zealand to enormous health risk, and I\u2019m so proud that we held firm there and we have a steady and focused plan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000308\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EOur economic recovery plan is about making sure that we continue to invest in the infrastructure that New Zealand needs for the future, including the record transport infrastructure spend that our Government is rolling out to build the infrastructure of the future. I was really pleased this morning, Mr Speaker, to visit the Hutt workshops\u2014a place that you would be very familiar with\u2014with the member for Hutt South, Ginny Andersen, where we saw the huge work that is going on to follow up on the Government\u2019s investments to make sure that we have a rail system that\u2019s resilient and reliable after years of it running down under that previous Government. Two weeks ago, I was very pleased to visit the first stage of the Takitimu North Link in Tauranga, funded by the Government: $650 million and a critical piece of transport infrastructure, employing New Zealanders, employing apprenticeships, and partnering with local iwi and M\u0101ori to get people into work on that important project. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000309\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022098b8334-57f8-4062-bac6-bfbc3474e88e\u0022\u003EOf course, this is a Government that\u2019s focused on those issues that matter to New Zealand, and we\u2019ve dealt with it in the last few days, dealing with those cost of living pressures in a way through fuel excise duty and road-user charges and making sure that public transport is more affordable for the people of our country. This side of the House is focused on securing New Zealand\u2019s recovery. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022 data-id=\u00224709fdc10fe840f6b572fa7d16201382\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000310\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224709fdc10fe840f6b572fa7d16201382\u0022\u003ENICOLE McKEE (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I rise on behalf of the ACT Party today to talk about law and order, and specifically about gangs, because we\u2019ve found that from that side of the House we\u2019ve had a lot of laws but not much order. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000311\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EEvery day we open a newspaper, we turn on the radio, we switch on the television, we even check our social media, and we see lots of stories of gang-related serious and often violent crime in our communities. Why is this happening? Why is there an increase? I can tell you why. It\u2019s because on that side, they are soft on crime. We have a Labour Government that has allowed gangs to grow at over 50 percent in numbers during their watch. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000312\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EWhat are they doing? Well, let\u2019s have a look, shall we. The Minister of Police, Poto Williams, must be wearing Harry Potter\u2019s invisibility cloak, because we don\u2019t see her out there with the front-line police. In fact, do the front-line police know her name? Do they know who she is?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000313\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EWhat about the Minister of Justice, Kris Faafoi? He seems more interested in locking up people for hate speech than for committing a gang crime. In Kris Faafoi\u2019s world, calling someone is mean name is far worse than dragging someone out of their car and beating them to near death, unprovoked. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000314\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EHe wants to do away with three-strikes legislation, which keeps our most serious and violent offenders locked up. In Labour\u2019s world, the message sent to our communities is that if you join a gang and commit a crime, it\u2019s no big deal. Heck, you may even get $2.7 million to help you get off the drugs that that gang probably got you hooked on in the first place. But if you dare say something that Labour doesn\u2019t agree with, then they\u2019ll pass a law to have you locked up. No wonder the gangs are feeling empowered. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000315\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EGone are the days where you had pockets of bad behaviour that wore leather patches in your local neighbourhood. Now you see patches everywhere. They\u2019re on T-shirts, they\u2019re on hoodies, they\u2019re on jackets, they\u2019re on faces. Lots of new laws; where is the order? The Government blames the 501s exported from Australia. The reality is that the 501s only make a tiny proportion of this growing gang problem. The truth is it\u2019s a home-grown problem. More are recruited locally. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000316\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003ELabour promised our communities 1,800 police. Good old Poto Williams\u2014I congratulate her for admitting that Labour are not going to make that target even when the Prime Minister still won\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000317\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EBut it\u2019s not all bad news. You see, ACT is not just a party of effective and good opposition; we have great propositions that will keep our communities safe. Rather than making police numbers a political football and making promises that we can\u2019t keep, we will take the politics out of policing and increase police numbers in line with population growth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000318\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s also a bill in my name that will shortly be heard. It is a criminal proceeds and recovery amendment bill that will allow the courts to seize gang assets upon finding an illegally held firearm when doing a raid. Does this sound effective and good to everyone in the House\u2014yeah? Well, Labour doesn\u2019t think so. They indicated that they won\u2019t be supporting it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000319\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EBut wait, there\u2019s more: we have a gang injunction bill in the ballot box that would allow the courts to impose restrictions on gang members to curb that hunger for crime and violence. This bill would take away the power from individuals within the gangs and actually give it back to police. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000320\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002258baa209-edaf-42a5-92d6-b2613c144bfb\u0022\u003EWe can hand this all to Labour on a plate, but it appears that politics, not communities, drive their decisions. The tide is turning and the polls are showing it. The gangs should be scared. ACT will not be soft on crime as this Government is. We will aspire to ensure that a child\u2019s best option is to get an education and to grow up and get a job and contribute to our society and the betterment of it, not join gangs and wreak havoc. ACT will ensure that we have healthy and thriving communities with good laws and more order. Thank you. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022 data-id=\u0022fdd486e6dbce47a0b4435990cbb7c8f2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000321\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fdd486e6dbce47a0b4435990cbb7c8f2\u0022\u003EHon KIRITAPU ALLAN (Minister of Conservation):\u003C/span\u003E It\u2019s always a delight to speak in this House, and particularly after a member of the ACT Party. What that member Nicole McKee just said is that New Zealanders want to grow up and get a good education and get a job. Well, that member should be on this side of the House, because have I got a story for you: we are currently sitting at 3.4 percent unemployment. Labour is the party of the workers. Labour is the party of people, to get them into jobs, good jobs, and what we are doing is ensuring that we look after workers in decent employment. That is our mantra and I am so glad to lead on from that member on the opposite side of the benches, who could have been singing our praises; I think she was.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000322\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022\u003EWhat this Government has done over the course of the past couple of years: well, we\u2019ve had a Prime Minister that has led us through some of the most turbulent times that our generation has ever seen. Two years into a global pandemic, and we have had some of the most stable, united\u2014good word for the Opposition to learn this week, particularly this week. They thought they had a good poll and then, oh, they still couldn\u2019t get united and get themselves over the line\u2014anyway, united. We have remained steadfast in the face of adversity.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000323\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022\u003ENow, as we come past this second year of a global pandemic, we also have over on the other side of the world a terrible situation emerging, which has flow-through consequences not just in Europe and the surrounding countries around Ukraine and Russia and the like but it has flow-through consequences through the rest of the world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000324\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022\u003EThis week, we saw this Government do what Governments should: listen to the people. We saw the issues that are emerging across the board, and what did we do? We listened. Now, the first thing that we could do and do swiftly is that we could make moves to cut 25c a litre off fuel excise, and not only that: led here by the Hon Michael Wood, we could cut 50 percent off public transport costs, because there are people that rely on public transport throughout the country, and you get bang for your buck two times there. Not only do we cut the costs to people in the pocket but, of course, we help address the issues of climate change by getting more and more New Zealanders into public transport and helping shift behaviour. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000325\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022\u003EThis is a Government that has really prioritised the lifting of incomes and tackling the cost of living since 2017. Now, in a couple of weeks, on 1 April, we are going to see 110,000 beneficiaries with children\u2014they will be better off by $175 per week, increasing to $207 per week during the 2022 winter period, and 363,000 beneficiaries will be better off, on average, by about $109 per week, increasing to $133 per week during the winter period, when the energy incentives kick in.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000326\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022\u003EWe have worked really hard to lift wages here in Aotearoa. A new nurse is paid over $10,000 more per year than what they were in 2017, when the other side of the House left the Treasury benches, and experienced nurses are paid $16,000 more than what they were in 2017. A new police officer today, compared to when the other side left this side of the House\u2014they\u2019re paid $12,000 more per year. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000327\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a8cab3e3-b023-4ce7-9f4b-2c4137029057\u0022\u003EThis side of the House is focused on increasing incomes and reducing costs for families, and this is legacy stuff that we\u2019re building on\u2014legacy stuff that dates back to the days of Sir Michael Cullen, who introduced family packages. We\u2019ve increased those and we\u2019ve wrapped around them by providing targeted assistance to low and middle income families with kids. The Families Package has benefited 330,000 families in its first year, and the winter energy payment provides additional support to a million New Zealanders every single winter. At a time when we know that costs are hitting their pockets and it\u2019s happening across the world, this side of the House has our people at its centre. T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022 data-id=\u00228e29a7670bc249d7a62c4da3f4b8814b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000328\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228e29a7670bc249d7a62c4da3f4b8814b\u0022\u003EHon PAUL GOLDSMITH (National):\u003C/span\u003E Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity. Well, we\u2019ve had another week of drama in New Zealand. The cost of living crisis rages on, where Kiwis are struggling to afford their everyday needs, wages are going up 2.6 percent but the cost of living is going up 6 percent at least\u2014it\u2019s much more than that in many other areas when people visit the supermarket. We\u2019ve seen the return of the scourge of inflation in this country, such as we haven\u2019t seen for 30 years, and this Government\u2014this Labour Government\u2014has lost control of the economy and lost control of New Zealanders\u2019 living standards because it hasn\u2019t been able to discipline its spending.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000329\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThen we\u2019ve seen the destabilisation of the post-War order in Europe, and that of course is concerning many New Zealanders and many people around the world. What does that mean for us as a country? What does it mean for peace and stability? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000330\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EAnother thing we\u2019ve seen this week is we\u2019ve seen a team of groundsmen outside, fixing the front lawn after the chaos and riots that we had in front of this Parliament only a few weeks ago. It\u2019s a reflection of the breakdown of law and order in this country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000331\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve also seen the retirement of Simon Bridges, and I do want to pay tribute to Simon\u2014a good friend. He\u2019s made a great contribution in this House and to New Zealand. He\u2019s fought hard for Kiwis and fought hard for New Zealanders, and we wish him and his family all the very best. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000332\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWhat else have we had? We\u2019ve had a poll. The people of New Zealand should thank TVNZ because that poll led directly to a cut in petrol prices, so people can enjoy the cut that this Government has done because they saw that their popularity was going down the gurgler. All of the list MPs up the back there realised that they were going to be having to go looking for a job. They didn\u2019t have any chance of getting a decent job and they were panicking, and they all went into caucus in a mad panic and they\u2019ve reduced the petrol prices. So people should be very thankful to TVNZ for that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000333\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve also had this new team put in place by Chris Luxon. I\u2019m very proud to be part of his team taking the fight to this Government alongside Nicola Willis, who is going to be a great finance spokesperson and will hold Grant Robertson\u2019s feet to the fire.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000334\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThe challenges that we face in this country continue to be, fundamentally, and first and foremost, the need to develop sustainable economic growth that can sustain genuinely world-class incomes in New Zealand so that New Zealanders have the opportunities for themselves and their families to succeed, to prosper, to do well, and to be ambitious for your family. To look after your family and do well\u2014that\u2019s what we want. That\u2019s what we want in this country and what we aspire to in this country. But what we\u2019re seeing from this Government is an economy that\u2019s based purely and simply on debt-fuelled Government spending on a colossal scale and incredibly low interest rates, which is not sustainable because it\u2019s leading to inflation. Also, ultimately, if you can\u2019t control your spending, you end up overwhelmed with debt.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000335\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThere is no reference anywhere in Government policies, really, to growing the economy, or improving our competitiveness internationally. You\u2019d never hear Michael Wood talking about how we\u2019re going to improve our competitiveness; only how he\u2019s going to increase costs for businesses. Their idea of lifting incomes is to lift the minimum wage and to increase public sector pay rates. Now that\u2019s part of the job of any Government, but that\u2019s not going to help everybody. That\u2019s not how you increase wages sustainably in the long term. You increase wages sustainably in the long term by having a more productive economy that produces goods that the rest of the world wants and is prepared to pay for. That needs a competitive market, and part of that is flexible labour markets, and I\u2019m going to be fighting hard against the proposed rigidity that this Government wants to put back in our labour markets with their so-called, inappropriately named fair pay agreements.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000336\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EThen we need to talk about delivery. This Government, of course, famously hasn\u2019t delivered on housing and will never deliver on housing. It hasn\u2019t delivered much on transport. After four years of talking about the slow tram down Dominion Road, it hasn\u2019t started. It\u2019s colossally overpriced and it\u2019s a very bad idea. I haven\u2019t yet met anybody in Auckland who thinks that of all the priorities in Auckland transport, a slow tram down Dominion Road is the most important priority for the next $26 billion we\u2019re going to spend, or whatever it is. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000337\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002253f86481-33c1-48b2-893b-c11cc0bd673d\u0022\u003EOn justice\u2014oh my goodness, on justice\u2014we\u2019ve got an increase in violent crime, we\u2019ve got 50 percent increase in gang members, we\u2019ve got a sense of lawlessness on the streets, and we\u2019ve got very slow access to justice in our courts, and what\u2019s this Government doing about it? Not very much. They haven\u2019t delivered the police that they promised, they are focused on hate speech\u2014well, let\u2019s see what they come up with there\u2014but when it comes to actually keeping New Zealanders safe, they\u2019ve made no progress at all. Instead, what they focus on is dividing New Zealanders between those that they want to support and those that they don\u2019t.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022 data-id=\u00226cb1bae4cbb24f44bff7cef5fa15641f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000338\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226cb1bae4cbb24f44bff7cef5fa15641f\u0022\u003EHon MEKA WHAITIRI (Minister of Customs):\u003C/span\u003E E te M\u0101ngai e te Whare, t\u0113n\u0101 koe. Otir\u0101 ng\u0101 mema koutou o te Whare nei, t\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000339\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI was hoping that Paul Goldsmith, the member that just contributed across the way, would actually share some of their insights or their policies that are going to address the many challenges that this side of the House has had the actual privilege to manage, but I didn\u2019t hear one policy from that particular member that I could just actually debate. So I\u2019ll leave that there, because I want to turn to what this Government has done in securing our recovery as a nation, given the enormous impacts that COVID-19 has had in terms of protecting our people and, of course, minimising the impact of COVID-19 in our community.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000340\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ESo I want to turn to the portfolio I am responsible for, and that is customs. Today, I want to add my congratulations to the Customs Service team who busted New Zealand\u2019s largest seizure of cocaine\u2014700 kilograms\u2014in Tauranga today. So I want to send\u2014and I\u2019m sure all members of this House will send their congratulations to the Customs team working in conjunction with, obviously, our New Zealand Police. Members from ACT talked about our law and order. This is just a small sample of our response. The biggest investment in front-line police has been instigated by this side of the House. Let\u2019s not forget that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000341\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EThe interception of drugs in very trying times when borders are closed goes to the heart of what Customs have done in keeping our communities safe with today\u2019s seizures. But it\u2019s protecting people and minimising the impact of COVID-19 in our communities I want to also talk about, because I\u2019m proud of what Customs do in the trade space, with the secure trade lane that we are doing with Australia and, hopefully, Singapore. The work we do in the Secure Exports Scheme to ensure those exporters\u2019 goods get to market is an intervention that I\u2019m really proud that Customs has continued to do during these last two years. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000342\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003ESo while we are all focused on ensuring our communities are safe\u2014which this side has done by enormous investments in our health system, our hauoras, and our iwi providers around the country to ensure our most vulnerable communities, particularly M\u0101ori, are protected during this incredibly trying time\u2014it is important to acknowledge the investment and the leadership on this side, under the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, to address, not one, not two, but multiple crises, and putting people first has always been our economic recovery. But now we need to up the ante in terms of securing recovery and our economic investment, and that is what this side of the House has heard, because we are all electorate MPs\u2014a majority of us on this side\u2014and we enjoy the returns back to our electorate to hear the struggle that\u2019s happening. But I am proud of the Families Package. I am proud of what that is delivering in terms of reducing children\u2019s poverty. I\u2019m also, like I said, proud of the investment in the housing build, the biggest that we have seen in this nation, and we are working hard to build that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000343\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to pivot to our M\u0101ori Ministers, particularly in the Wh\u0101nau Ora space. The largest investment in working alongside our Wh\u0101nau Ora providers, up and down the country, has delivered the vaccination rates that keep our people safe, and I want to acknowledge all our Ministers and also our providers. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000344\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EI want to talk about M\u0101ori trades training, because we\u2019ve seen an unprecedented number of young rangatahi and not-so-young rangatahi who have benefited from this side\u2019s investment in growing trades and sustainable employment for our people, and I want to acknowledge that. Papak\u0101inga: you\u2019re seeing the largest growth of M\u0101ori homes\u2014M\u0101ori homeownership and M\u0101ori homes\u2014on M\u0101ori whenua. That is a policy that I\u2019m very proud of on this side of the House, and the continuation in investment is creating homes for our people. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000345\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022073496a0-73b7-426f-97f8-916bd542b0fa\u0022\u003EBut the big one for me and for every M\u0101ori member on this side is the marae oranga programme, where almost every marae around this country has not only been renovated but we\u2019ve created employment opportunities for those M\u0101oris on the trades training scheme. It is an absolute delight to know that as we travel around the country, marae, who have always struggled to maintain their infrastructure, have been invested in. On this side it\u2019s a contribution to our identity as a nation but it also builds resilience into our employment, and I\u2019m really proud on this side to be involved with that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022 data-id=\u0022d63aff61609e4a37a10227c545b910f0\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000346\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d63aff61609e4a37a10227c545b910f0\u0022\u003ESIMEON BROWN (National\u2014Pakuranga):\u003C/span\u003E When New Zealanders are facing a cost of living crisis, is it responsible for this Government to be proposing to spend up to $29.2 billion on a slow tram from the Auckland CBD to the airport\u2014$29.2 billion\u2014which amounts up to $16,000 per household for all New Zealand households? Let me remind this House of what this Government promised. The Leader of the Opposition at the time, Jacinda Ardern, said in 2017 that light rail will be built to Mount Roskill from the Auckland CBD by 2021. Well, last time I looked at my calendar, it\u2019s 2022, and nothing has been done about this. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000347\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EBut the problem is, not only has nothing been done\u2014their promise has failed\u2014but the cost keeps going up every time they keep talking about it, and the Minister of Transport had the audacity to speak in the House about what parts of the Budget should be cut or where should savings be found. Well, I can tell you that \u201CMr Doolittle\u201D, the Minister of Transport, could find heaps of ways to try and save money by stopping wasting money in his transport portfolio: $50 million for a cycle bridge\u2014$50 million for a cycle bridge\u2014cancelled; $35 million for Let\u2019s Get Wellington Moving. Well, nothing\u2019s happened. All they\u2019ve done is propose a pedestrian crossing and slowing a few streets down. Let\u2019s Get Wellington Moving has become \u201CLet\u2019s Get Wellington Consulting\u201D.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000348\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EAnd what about that Te Huia train between Hamilton and Auckland: $90 million, and\u2014guess what!\u2014a subsidy of $280 per passenger per trip. It\u2019s faster to go in your ute between Hamilton and Auckland and it emits more than going in your ute. There\u2019s some more money that could be saved by the Minister of Transport. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000349\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EBut let\u2019s get back to light rail, with the $29.2 billion price tag. It promised to be about $1.3 billion in 2017. Then it went up to $6 billion as soon as they got into Government, and some officials told them to be a bit careful. Then it became $10 billion when it was going down the twin-track process. The twin-track process sounded very exciting; it didn\u2019t go anywhere. Then it got cancelled just before the election by some coalition partner before coming back in this term and being put forward as an indicative business case, which said $14.6 billion. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000350\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EBut wait, there\u2019s more: Treasury has now come out with its advice, where it said it could cost up to $29.2 billion. I think the public needs to hear what Treasury advised this House about this project. It said about this project that \u201CBased on the lack of detail provided on how urban development will be achieved, we have low confidence that these benefits will be realised, resulting in poor public value.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000351\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EBut wait, there\u2019s more: they went on to say, \u201CWe are concerned that overall affordability of the project is not factoring into analysis or advice from the Establishment Unit.\u201D They\u2019re not even taking into account the actual thing called affordability. During a cost of living crisis, they weren\u2019t even thinking about affordability. They then said, \u201CIt may be timely to remind the Unit of the need to ensure affordability of the project is a key consideration.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000352\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EBut wait, there\u2019s more: they then went on to say, \u201CWe are supportive of consideration of options to progress the project and note the full suite of options should also include\u201D\u2014wait\u2014\u201Cstopping the project.\u201D Well, how\u2019s that gone, Mr Wood? Did that go into the advice? Did that go into the consideration that Cabinet took into account when announcing in January the preferred option? They also said, \u201CDon\u2019t come up with a preferred option till you\u2019ve done a bit more work.\u201D \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000353\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002255d0b7a4-a2c9-4c38-9b77-475311a48a89\u0022\u003EWell, I come back to my original question. During a cost of living crisis in New Zealand, is it responsible for this Government to be proposing to spend up to $29.2 billion on a slow tram from the CBD in Auckland down to the airport at a price of up to $16,000 per household in New Zealand? I know what people in my electorate are coming up and saying: \u201CWe can\u2019t afford to fill up the tank of gas to get to work this week. The rent\u2019s gone up another 50 bucks. The price of food and groceries at the supermarket\u2014it\u2019s becoming more expensive.\u201D These are the issues which people in New Zealand are caring about. The Government should take the advice, stop the project, and actually focus on the cost of living crisis that New Zealanders are facing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022 data-id=\u002202b1a1f51e8f4b3a8a098694990554df\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000354\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002202b1a1f51e8f4b3a8a098694990554df\u0022\u003EINGRID LEARY (Labour\u2014Taieri) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Today marks a huge milestone, and it really shows we are out of the COVID response and into COVID recovery. Today we announced the opening up of our borders to tourists from 1 April, and closing our border was one of the first actions we took to keep people safe. It worked. We have one of the lowest COVID mortality rates in the world and one of the strongest economies to emerge from the pandemic, and it\u2019s now time to open up. Like so many New Zealanders, I am grateful that we had the borders closed and we had time to get vaccinated and we had a plan to keep our economy going, despite the significant challenges. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000355\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EPeople are doing it hard. The cost of living has risen. That\u2019s through international events pushing up inflation. We\u2019ve had a pandemic. There\u2019s a war in Ukraine. We\u2019ve had a housing crisis, which has been decades in the making. National has a script which involves a tick every time they mention \u201Ccost of living crisis\u201D. We heard that admitted in this House last week from the shadow Attorney-General, Chris Penk. So, Paul Goldsmith and Simeon Brown, well done today, but it wasn\u2019t enough to get either of you National\u2019s finance role. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000356\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EBut let\u2019s do some myth-busting about the National Party. Yes, people are doing it hard, but the myth is that National actually cares about those who are doing it hard. The fact is that National is planning to target tax breaks to the highest earners rather than those most affected by rising prices. National wants to get rid of the top tax rate of 39 percent, a tax that affects only the top 3 percent of earners. So we\u2019ve heard that those earning $250,000 per year or more would get a $5,000 tax break. Meanwhile, the lowest-income earners\u2014cleaners and so on\u2014would get $2.15 per week, and those lower-income earners are mainly women. Women are doing it hard. Mothers are doing it hard\u2014mothers who are juggling kids and jobs and working from home and dealing with historical pay gaps that see some groups of women earning an average of close to 30 percent of P\u0101keh\u0101 men. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000357\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo myth number two is that National and ACT care about women. National and ACT are election bedfellows, so it\u2019s good to test how that marriage might work. Chris Luxon says he\u2019s a feminist, even though he has spoken against abortion reform and voted against safe areas for women having abortions. David Seymour has even said on record that he would cut the Ministry for Women. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000358\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ENow, it\u2019s great that National finally has a woman in the National Party finance role, and I congratulate Nicola Willis. I would ask that member: would she agree to cut the Ministry of Women, and would National and ACT delete free period products in schools\u2014something introduced by this Government? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000359\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EI raise that because the Opposition maths doesn\u2019t add up. If they are cutting tax without reducing infrastructure spend, then the money has to come from somewhere. The indications from the so-called feminist Opposition benches is that the first place those cuts will take place will impact on women. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000360\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EWhy is that important? Well, we know that policies which support women make a significant difference to ending child poverty, because the most at-risk children are in one-parent households led by women. Now, the data shows that we have a lot of progress there, but there\u2019s still a long way to go. So I\u2019d like to hear what Nicola Willis has to say about that too, because child poverty can\u2019t end without policies which elevate the financial status of women. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000361\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EMyth number three is that National is better at managing the economy\u2014not true. There\u2019s report after report that comes to the Finance and Expenditure Committee which talks about the good performance of the economy\u2014outstanding performance\u2014record unemployment, and so on. We\u2019ve heard about record manufacturing results in today\u2019s question time from the Minister of Finance, and that success has been deliberate. We have used economic stimulus to keep people in jobs to maintain confidence and certainty, and part of our response to the business sector has been targeted COVID support payments. That is to continue our commitment to provide cash flow and certainty for business. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000362\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ENow, under National, how can we have confidence and certainty when there\u2019s a constant change in leadership, flip-flopping on borders, a succession of finance spokespeople, fiscal holes in their budgets, and policies which actually advantage men in the workplace? What is true is that National is better at increasing the inequality gap, including inequality for women. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000363\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EWe have heard many of the things today around housing. We have heard things about \u201CWho do we trust?\u201D. Our recovery is already well on track. We\u2019ve heard from my colleagues about the difference that we will make to people by increasing the minimum wage from $15.75 in 2017 to $21.20 from 1 April next month. Now, that\u2019s something that Chris Luxon complained about in November last year. He said that that was something that business would have to stomach. Well, I say to the member, women have had to stomach pay inequality for decades. The women\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022 data-id=\u002261f624dfaf554687b23fc6aed2e37fe9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000364\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224a25943b-cb3b-49c3-bd10-74316fae17f1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002261f624dfaf554687b23fc6aed2e37fe9\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean)\u003C/span\u003E: The member\u2019s time is up. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022 data-id=\u0022131fcd9d49ca4a108d7f4f3b9c21ea0c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000365\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022131fcd9d49ca4a108d7f4f3b9c21ea0c\u0022\u003EHon EUGENIE SAGE (Green) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. Thank you. There have been a series of in-depth and really well-researched reports from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, the Rt Hon Simon Upton, in recent months. They\u2019ve highlighted the shortcomings in our environmental research system and funding for environmental research, how well our biosecurity system deals with native ecosystem weeds, and the fate of chemicals in the environment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000366\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EToday, the parliamentary Finance and Expenditure Committee and Environment Committee had a joint briefing from the Parliamentary Commissioner on a report he\u2019s released on wellbeing Budgets and the environment. That report looks at the way the environment has or hasn\u2019t been included in the process of constructing wellbeing Budgets. It was published last year, and it looks at how and why the environment has or hasn\u2019t been well integrated into the formation of Budget packages. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000367\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EIn Budget 2021, we saw that the oceans really missed out in terms of funding. There was no extra funding for oceans, no changes in the fisheries appropriations in Budget 2021, no new policies or outputs for the oceans, and no additional funding for fisheries research. That needs to change in Budget 2022. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000368\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s long been recognised that we\u2019ve got a huge information gap in terms of fisheries management and big gaps in our information about fish stocks and about species bycatch and the ecosystem impacts of fisheries, and the Prime Minister\u2019s Chief Science Advisor, Dr Juliet Gerrard, highlighted this in her report about commercial fisheries management in March last year. She highlighted that more resource is needed so that the regulator, the Ministry for Primary Industries, can keep pace with ever-changing stocks and that we need to make that data more accessible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000369\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve got about 30 percent of the fish that we catch, and, commercially, it\u2019s some 228 stocks\u2014we don\u2019t have stock assessments for those. It\u2019s not good enough to be doing this extraction in the absence of information, and in Budget 2022 we need to recognise the importance of the oceans for the climate, for biodiversity, for our economy, and for providing food for millions, and in buffering us from the worst impacts of climate change, because, of course, it\u2019s been the oceans that have absorbed 90 percent of the extra heat associated with global warming and a third of the carbon dioxide. We\u2019ve seen with increasing sea surface temperatures major changes to weather patterns, more extreme weather events, melting sea ice, kelp forest decline, and ocean acidification from excess carbon dioxide, causing the collapse of our coral reefs and real problems for shellfish. So we\u2019re in the process of losing much of our marine biomass and biodiversity across the world. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000370\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003ENow, the Parliamentary Commissioner this morning highlighted that we could improve the Budget process by identifying some key long-run environmental issues and challenges and developing investment priorities to systematically address them to better mitigate future risks and to identify and address tipping points. The declining health of oceans and our fisheries should be one of those key issues. We really need to recognise their value and we need a much greater sense of urgency around policies and programmes for oceans and fisheries because, after all, with the fourth-biggest exclusive economic zone in the world and with 85 percent of our indigenous wildlife being in the sea, and yet with so many of those species threatened with extinction\u201490 percent of our seabirds, birds like albatross and mollymawks; 80 percent of our shore birds, and 22 percent of our marine mammals\u2014we need to safeguard their future and ours. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000371\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EAt the moment, we\u2019re seeing really ponderous policy work around the oceans. Consultation started on marine protected areas on the south-east Otago coast back in 2016-17. We still have no marine protected areas. Similarly, with Revitalising the Gulf, work was well under way last term in terms of responding to the Sea Change process, and yet the Minister has said we won\u2019t see legislation to establish new marine protected areas until 2025. That is too late. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000372\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e122e0e6-61c6-4d17-9a79-6ad2ac7d127e\u0022\u003EWe need urgency and we need much greater investment in the oceans. They are protecting us from the worst effects of climate change and they are a rich storehouse for a number of taonga species. We need to invest in them and we need to protect them. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022 data-id=\u0022f360a5dd58e042d294b73cf123577c3a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000373\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f360a5dd58e042d294b73cf123577c3a\u0022\u003EKIERAN McANULTY (Labour\u2014Wairarapa):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Before I start my speech, I want to acknowledge the fact that today, the Ministry of Health have reported 24 deaths of people with COVID-19, two of which were from Wairarapa. These are the first deaths that my region, our region, has seen since the pandemic began, and this will hurt. We are a close-knit community. These are people\u2019s family members, they are people\u2019s friends, and the region will be hurting. I wanted to take the opportunity to express my heartfelt and sincere condolences to those that are impacted by those deaths today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000374\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EWhat we have seen over the last few days in this House is a good example of the genuine differences between the Government and the Opposition. Now, we\u2019ve all heard it. We\u2019ve all heard it as we walk around our respective electorates\u2014people that come and say, \u201CThere isn\u2019t much difference between National and Labour.\u201D Well, we\u2019ve seen that this week. We have seen the tired old, retried approach from the National Party in response to a time when people are really struggling, and their answer is to give tax cuts that will disproportionately benefit the rich and give very little to those that are struggling most. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000375\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EThe reason I am pointing this out by way of comparison is that when you compare what this Government is doing on 1 April, where 60 percent of New Zealand families will see an increase through Working for Families\u2014a programme that families depend on and a programme that the National Party voted against\u2014they will benefit more from what this Government is doing, from our prioritisation of low to middle income earners, than anyone in that category will under the proposed tax cuts. When there are 1.1 million New Zealanders who will not benefit from National\u2019s tax cuts, but the top 3 percent of earners will see hundreds of dollars a week flow their way, that demonstrates the priorities of the National Party.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000376\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EOver this side of the House and under this Government, we are helping those who are hurting the most. We are seeing beneficiaries have an increase. We are seeing minimum wage workers have an increase, which, incidentally, the National Party do not support. They have the gall to stand up and say, \u201CNew Zealanders are leaving for overseas because wages are better.\u201D, yet every single initiative from this Government to raise workers\u2019 wages and improve conditions, they have opposed. Every single year when that side was in Government, they put the minimum wage up, and then when we do it, they vote against it. They like to play politics with people\u2019s wages, they like to play politics with people\u2019s livelihoods; we take this seriously.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000377\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003ESuperannuitants will be seeing a significant increase in their incomes coming up from 1 April, with a $52 per fortnight increase for a single person and an $80 increase for a couple. Of course, the superannuation only goes up when wages go up. It\u2019s indexed. It demonstrates that New Zealanders\u2019 wages are increasing under this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000378\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EWhat would they do with tax cuts? There would be less money to put into the wages of nurses, which have gone up under this Government. There would be less money to put into the wages of police officers, which have gone up under this Government. You cannot promise to reduce revenue, to pay down debt, and to spend more\u2014it is a falsehood. It is a falsehood that they got caught out with at the last election, and they\u2019ve fallen into the same trap. My message to the National Party is that New Zealanders are not fools. They will not be tricked by this sort of falsehood. They will see right through the gaping fiscal hole in their plan.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000379\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003EBy contrast, they will see in this Government here that it is responding to the current cost of living crisis that is under way. They recognise that because the COVID situation has had an impact across the world and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has seen fuel prices go up across the world, it is impacting lower to middle income earners the most. When you look at the numbers, you will see that it is this Government that is benefiting those people, and that side wants to give it to their rich mates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022 data-id=\u002242210685171d4e7f94e3467da0118843\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000380\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002242210685171d4e7f94e3467da0118843\u0022\u003EBARBARA KURIGER (National\u2014Taranaki - King Country):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. The National Party is proud of our food producers because our farmers and our growers have supported this country through COVID. The PM spoke today about healthy food for families. Well, news to the people on the other side of the room: the healthy food comes from our farmers and growers. We keep getting a question from the other side of the House: what is the National Party going to cut? Well, the National Party is going to cut the red tape that this Government has forced on to our food producers because when we talk about the cost of living, we\u2019re talking about the cost of living of our healthy fruit and vegetables and proteins rising in price in New Zealand due to the red tape that\u2019s been pushed on those producers by this Government. So the red tape is increasing the cost of living. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000381\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EWhen you think about what\u2019s happened over the last couple of years, yes, we\u2019ve had to close the borders because we\u2019ve had COVID, but we\u2019ve had completely COVID-free people who could have come to this country and picked fruit, and what did this Government do? They prevented them. They took away their income, they took away our growers\u2019 ability to pick the fruit and they let it rot on the ground, and then they have the gall to talk about everything else in the world causing inflation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000382\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003ELook, we all regret and are very saddened about the war that\u2019s going on with Russia on Ukraine at the moment, but the Government talks about this as if it\u2019s the only cause of inflation. Inflation was at 5.9 percent before this war started, and it\u2019s always the world\u2019s fault. The Prime Minister is always waxing lyrical about it being the world\u2019s fault. Well, take some accountability, Government, because some of this can be sheeted back on your own Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000383\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003ESo I think the other thing that this Government needs to realise is that we all want good policy in the area of climate change, but the obsession that the Government has of banning and taxing and going through climate change objectives in a way that just pushes the price up is also adding to the cost of living. We know now in energy what\u2019s happening with gas prices, and the Commerce Commission has said it\u2019s perfectly OK to raise the price of gas because the assets don\u2019t have an expected life that they did have, thank you to the policy of this Government. Well, no thank you to the policy of this Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000384\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EWe also know that they\u2019re pushing the price up on food producers by charging a ute tax. Now, we all know that even if there was a ute available, those utes would be powered by electricity that was fuelled by Indonesian coal. So the nuclear-free moment, so called by the Prime Minister, of the oil and gas ban has actually become an Indonesian coal moment and it\u2019s not doing anything for our climate change, and I suspect that\u2019s probably what this Government would push our food producers to if they\u2019re given any more chance, which is why the public is not going to give them any more chance in 2023. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000385\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EI haven\u2019t seen anything from this Government. We\u2019ve got 3-nitrooxypropanol products that would reduce methane. The applications are sitting on the desk of the Environmental Protection Authority and I haven\u2019t heard the Government encouraging those to be brought in. We have rye grasses in other parts of the world that can reduce methane that we\u2019re currently not able to use in New Zealand due to our regulation. Where has the Minister of Agriculture\u2019s support for those been? Missing. The research and development\u2014there\u2019s a lot of carbon and we could increase our carbon sequestration in our soils. Where\u2019s the science? Where\u2019s the conversation around that? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000386\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\u0022\u003EAll we hear is about ban it, tax it, and all the rest of it. We never hear about any R \u0026amp; D, and we hear a lot from the conservation Minister about jobs for nature. Well, guess what? We\u2019ve got some very, very, very good people out there who do their own jobs for nature. They are called farmers. They do it out of the willingness of their heart and they do it out of the cost of their own pocket, and they are improving the environment day by day. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000387\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002261720d2e-5b1d-4742-b4f0-30424316ccc1\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=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000388\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022ecb4f09143d7498ab621fb5812cc7a86\u0022\u003EPaige Harris Birth Registration Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000389\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022c867a0a62cc54212abcb97914f56e9ec\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022 data-id=\u00221ee0645ac7ec49009b26dab3576fbefe\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000390\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221ee0645ac7ec49009b26dab3576fbefe\u0022\u003ELOUISA WALL (Labour): \u003C/span\u003ET\u0113n\u0101 koe e te M\u0101ngai o te Whare. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. I move, That the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000391\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EIt is an absolute pleasure to stand in this House, 34 days after the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill was introduced to Parliament. I particularly want to thank the Governance and Administration Committee for an expedited process, so to you, Mr Chair, who is the Speaker this afternoon, I thank you very much and the members of your committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000392\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EFor background, this bill will enable the name of Paige\u2019s late mother, Katherine Harris, to be recorded on her New Zealand birth record. Paige was born of surrogacy and was carried by a close friend of Kyle and Katherine, Renee Johnson. Renee was supported by her partner, Josh, who we found out through the select committee process was the number one advocate for Karl and the family, and we certainly appreciated his contribution. Paige\u2019s biological mother, Katherine, died before Paige was born, and Paige will turn two on 25 March 2022.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000393\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EIn deciding what I should contribute today, I want to begin with the submission of Alison Fraser, who is Paige Harris\u2019 grandmother. Katherine Harris was her daughter. Alison Fraser\u2019s contribution to the select committee deliberation was, essentially, that laws for surrogacy and adoption in Aotearoa New Zealand are not fit for purpose. How can we be in a situation where the genetic mother of a child is not registered on her birth record and therefore can\u2019t be registered on her birth certificate? For those who don\u2019t know the story, currently Paige Harris\u2019 birth certificate has \u201Cmother\u201D as \u201Cnot recorded\u201D. And that\u2019s what this piece of legislation, this private bill, is attempting to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000394\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI think from that perspective we have to decouple in some ways surrogacy from adoption, which is the current practice within our jurisdiction. We have an ability to decouple adoption from surrogacy within the context of my colleague T\u0101mati Coffey\u2019s member\u2019s bill, and I know T\u0101mati will have an opportunity to contribute to this debate as well, because, along with me, he was the other submitter on this piece of legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000395\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ESo the philosophical change that this bill will, hopefully, bring about is to enable an ethical process at the beginning of a surrogacy that will ensure that a genetic parent does not have to go through an Oranga Tamariki assessment, does not have to go through a court process that can cost up to $10,000, and does not have to adopt, in fact, their own biological genetic child.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000396\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EFrom my perspective, I focused in the submission process on the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child and the fact that convention 3 reinforces the best interests of the child, and in Paige\u2019s case, the best interests of Paige is for her mother, Katherine Harris, to be recorded on her birth record and therefore her birth certificate. Under convention 7, Paige has the right to a name and nationality and convention 8 is about the right to an identity, which I think is at the heart of this legislation. Paige\u2019s identity stems from the fact that she is Kyle Harris\u2019 and Katherine Harris\u2019 daughter, and so we are here today to ensure that this piece of legislation enables that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000397\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EFinally, in terms of those submissions, I want to give a bit of a shout-out to Josh Johnson, a very good friend of Kyle and Katherine. It was his wife, Renee, who was the surrogate, and he fronted up to the select committee and told an incredibly compelling story of an over two year process, before Katherine passed away, of trying to find a solution so that baby Paige could have her mum, Katherine, listed on her birth certificate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000398\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI just want to say again to Josh, as I did during that process, what an amazing advocate and friend and spokesperson he was for Kyle, who I want to acknowledge did not participate in the process. After a two-year fight and the fact that his wife had died and he had been motivated to seek his redress for his daughter Paige\u2014he had previously said he would fight his entire life for the right of his daughter to have her mother on her birth certificate\u2014I think the realisation that it was about to happen, that this Parliament had unanimously supported it, that we were expediting this legislation on his behest because he wanted it completed before his daughter turned two, was incredibly overwhelming. But, Josh, you were incredibly compelling and I want to thank you again for your contribution to the debate on Paige\u2019s bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000399\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EAn amendment that has been proposed by the select committee is to replace \u201Cregistration of birth\u201D with \u201Cbirth record.\u201D, because, in fact, you have to register the birth of Paige before you can then obtain a birth certificate from the Department of Internal Affairs, from Births, Deaths and Marriages. So that will enable a subsequent birth record to reflect that Katherine Elizabeth Harris as mother of Paige Katherine Elizabeth Harris, alongside the details of Kyle Jason Harris as Paige\u2019s father. That\u2019s what we are enabling through the passage of this legislation through the House today. So, without further ado, I commend the bill to the House. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022 data-id=\u00222440e706c35a46f19ac9c5f99c180191\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000400\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00222440e706c35a46f19ac9c5f99c180191\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. This is my first intervention in the House since yesterday\u2019s news that that my good friend and colleague the Hon Simon Bridges was going to retire from it. I mention that in this context for two reasons: one is Simon Bridges and Todd Muller were actually involved in this case in the early stages\u2014so this has been a success with a number of contributors\u2014but, secondly, when he was asked by media yesterday what he would remember most about his political career, he did talk about a few transport projects, but he actually talked about the really important work that we as MPs do for the people we serve. I wouldn\u2019t trivialise it by saying the smaller things, but the things that have a really, really big impact on individuals\u2019 lives, that we don\u2019t always get success for, but, when we do, picking up the phone and being able to say we\u2019ve got a solution for you, we\u2019ve got a win for you with ACC, or Housing, or Immigration, is actually one of the great moments, I think.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000401\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003ELouisa Wall probably has more luck than any other member in Parliamentary history in member\u2019s bill ballots, and will pass more legislation in her time here than some Ministers will. So I\u2019m confident that, in Louisa Wall\u2019s rocking-chair moments, she would look back on this piece of legislation as a really important thing for the Harris family, but actually emblematic of what good we can do and how important that job of an MP is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000402\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EI\u2019m not a huge fan of expedited processes, as the House knows. I think we risk, sometimes, rushing bills and getting them wrong\u2014and this isn\u2019t one of those occasions. I think all parties were pleased to agree to a process that had this legislation passing, I think it\u2019s prior to the end of this month, and the selection of people to make submissions, to the invitation to make submissions, the excellent work that officials did in advising the committee\u2014so ably chaired by the chair of the Governance and Administration Committee, a person, Mr Speaker, you know very well, and I congratulate that person\u2014and a real shared sense of wanting to get this right for Paige.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000403\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EIn T\u0101mati Coffey\u2019s submission\u2014I mean, I went on a bit of a voyage of discovery. I didn\u2019t know much about surrogacy law in this country but I was staggered that, as Louisa Wall has just alluded to, the revelation that the biological parents have no rights at birth without having to go through a prolonged process\u2014indeed, to change the law in this case. We\u2019re changing outdated legislation all the time, some of which was passed in the 1980s and 1990s. This is an Act, the Adoption Act, I think\u2014from 1955; it was a busy year, 1955\u2014that could not have possibly foreseen technology and society changing in the way that it has to even give rise to the sorts of situations we have, and so I am wholly supportive of Mr Coffey\u2019s member\u2019s bill. My mild rebuke might be that it is important enough to, frankly, be on the Government\u2019s agenda, and I think there\u2019s a wider review of the Adoption Act that\u2019s necessary and probably going on. So I look forward to that also being expedited.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000404\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EBut it really is absolutely staggering to me that the biological mother, tragically taken prior to the baby\u2019s birth, has to go through these hoops to be recognised, and for Paige Harris to have a birth certificate that reflects reality. It\u2019s not a waste of this House\u2019s time but we don\u2019t want to be doing this again\u2014there have been a number of times where we\u2019ve had to do this. I hope we can, just as quickly, expedite T\u0101mati Coffey\u2019s bill\u2014well, not just as quickly, but as smoothly\u2014because there are some questions in it that will mean that this is the last time we ever have to do that. I look forward to this passage, today, as quickly as possible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000405\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f0a7bf674f7a4ba78069a84e8792fea8\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: The question should have been that the motion be agreed to and, fortunately, it was. I call\u2014and it\u2019s a remote call\u2014T\u0101mati Coffey.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022 data-id=\u0022dcdcbef979c34c7aa39ec72c89d6988e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000406\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022dcdcbef979c34c7aa39ec72c89d6988e\u0022\u003ET\u0100MATI COFFEY (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. Can I acknowledge the family, actually, who will no doubt be listening this afternoon and will bring, for them, closure on what\u2019s been a harrowing and emotional rollercoaster of a journey, one where science, as the previous speaker has gone and alluded to, has gotten ahead of our wider area of law which deals with the issue of surrogacy. Science has indeed taken off, and there is a lot more work to do in the area of surrogacy to make it fit for purpose so that we have modern laws for our increasingly modern families that choose to use surrogacy arrangements to be able to start their families. When I gave my submission to the committee, I wanted to focus on that, and I think it\u2019s really important that we don\u2019t lose sight of that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000407\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThis is about growing families. This bill is about growing a family and giving it the strongest foundation that we can possibly give it in the eyes of the law to make sure that they are able to move forward into this world, albeit without Paige\u2019s mum, Katherine, but for the rest of their family to know that baby Paige has a mum and has a dad and is part of a village, actually\u2014a village of people\u2014that love and support her.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000408\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EFor many people, they may think that just a name on a birth certificate is a little thing, but, actually, when it comes to identity, as my colleague Louisa Wall has mentioned, it\u2019s everything, because what it does is it connects you. Just this week, I put a post up on my Facebook page, having taken a trip down to Wellington and spent the weekend reconnecting with my Te \u0100tiawa side down there. I put a post up talking about how whakapapa is everything. Family connection is everything, and as we talk about the cost of living, actually, let\u2019s just spare a thought about the best things in life, which are free, and those things are the fact that we do have relations. We do have grave sites that we can visit to go and connect to those people. We do have reminders in our family via cousins and aunties and uncles and people that wrap around us at times when we need them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000409\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EConnection is everything, and I hope that today, while we do this, we really do amplify the voices\u2014the many voices\u2014that have come to Parliament seeking justice in the area of surrogacy, such as Kyle and Katherine, Josh and Renee, baby Paige; such as Christian Newman, who fronted up to Parliament asking for wider changes around speeding up the process so that we can get families started on their journey, be it surrogacy or be it through adoption. There is a lot more work to do on this, and I\u2019m glad that the Law Commission are taking that opportunity too. We should be expecting their wider, deeper dive into the area of surrogacy. Their report is expected to be back with us really soon\u2014next month, in fact. So I\u2019m looking forward to seeing that and to seeing issues like this dealt with through their report.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000410\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThey\u2019re also looking into wider things like international surrogacy and where things should land on that, and I\u2019m hoping that my little member\u2019s bill\u2014I\u2019m hoping that it actually gets, after it\u2019s had its first reading, whenever that happens to be, swallowed up by a lot of the wider reforms that are going on in this area. But the idea of a surrogacy order is really important to this conversation, because in my bill I talk about a surrogacy order, something where, well in advance of a couple deciding to enter into a surrogacy arrangement, if there is a court order where they\u2019re able to go through the process with the surrogate as well and make sure that they have nutted out all of those terms and conditions formally through the court, things like who goes on the birth certificate\u2014those things can be dealt with in advance. Should a person die in that process, then, actually, the surrogacy order should have dealt with this. Unfortunately, the bill\u2019s not passed, so we\u2019re here putting through this private bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000411\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI want to thank again Louisa Wall, my colleague, for doing this. Michael Woodhouse, my other colleague, from the other side of the House, is incredibly right: she has a way of working this political system from the inside to achieve change for people like Kyle, people like Katherine, and for people like Paige. Can I finish my contribution just by acknowledging Josh, who has been the person who has called up the MPs, whether it\u2019s Todd Muller or Simon Bridges or Louisa Wall or myself. He\u2019s the one that\u2019s been doing the hard yards, calling everybody up and making sure that this was an issue. I got a phone call about this from Paddy Gower, because, actually, this had hit the media, this story, and rightfully so.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000412\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI also had a phone call from the Children\u2019s Commissioner, Judge Andrew Becroft. He was really concerned about this too, and he was looking for avenues to be able to support. So that was all because of you, Josh. If you\u2019re listening, this is all because of you, and you\u2019re a top friend to Kyle and a top uncle to baby Paige as well. When this passes today, I hope that you are able to breathe that sigh of relief that you\u2019ve been looking for for quite some time. But I\u2019m going to be standing here, ushering this through, and when we finally get wider reforms in the surrogacy area, I\u2019ll be here ushering that through as well, because, as the former speaker said, there are some anomalies in the law that currently exist that shouldn\u2019t be there: the fact that a biological parent should have to stand in a court of law and adopt their own child shouldn\u2019t happen. We should be able think of better ways to be able to go through a surrogacy arrangement and make sure that everybody leaves with their mana intact. At the moment, that\u2019s not currently the case.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000413\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003ESo, through this private member\u2019s bill, if we can get some instant change, then that should be encouraged. I\u2019m heartened that this has got support from all around the House, and I do look forward to the first reading of my bill when that time comes, but hopefully also wider reform in this area too. So, with that said, I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u00224cdc83f421cf499b9ebd38f49a041229\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000414\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224cdc83f421cf499b9ebd38f49a041229\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (National\u2014Papakura):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to take a short call on this and acknowledge, obviously, the family involved here, but I also want to acknowledge the work of Louisa Wall who, as the former MP for Manurewa\u2014she and I with our electorates, or her then electorate, sitting very close towards mine on boundaries\u2014we\u2019ve had an awful lot to do with each other over the years. And what I\u2019ve seen is, with Louisa, and I think this is true for the whole of the National Party caucus, I think I speak for us all on this, when I say we have a tremendous amount of respect for Louisa, and her ability to reach out across politics and political views, and to be able to engage with us and others in Parliament in a responsible, adult manner without any personal animosity. So thank you, Louisa, for taking up this cause, reaching out to a family in need.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000415\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EI think many of us who look at this and think of the situation: this darling little girl, her mother died three months before she was born. Of course, when we were growing up\u2014and I think I include us all here\u2014this was just simply not possible. But, with technology, with science, with research, innovation\u2014all areas very close to my heart\u2014this has actually been able to happen. But it\u2019s also been able to happen because of the tremendous kindness of friends\u2014close friends\u2014to Katherine and to Kyle. So this little girl, aged two years old now, she cannot be expected to go through life with no mother recorded on her birth certificate. This is simply not acceptable. And it is a big thing for Parliament to take time to look after one little girl. But, as has been said today, this is one little girl now, Paige, but can we ever imagine her trying to even get registered into school or being able to get a passport, with no mother recorded on her birth certificate? She\u2019d have to explain everything over and over and over again. She\u2019d have to explain that her mother, Katherine Elizabeth Harris n\u00E9e Fraser, died on 28 December 2019, at the very young age of 37, and that she was a much-loved daughter, wife, and, now, mother. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000416\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003ESo we need to correct the situation and\u2014I\u2019m sure the whole House knows that I\u2019m a lawyer\u2014I think the law has to constantly evolve. It\u2019s got to constantly evolve to meet the challenges but also the opportunities that technology and science innovation actually give us. For something like this to happen, whereby the House is, in a very quick manner, going to be able to remedy the situation of Paige\u2019s mum\u2019s name not being on the birth certificate, it is important\u2014and T\u0101mati Coffey has referred to it, of the need to better reflect the surrogacy laws\u2014to reflect the reality for a growing number of New Zealand families.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000417\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EI am very fortunate to be very close friends with a family who have had children by surrogacy. Their children have been born overseas; they have had to go through the process of adopting children. I have, myself, in practice, been involved in adoptions, as a lawyer on the odd occasion. Very few cases ever went through, and now most of them are about surrogacy. So that tells us we need to adopt and adapt to the modern world, and the fact is that, yes, sometimes people are having children later. Sometimes people do need to have the help of a surrogate. But I also think that we need to look at the recognition of those surrogate mothers. To do what they do to be able to help their family, friend, or even someone that they\u2019ve met and they want to help them, to have a child, is an extraordinary thing. What a marvellous thing to do for someone else. I don\u2019t think I would do it\u2014I mean, obviously not now\u2014but I don\u2019t know how they could even do that. Because it is such a gift, such a wonderful thing to do for somebody who is otherwise going to miss out on the joys of parenthood.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000418\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003ESo I would like to acknowledge the family of Paige, and those who\u2019ve enabled this to happen\u2014for a surrogate mum, for surrogate mum\u2019s husband, but also for her dad, who has helped so much to have this happen. This is a great day, when Parliament can sort these things out, and I look forward to us being able to address these issues in a wider context, so that we better reflect the people that we represent. Thank you, Mr Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022 data-id=\u00227add7780dd5745ee87d199e256d59fa9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000419\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227add7780dd5745ee87d199e256d59fa9\u0022\u003ETEANAU TUIONO (Green):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Mr Speaker. I want to reiterate the support from the Greens for this bill around the House. I want to begin by acknowledging the love of Kyle and Katherine. I want to acknowledge that it is that love which has stopped the House tonight. It is that love and commitment for them, and for their child, which has made us actually, as MPs, take a step back and really think about what\u2019s really important. Often in this House, things go backwards and forwards and we argue about stuff, and they seem important at the particular time, but it\u2019s moments like these when we actually step back and think, \u201CHey, you know what\u2019s important? It\u2019s that love between parents and children; it\u2019s the love between that wider village, our wh\u0101nau.\u201D Those are the things that should be guiding this house on a daily basis. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000420\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ESo, Kyle, t\u0113nei te mihi atu ki a koe, otir\u0101 ki a koe, Katherine, haere atu r\u0101, haere atu r\u0101, haere atu r\u0101. Waiho mai t\u0113nei me te aroha ki t\u014D p\u0113pi, ki a Paige hei maumaharatanga m\u014Du ki t\u014D wh\u0101nau wh\u0101nui. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000421\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003E[Kyle, I acknowledge you; and you, as well, Katherine, may you rest in peace. This is left with love for your baby, for Paige as a memento for you to your wider family.] \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000422\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI would also like to acknowledge Katherine as well, acknowledge that her p\u0113pi that she leaves behind here is her legacy of that love and that commitment. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000423\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EWhen Louisa was sharing this bill around the House, I had to give it a second look and then a third look and then a fourth look, because you think these things would have been sorted out in the law. You would have thought that, you know, if you\u2019re a biological parent that you wouldn\u2019t have to go through the adoption process and the complications that many people have with surrogacy. I want to acknowledge the bill that will be coming to the House, and the k\u014Drero from T\u0101mati Coffey just earlier about trying to smooth that stuff through a bit more, because some of these laws that we have, they\u2019re archaic. They don\u2019t actually fit the modern reality of what it is as a wh\u0101nau, but also in many ways, they also don\u2019t fit the reality of how wh\u0101nau have always been, they have always been interconnected, they have always been fluid\u2014it is about that love between parents and their children, but also the connections to that wider wh\u0101nau and that village that some of the members have talked about before as well. Those are the things that really ground a child, those are the things that are really, really important. It forms that foundation about who that child is, and for them to know who they are connected to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000424\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EPeople have spoken earlier before about whakapapa, the importance of whakapapa, the importance of genealogical connection. How you are connected in this world to your parents, to your wh\u0101nau, and to your wider village, and, of course, to wider society. These are the things that help a child orientate themselves in the way that they move through the world. So I see this bill as making us take pause as a Parliament, making us take a step back and to ask and question ourselves about why the law was like this in the first place and what we need to do to come together as parliamentarians to correct that and to fix that and to take a wider view across all of these types of laws which don\u2019t, but should, have wh\u0101nau at the centre, should have children at the centre\u2014have that connection between parents and their children at the centre.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000425\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI\u2019d also like to acknowledge te koi me te pukumahi [intelligent and hard-working] Louisa Wall. I\u2019ve only been here for about a year and a bit, and I wanted to acknowledge the Manurewatanga of Louisa Wall. I met her in Manurewa a couple years back\u2014I\u2019m from Manurewa myself\u2014and seeing the way that Louisa has been able to go out and talk to all the different parties to really advocate for an issue to really get into the detail. I know there was this engagement process with the officials to really work with them to figure out \u201CHey, this is a massive issue, how do we get through it?\u201D, and Louisa went and did that. So I do want to acknowledge that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000426\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ESo k\u0101ore i roa taku k\u014Drero [I won\u2019t speak for long]. I won\u2019t be taking a long call on this, but once again I want to reiterate a mihi to Kyle, to Katherine, to Josh, Renee, and, of course, to baby Paige Harris for the day, for the night that they made Parliament stand still and pay attention. T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u0022f86ae607869f4d0cab5836b0395305a2\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000427\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f86ae607869f4d0cab5836b0395305a2\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: Our next call is a remote call, and I just need to apologise to the deputy chair of the Governance and Administration Committee for ignoring her! Rachel Boyack.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b8550e1a-ed25-44a2-b0e2-b0a8d52a7a80\u0022 data-id=\u0022c4952df6d22649b09cec4faa6f16896d\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000428\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8550e1a-ed25-44a2-b0e2-b0a8d52a7a80\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c4952df6d22649b09cec4faa6f16896d\u0022\u003ERACHEL BOYACK (Labour\u2014Nelson) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you for the opportunity to take a short call on the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill. I will keep these comments brief, as our goal tonight is to pass this legislation to ensure that Paige\u2019s birth record may be corrected, enabling a new, accurate birth certificate to be provided to her as soon as possible.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000429\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8550e1a-ed25-44a2-b0e2-b0a8d52a7a80\u0022\u003EThe passing of this legislation will also give Kyle, Paige, and their friends and wh\u0101nau their privacy back. I want to acknowledge Kyle and his friends and family, especially Josh, for their bravery and tenacity in raising this issue\u2014first, in the public domain and then through the Parliament. In doing so, they have corrected a wrong and highlighted that our adoption and surrogacy laws are not fit for purpose.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000430\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8550e1a-ed25-44a2-b0e2-b0a8d52a7a80\u0022\u003EIt was upsetting that Kyle Harris had to go through two adoption approval processes, where his suitability to adopt his own biological daughter was assessed twice. Mr Harris completed these assessments with his wife and Paige\u2019s mother, Katherine, before she passed away. After Paige was born, Kyle had to complete the entire assessment again while he was grieving his wife and raising his young daughter. He also had to jump through extra hoops as our adoption policies do not allow single men to adopt female children, even though Paige is Kyle Harris\u2019 biological daughter.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000431\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8550e1a-ed25-44a2-b0e2-b0a8d52a7a80\u0022\u003EThe select committee was united in its view that our adoption and surrogacy laws need to be updated for modern times, and we look forward to T\u0101mati Coffey\u2019s bill progressing through this House so that situations like this never happen to any other families in Aotearoa again. As you know, the select committee did make some minor technical amendments to replace the words \u201Cregistration of birth\u201D with \u201Cbirth record\u201D to more accurately reflect the official record that needs to be amended in order to produce an accurate, correct birth certificate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000432\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b8550e1a-ed25-44a2-b0e2-b0a8d52a7a80\u0022\u003EIt was a privilege to help guide this bill through the select committee, and now through the Parliament, for Paige, Kyle, and their family. Today, our Parliament speaks with one voice to pass this bill and right a wrong for Paige, Kyle, and Katherine. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022 data-id=\u002299a57e033bb94317ab613907ff781704\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000433\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002299a57e033bb94317ab613907ff781704\u0022\u003EDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is my pleasure to take a call on behalf of ACT in support of the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill in its second reading. First and foremost, I want to acknowledge Kyle Harris and his family. Not only have they suffered a terrible loss when Katherine passed away but they have had to overcome significant hurdles to get to this point. I spoke to Kyle this morning and, for him, the passing of this bill, as I\u2019m sure members can imagine, is a huge relief. It\u2019s the end of a two-year process that has been mentally exhausting, but, at long last, Paige\u2019s birth certificate will have her mother\u2019s details listed. I hoped\u2014I really hoped\u2014that the Harris family and close friends could have been here in the gallery today to witness the proceedings but, unfortunately, with the restrictions on visitors that isn\u2019t possible. Nevertheless, this is a significant moment for the family and I wish them well for the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000434\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003EThis private bill, although highly targeted, really puts the spotlight on the need to modernise our surrogacy laws and the laws surrounding adoption in New Zealand. I imagine that many people, including politicians, possibly didn\u2019t fully appreciate just how clunky the system is. So I really thank Kyle for putting his story out there, for raising awareness, and to all of those who signed the petition and helped the bill along its way. The Adoption Act 1955 is obviously outdated and inadequate, especially given the advent of surrogacy and because it will, no doubt, be something that is used more in future. The fact that parents have to legally adopt their own biological children if born via surrogacy is just so out of step with common sense, and when a situation like this arises, it really emphasises the problem.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000435\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003EI thank Louisa Wall for her work on this bill and I thank the committee, officials, and other MPs for being on board with what needs to be done not only in this case but for wider reform as well on these issues. Finally, I once again wholeheartedly wish Kyle, Paige, and the whole Harris family and their close friends all the very best for the future. Thank you. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000436\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000437\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022\u0022 data-id=\u0022cb17460ef2c1448197b487ed61b202d1\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000438\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cb17460ef2c1448197b487ed61b202d1\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: In accordance with the determination of the Business Committee, this bill is set down for committee stage forthwith. I declare the House in committee for consideration of the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000439\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022589d01390b7f43ec9369245b23197397\u0022\u003EIn Committee\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000440\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u00225f18aaeb293a4cfd97a8273e79902a00\u0022\u003EPreamble\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u002270d6bd8b38c84be9862d75ed7109e389\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000441\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002270d6bd8b38c84be9862d75ed7109e389\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: Members, the House is in committee on the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill. I remind members that they are able to participate remotely. If you\u2019re on the Zoom and want to take a call, please type \u201Ccall\u201D into the chat. You should also use the chat if you would like to raise a point of order. We come first to the debate on the preamble. The question is that the preamble stand part.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022 data-id=\u0022c37d09784b8f46aa9bc18541f81913fa\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000442\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c37d09784b8f46aa9bc18541f81913fa\u0022\u003EKIERAN McANULTY (Chief Whip\u2014Labour):\u003C/span\u003E Point of order. Thank you, Madam Chair. I seek leave for all parts to be taken as one debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000443\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222796467de3ea4a46a2732a76cce78173\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection to that motion? The question is that the preamble and clauses 1 to 5 stand part. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000444\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002239bc9902c09e448e923f9517228d255b\u0022\u003EPreamble and clauses 1 to 5\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000445\u0022\u003EPreamble and clauses 1 to 5 agreed to.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000446\u0022\u003EBill to be reported without amendment.\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000447\u0022\u003EHouse resumed.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u0022fe41e2223026438897859feb96cc75bc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000448\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fe41e2223026438897859feb96cc75bc\u0022\u003ECHAIRPERSON (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker, the committee has considered the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill and reports it without amendment. I move, That the report be adopted. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000449\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000450\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EReport adopted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u00228f492f1866ea47fa9b8e1602447f92de\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000451\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228f492f1866ea47fa9b8e1602447f92de\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: In accordance with a determination of the Business Committee, the bill is set down for third reading forthwith.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000452\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022b4b648a169c0485eb98a24939ce602e6\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022 data-id=\u0022f324aec073304403bbed4d0577a65c6b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000453\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f324aec073304403bbed4d0577a65c6b\u0022\u003ELOUISA WALL (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te M\u0101ngai o te Whare. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. I move, That the Paige Harris Birth Registration Bill be now read a third time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000454\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ECan I begin, as Kyle\u2019s agent, given his promotion of this private bill, to do a few thankyous. I\u2019d like to thank Pavan Sharma, who\u2019s at the top of my list, from the Office of the Clerk, who guided us through the private bill process. It\u2019s incredibly prescriptive and Kyle, Josh, and myself could not have done what we have managed to achieve without you, Pavan, and I want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your work to ensure that we complied.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000455\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI would also like to thank Prue Tamatekapua, who provided the draft for this bill. She did so without charge. I think that deserves recognition. I would like to thank Jessica Kruger from Parliamentary Counsel Office, who helped edit and oversaw the draft of that bill in terms of its compliance with the Standing Orders. I want to thank Wendy Stevenson in my office, who helped ensure again that we complied with the Standing Orders, advertising the bill, having the bill available, enabling the public to engage with this process as they so choose. And finally, can I thank the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), its advisers and those who will continue to assist in the implementation of this piece of legislation. To Jeff Montgomery and your team, can I thank you for already reaching out to Kyle to make sure that the next part of the process is as seamless and easy as possible for the wh\u0101nau. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000456\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ESo to the congratulations, and I say to Kyle: \u201CCongratulations. You made a promise to your wife and you, through this piece of legislation, will fulfil that promise.\u201D To Josh and Renee, you have stood by Kyle and Paige and the wh\u0101nau throughout this process, and I want to thank and acknowledge you for your work. To Katherine\u2019s parents, John and Alison Fraser, I want to thank you for your contribution to this process, and I acknowledge Katherine\u2019s brother, Stuart, and I want to acknowledge Kyle\u2019s family\u2014his mother, who sent an email after the first reading and wanted to make sure that all those who spoke to the bill were extended her gratitude. So to Kyle, to the Harris family and friends, congratulations to you. Your collective effort has brought about this piece of legislation, which will enable Katherine to be recognised on Paige\u2019s birth certificate. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000457\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI also want to extend appreciation to Paddy Gower and also the 59,435 people who signed a petition, and that petition was to let Paige have her mum\u2019s name on her birth certificate. So to all those New Zealanders who took an interest in those kaupapa, who supported this kaupapa, I want to thank you. And finally, I want to thank all those colleagues across the House that came together to support, as I highlighted before, the expedited process. We went through the Business Committee. We all universally accepted that this was an injustice and we wanted to work collectively as a House. And I think that this is symbolic of the way that Parliament can come together and can work together for the greater good. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000458\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EFinally, I\u2019ve got some words for Paige. So for you, darling Paige, this process highlights how much you are loved, how much you are adored, and how the adults that surround you will do anything and everything for you, and this process also highlights how much your dad loves your mum. As I said before, he has fulfilled his promise. I have a poem or a quote from Maya Angelou, for Paige, on loving our children, and I quote: \u201CLove recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination, full of hope.\u201D So darling Paige, I wish you a happy early birthday. And by 25 March, I know that your dad will contact DIA to make sure that your mum is on your birth certificate. I commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022 data-id=\u0022b71ffe61a14b4e5ea4169dd0c36332b9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000459\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b71ffe61a14b4e5ea4169dd0c36332b9\u0022\u003EHon MICHAEL WOODHOUSE (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. I\u2019ll just take a moment; I cry at sad movies. In the interests of not blubbing in the House and expediting this process, I want to associate myself with all of the thanks and congratulations that Louisa Wall has mentioned. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000460\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022c83012b4-3939-4753-80fc-1956a3e2bd1e\u0022\u003EI was going to mention Paddy Gower in my second reading speech and I forgot, so I will just make a mention of that. Many of us, those who were here from when he was in the press gallery, will have fond and not-so-fond recollections of him. I used to refer to him as Bruce, the shark from Finding Nemo\u2014\u201CPoliticians are our friends.\u201D, I think I could imagine him saying in the press gallery corridor. But when he took on an issue, he did so with a gusto that was tenacious and to generate an interest in an issue around an individual that created a petition of 50,000 signatures is indeed quite some feat in highlighting the folly, I guess, of the law and the fact that we have to be here to make things right. But we will, and I\u2019m sure Paige Harris will live a happy\u2014I hope a long\u2014life surrounded by loved ones, but in the knowledge that her mum, Katherine Harris, is on her birth certificate. I\u2019m sure there\u2019ll be stories told of her every day. This is a good day.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022 data-id=\u002281d975ac14994fd089a543d52539eb37\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000461\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002281d975ac14994fd089a543d52539eb37\u0022\u003ET\u0100MATI COFFEY (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. Some say that the wheels of Parliament move very slow, and on this particular occasion it\u2019s moved pleasingly fast. And so it should have, because there\u2019s a family out there that really needs it. And again, they\u2019ll be listening to everything that we\u2019re saying. So again, I want to acknowledge them. It has been quick and, again, I want to thank Louisa Wall for her tenacity. If there\u2019s one thing that Louisa is, she\u2019s tenacious. She picked up this and she ran with it, and here we are 34 days later, I think she said, with the third reading of this bill helping to settle something that\u2019s been outstanding for far too long.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000462\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s a few M\u0101ori words that I want to use to describe this moment that we\u2019re going through right now, and taking into account all of the k\u014Drero that\u2019s been said. The first one is \u014Dh\u0101k\u012B, and that word is a very significant word. \u014Ch\u0101k\u012B, in te reo M\u0101ori, it refers to a dying wish. And that\u2019s what this is. The reason that we\u2019re all here is because Katherine Harris made a dying wish that she had friends that would pick up the mantle and run with this and not rest until her name was on baby Paige\u2019s certificate, so that baby Paige would always know that her mum was there for her, walking beside her through every step of her life. So \u014Dh\u0101k\u012B is the word, and I think it sums up perfectly the reason that we\u2019re all here right now.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000463\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThe second word is the word that I referred to before, around whakapapa. Again, whakapapa is everything. It can make you furious, it can make you want to dig deeper. I sometimes describe it as a 1000-piece puzzle that you\u2019ve got plenty of pieces missing, and sometimes it\u2019s really hard to find all of those pieces. But for people that have a real knack for genealogy, whakapapa is the thing that binds us and it connects us. Today, this is all about whakapapa and acknowledging the power that it has to bring people together.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000464\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThe last word that I wanted to mention here was the word aroha, because actually aroha is an all-encompassing word, but it shows that through this process there\u2019s been a lot of aroha that has been shown, given, displayed for us to all be here today. The aroha of, first and foremost, Katherine for her daughter Paige and her \u014Dh\u0101k\u012B to correct a wrong. The love of Josh for his mates Kyle and Katherine, and Baby Paige\u2014the love that you have for them has been on display here and is very apparent and we feel it. I want to mention Renee, the love that you had for your mates as well, to be able to give over your body as a surrogate for nine whole months\u2014well, it\u2019s actually longer than nine months, but the love that you have for your friends to be able to step into the breach for them when they were unable to, when they needed a friend that was able to produce a baby for them, you stepped in. So Renee, the aroha and the selflessness with which you and many surrogates around Aotearoa and the world have done, I want to acknowledge you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000465\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge the aroha that\u2019s being displayed in the House, and may we all continue to feel the aroha for moments like this. Sometimes, our parliamentary House can get a little bit rough and rugged, and it\u2019s nice to know that we can all agree on certain things, especially when it comes to crucial moments like this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000466\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EI also want to finish on a note to baby Paige, who is only two, and if she\u2019s anything like my two-year-old, she\u2019ll be just picking up the odd word here and there and will be at the start of her very long journey. But to baby Paige, who will one day, hopefully, look back on all of these speeches and all of the good things that people are saying about her mum and her family and her village, to baby Paige I want to say this to you: a mother\u2019s love is always with her children, and losing a mother is one of the deepest sorrows that a heart can know. But her goodness, her caring, her wisdom, they all live on like a legacy of love that will always be with you. May that love surround you right now and bring you peace. On the many Mother\u2019s Day days that you will face and people will ask how your mother is and where she is, may how you find strength on those days and know that her legacy lives on in you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000467\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00226590faa0-f76b-4386-84f3-9b06296cc772\u0022\u003EThank you, Madam Speaker, I commend this to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u00229dc43658b7324965adf3a721122f543b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000468\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00229dc43658b7324965adf3a721122f543b\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (National\u2014Papakura):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I\u2019ll just take a short call on this. I think we\u2019ve got overwhelming and fierce agreement right across Parliament. I often to say to people that Parliament is best in select committees, because we knuckle down, we get down to it, and we sort things out\u2014and we so often agree. But, actually, on days like today, when we have wild and fierce agreement across the House, with everyone saying, \u201CGo little Paige\u2014you\u2019re going to get your mum\u2019s name on your birth certificate, your dad\u2019s going to know he\u2019s fulfilled his promise, you are going to be acknowledged as someone who had a mum.\u201D I can\u2019t think of anything much worse than to be born without your mum\u2014it\u2019s just totally unacceptable that we could ever have little Paige to have a birth certificate without her mother being acknowledged.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000469\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EIt is a joyful moment not only for Paige and her family, but I think for MPs who come to Parliament to do their very best; even if we often disagree, we try to do our best and it is wonderful to see that this has come to pass. So, again, a big acknowledgment to the family of Paige Harris, and to her very close friends, and also Renee for the work that she\u2019s done to help allow Paige to have a life. What a wonderful thing. And a big thankyou to all the MPs involved.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000470\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EI\u2019d also like to acknowledge Ian McKelvie for the work he did in the National Party, bringing this bill to us as an issue, and, obviously, encouraging our support for it. I believe it\u2019s the right thing to do, and I\u2019ve already acknowledged Louisa Wall this afternoon\u2014thank you for making this happen\u2014and a big thankyou to Parliament for being at our very best. Thank you, Madam Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022cc477162-e622-4c94-add7-36a586729e51\u0022 data-id=\u00225640e496f5354e988b7408e9941b0763\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000471\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc477162-e622-4c94-add7-36a586729e51\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00225640e496f5354e988b7408e9941b0763\u0022\u003ENAISI CHEN (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. This whole entire afternoon, I\u2019ve been thinking about what else I could say to add to this debate already. And I think, apart from echoing everything that my colleagues have said\u2014all of the facts that they\u2019ve given\u2014I would like to add my own, I guess, well wishes to the family as they begin the next part of this journey as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000472\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc477162-e622-4c94-add7-36a586729e51\u0022\u003EI know that there will always be a hole in everyone\u2019s heart in the shape of Paige\u2019s mother, and I think it\u2019s always got to be something that\u2014she\u2019ll always be dearly missed and it\u2019ll be something that will always bring about pain. But also I hope that this bill will bring a bit of healing, will be the start of that journey to healing, but also to finding a different way of remembering Paige\u2019s mum, as well, through her birth certificate and through all the speeches that we\u2019ve given here this afternoon in the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000473\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc477162-e622-4c94-add7-36a586729e51\u0022\u003ECan I just, please, add my admiration to Josh and Renee for everything they\u2019ve done for the Harris family\u2014and everything, especially, that Josh has done in terms of advocating, of speaking to our select committee. I was extremely humbled to be able to take part in this legislation process through the Governance and Administration Committee. I was very humbled to be able to talk to Josh and ask him questions and hear his stories from his mouth and be able to just, kind of, feel what he has felt as a surrogacy dad in this whole situation. All I have felt is just pure love for his friend and for his friend\u2019s family.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000474\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022cc477162-e622-4c94-add7-36a586729e51\u0022\u003ETo little Paige, I just wanted to add my well wishes to you. Just know that the whole nation is behind you, and at this moment\u2014as representatives here in Parliament\u2014all our love goes to you. And just know that you\u2019re always loved and supported. If you need anything else, please, we\u2019re always here for you, and we\u2019re always rooting for you. So, on that note, I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022 data-id=\u0022f916e7d72b174d5cbab6a4e50667e341\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000475\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f916e7d72b174d5cbab6a4e50667e341\u0022\u003ETEANAU TUIONO (Green):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Madam Speaker. There has been some great k\u014Drero going around the House tonight. It\u2019s my privilege and my honour to join with colleagues around the House in support of this bill. And, yeah, I\u2019ve got a k\u014Drero for future Paige, as well. Two-year-old Paige probably wants to play with Duplo, but future Paige, I hope, will look back at this time, at this night, at this particular time in the Parliament, where the love of her parents made this Parliament stop, that the love of her parents and her wider wh\u0101nau made this Parliament actually take a step back and really think about that. So, future Paige, you will, hopefully, go back in the Hansard and you will note that the love that your mum and dad had for you and the love that Josh and Renee and your wh\u0101nau had for you made us all take a step back, made us all really reprioritise and think about those things that are really, really important: te aroha o te m\u0101m\u0101 ki te p\u0113pi, te aroha o te p\u0113pi ki te wh\u0101nau, te wh\u0101nau ki te hapori wh\u0101nui [the love of a mother for her baby, the love of the baby for the family, and the family for the wider community]\u2014that love and connection that parents have for their children, that connection that parents have with their wh\u0101nau, and also that wider village.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000476\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003EI\u2019d also like to support the k\u014Drero around all the hard work that went into this. I haven\u2019t been here that long, and the 34 days seems like a long time, but my short time has shown that that has been a very, very quick time. So I would once again like to commend Louisa Wall for her mahi around the House, getting to talk to all of us, getting us up to speed, showing the massive hypocrisy\u2014if I can put it that way\u2014looking at the way that the legislation was put together without knowing that the fluid nature of family and wh\u0101nau would change in ways that we should really think about how families have always been different and diverse.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000477\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003ESo I have no more to add to that. Heoi an\u014D me p\u0113nei ana te mihi, e mihi ana ki te \u014Dh\u0101k\u012B o Katherine, ki t\u014Dna p\u0113pi, ki t\u014Dna hoa rangatira, ki a Kyle. N\u014D reira, Paige, i a koe e p\u0101nuihia t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 k\u014Drero n\u0101 te aroha o t\u014D wh\u0101nau, n\u0101 te aroha o te hapori, n\u0101 te aroha o t\u0113nei o ng\u0101 P\u0101remata m\u0101hau e arataki i t\u0113nei w\u0101 ki roto in ng\u0101 \u0101huatanga o te aroha, te manaakitanga. Otir\u0101 t\u0113n\u0101 koe, otir\u0101 t\u0113n\u0101 t\u0101tou katoa.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000478\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223d42e8cf-544e-415d-892b-f4ef8014d80f\u0022\u003E[However, my acknowledgment should be this: I acknowledge the dying wish of Katherine, to her baby and to her partner Kyle. So, Paige, when you read this story, because of the love of your family, because of the love of the community, because of the love of this Parliament you will be led at this time in love and care. Therefore I acknowledge you, I acknowledge one and all.]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022 data-id=\u0022b35663b3877845d88d89e37674627f6f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000479\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b35663b3877845d88d89e37674627f6f\u0022\u003EDr DEBORAH RUSSELL (Labour\u2014New Lynn) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. It\u2019s a real privilege to be able to speak on this particular bill today and I have a couple of reflections to offer before some final words to the beautiful family. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000480\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EThe first I want to offer comes from my own experience and my husband\u2019s experience as we battled our way through infertility ourselves, and our three daughters are the great blessing of our lives. But because we battled our way through infertility, it made me think about the nature of what it is to be a parent, and I think we can separate parents out in many ways. There is a genetic parent, the person from whom the DNA comes, and then there is the gestational parent, the woman who carries a child and the person\u2014usually a man; sometimes someone else\u2014who supports her, who is also a gestational parent as they support, go through a pregnancy. And then there is a social parent, the parent who raises a child. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000481\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EUsually all those three roles are contained within the one person: a person is a social, a gestational, and a genetic parent and they never really think about dividing those roles up. Why should they? But it turns out in our times, we have learnt through the use of science, we have learnt through love, to see those roles as being something that can be done by a number of people. But our law doesn\u2019t recognise that yet. Our law doesn\u2019t understand the difference between a genetic parent and a gestational parent and a social parent. And, hopefully, in T\u0101mati Coffey\u2019s bill, we\u2019ll discuss that a little bit more because it does deal with this particular issue. In this particular case, the law simply had not caught up with the particular circumstances that applied for wee Paige\u2019s family\u2014that there was a difference between the gestational parent and the genetic and social parents. Today, we\u2019re helping the law to catch up to that particular problem and to sort it out today. I\u2019m very glad we\u2019ve been able to do that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000482\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EThe second reflection I want to offer is about the process that had to be gone through here before we could make the law fit this family. Josh, one of the gestational parents, came along to the select committee and he told us about how hard he had worked to get Parliament to take notice of this issue. He\u2019d emailed and emailed and emailed some more and he\u2019d taken to emailing every day and couldn\u2019t get a response. Eventually, he went to the media and thank goodness he did because from then, of course, the issue was picked up by Louisa Wall and we have resolved it very quickly in parliamentary terms. But what it showed to us\u2014for me in particular\u2014was that Josh just didn\u2019t quite know how to approach our Parliament. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000483\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EI\u2019m really worried that that\u2019s the case for lots of other New Zealanders\u2014that they just don\u2019t know how to approach our Parliament, how to get something done. In fact, it was an experience of mine a few weeks ago when I sat down with a local who just didn\u2019t know how to get going in politics. We live and breathe politics in Parliament every day, so we understand it. But so many of the people we try to serve don\u2019t, and I think that\u2019s a real challenge to us. When I was an MP, I spent a lot of time out at community events and the like, and in part it\u2019s just so that people get to know how to approach our Parliament. Again, I don\u2019t want anyone like Josh to have to go through that again\u2014that they email and email and just don\u2019t know how to do it. So that\u2019s another reflection from this process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000484\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002212d74f81-b1f7-4b51-9fb4-8f9481477192\u0022\u003EBut today, we\u2019ve spent the time of this House, which is quite precious and we normally spend it on big matters like human rights and the health system and budgets and the like\u2014today, we have spent it on in some ways what is quite a small matter. But it is huge for Josh, for Renee, for Katherine, for Kyle, and for Paige, and it has been wonderful for us to stop and take notice of this incredibly important matter for this beautiful family. I\u2019m so glad we could do it for them. Thank you, Madam Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022 data-id=\u0022d22ee581bd82441db48bc3880e93dbf3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000485\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022d22ee581bd82441db48bc3880e93dbf3\u0022\u003EDr JAMES McDOWALL (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. This is a beautiful time in the House, a beautiful day in the House, and I appreciate all of the support and the comments from my colleagues, and I know the family appreciates it and the work that\u2019s been done. So just my love to the family, and I won\u2019t make them wait any longer. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000486\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000487\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022ff1ad5a3-e02a-4ffe-a961-ef69bdaee1c9\u0022\u003EBill read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000488\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u0022043eb7e96ef6464b8e4f1c36c7588083\u0022\u003EContraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000489\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u002276fcaea2b38f43848d474c14206758e1\u0022\u003EThird Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022 data-id=\u0022587f91584fea47b189b16b920794244e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000490\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022587f91584fea47b189b16b920794244e\u0022\u003ELOUISA WALL (Labour):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te M\u0101ngai o te Whare. T\u0113n\u0101 koutou katoa. I move, That the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill be now read a third time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000491\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ETo begin this contribution I want to acknowledge Dame Margaret Sparrow and Terry Bellamak, and thank them for their years and years of advocacy and support for the right of women and people who are pregnant to access services. To you I extend my congratulations\u2014we are almost there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000492\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI want to reinforce the kaupapa of this piece of legislation. It seeks to ensure, firstly, the safety and wellbeing, and, secondly, the privacy and dignity of women accessing abortion facilities. For practitioners providing such abortion services, it wants to ensure that they are protected, including from information and opinions communicated in a way that will harm them, hurt them, and are not beneficial to them, and therein, I think, lies the fine balance that the Hon David Parker in his role as Attorney-General has helped the committee to find.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000493\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI do want to highlight the very, very good practice and process in terms of the section 7 report\u2014the original one. Under Standing Order 269(5), when a New Zealand Bill of Rights Act issue was alerted to the House and to the committee in February 2021, essentially the Attorney-General said that the use of word \u201Ccommunicate\u201D was overly broad. Therein then ensued a discourse, a discussion, an engagement initiated by Dr Liz Craig as the chair of the Health Committee, and I want to commend Liz as the chair of the Health Committee for her focus and steadfast resolve that they as a group would find a solution to the section 7 issue that had been highlighted by the Attorney-General.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000494\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EThey were able, through making amendments to this legislation, to get to a point whereby on 10 November 2021, before the second reading of this legislation, the Attorney-General was able to write to the House and inform the House that because of those amendments to the bill, he was satisfied that while there would still be a limit of freedom of expression within a safe area, under section 14 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, it would do so in a way that is demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society under section 5.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000495\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ESection 14 obviously is a focus on freedom of expression and the rights of people who don\u2019t believe in abortion and the rights of people who think they have a right to tell women or people who are pregnant about whether or not they should have an abortion. He said that there was a good balance now between that right in the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and section 5, which is about justified limitations.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000496\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI guess my focus on him making that declaration was that it should satisfy this House that this legislation has now reached a very fine balance in upholding both those: the right to freedom of expression and the justifications on the limitation of that expression. From a medical perspective we have to ensure that people\u2019s actions do not harm other people, and that they do not act in a way that will hurt someone and will not provide any benefit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000497\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EIn addition to Dr Craig, can I also acknowledge Chris Bishop, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, Dr Anae Neru Leavasa, Dr Tracey McLellan, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Sarah Pallett, Dr Gaurav Sharma, Penny Simmonds, Tangi Utikere, Brooke van Velden, and Simon Watts as members of the Health Committee. But I particularly want to acknowledge the work of Jan Logie. Jan has been an amazing advocate for abortion law reform, and in the previous Parliament she was on the Abortion Legislation Committee, chaired by the Hon Ruth Dyson. It also included the Hon Amy Adams, the Hon Tracey Martin, David Seymour, and I want to acknowledge my colleague Anahila Kanongata\u2019a-Suisuiki.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000498\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EThis bill from my perspective also represents a commitment to freedom from discrimination for groups that have been historically discriminated against, such as women, and within this particular context, vulnerable groups such as pregnant women. The UN has determined under Sustainable Development Goal No. 5, the empowerment of women and girls: empowerment over our bodies, empowerment over the health services that we choose to use, without feeling unsafe and with the State providing those services in a way that meets our needs. So specific and safe abortion services, I believe, is about our value as equal citizens within our democracies.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000499\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI found a piece of\u2014I\u2019ll call it research. It was actually a survey from the New York Times before their last election, titled \u201CGender Equality, the Status of Women and the 2020 Elections\u201D. The findings within the context of this abortion safe areas legislation are such that I really do want to highlight those who don\u2019t support abortion and also those who don\u2019t support safe areas. Anti-abortionists, from this survey, are hostile to gender equality, and this movement fundamentally is misogynistic. What is misogyny? It is a dislike, a contempt for, an ingrained prejudice against women. It also highlights that some women can be anti-abortionist too, because just like internalised homophobia, they can experience internalised sexism. On every question that was asked: do men make better political leaders than women, do you want there to be equal numbers of men and women in positions of powers, if you are anti-abortionists, half of you said yes, but if you were pro-choice, that is, you believe in the power of women to decide for yourself, 80 percent of you said yes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000500\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003ESo anti-abortionists don\u2019t like the Me Too movement. They don\u2019t think access to birth control impacts women\u2019s equality. They don\u2019t believe sexism is a problem, and they are hostile to women\u2019s rights.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000501\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI also want to highlight the work of Dr Diana Foster, who is the director of Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health at the University of California. So she is a professor, and she provided an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court case on abortion in November 2021. She talked about a study, the Turnaway Study, a thousand women over five years who were forced to have children when they were denied access to abortion. What does it lead to? Serious physical health consequences from continued pregnancy and childbirth, including death; greater, economic and other hardship; more likely to continue to be exposed to intimate partner violence; less likely to have futures where they have intended pregnancies; and an inability to achieve their educational and other aspirations. So accessing abortion services safely, based on the need identified by the pregnant woman, matters.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000502\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022b4a597dd-ed8b-42b8-975b-40c6e0cdaee1\u0022\u003EI would like to thank colleagues from across the House for supporting this legislative reform. Your vote with and for women is also a vote against sexism and misogyny. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022 data-id=\u002237efd1b69f9a4c9791f1ada617943877\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000503\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002237efd1b69f9a4c9791f1ada617943877\u0022\u003ESIMON WATTS (National\u2014North Shore):\u003C/span\u003E I rise as the member of Parliament for North Shore to speak on the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill at its third reading. I wish to first acknowledge Louisa Wall who has brought this member\u2019s bill to this House. I was fortunate to be part of the Health Committee that participated in improving this bill, and I acknowledge Louisa\u2019s engagement with that committee in a positive and proactive manner, and the mannerism in which she took to be both supportive to the challenges that we had with the bill, but also constructive in terms of the aspects that we did subsequently improve. And I think it is a reflection of the process that we go through in this House\u2014that the value of the select committee process does contribute and bring value in terms of improving legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000504\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EAs we\u2019ve heard, the purpose of the bill is to protect and safeguard women accessing abortion facilities in a safe manner. The Health Committee got 890 submissions, of which we had 100 or so in person. I acknowledge the large number of women that came and provided their stories to that committee, many of which were very personal to what they had experienced, and had an impact on all members of the committee, no doubt. This aspect particularly impacts young women. It impacts about 55 percent of those women in the age range between 20 and 30, and for 65 percent of those women this was their first child. So it is acknowledged around the impact that this bill will have on those individuals, in protecting them from the emotional harm that is, and was, incurred as a result of not having these safe zones in place.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000505\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003ELouisa Wall acknowledged the key change in the amendment of this bill, which is to section 13A, in clause 5, which is around making it consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, so the limitations on a person\u2019s right to freedom of expression were minimal. The process that the committee also looked at, was around looking at the way in which these safe zones would be applied. Initially, it was going to be on a blanket approach, but again we\u2019ve decided that should be on a case-by-case basis, again to not conflict with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000506\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EI\u2019m pleased that the Health Committee invited the Attorney-General in to provide further review and further input in terms of those amendments that were made, and as a result he confirmed that the amendments and recommendations addressed his concerns. I wish to quote a statement that he provided, because I think it is quite relevant in this last reading of this bill: \u201CI consider that the safe area restrictions would serve the important purpose of protecting people providing and accessing abortion services from intimidation and emotional harm, and that the proposal would not limit rights and freedoms more than is necessary to achieve that purpose. Freedom to protest in relation to abortion would be maintained in all places outside of safe areas.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000507\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022713ccc5b-7ff0-4fa5-ab58-4780620184fe\u0022\u003EIt is a pleasure to have been part of the process in order to bring this bill to its third reading. I acknowledge all of those that made submissions as we went through this process, both for and against. I commend this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022 data-id=\u002268981de639b343618a4e5e313c161595\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000508\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002268981de639b343618a4e5e313c161595\u0022\u003EDr LIZ CRAIG (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. It\u2019s an absolute pleasure to be here for the third and final reading of this bill. I\u2019d just like to start by acknowledging my colleague Louisa Wall for bringing the bill to the House. This is a bill that the Health Committee spent a considerable amount of time on, because I think we felt that it was important to get it right, and I think it was because on the one hand, we wanted to make sure that the bill set out what it wanted to achieve, and that\u2019s to protect the privacy and the dignity of woman accessing abortion services, but also the staff that are working in those facilities. But on the other hand, what it was important to do was to make sure that the bill was consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and making sure that those freedoms of speech and other freedoms were preserved in that bill. I think, as a committee, we managed to achieve this.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000509\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003EBut what I wanted to do is just share with you some of the views and the stories of the submitters that we heard. We heard a whole range of different people talking about this bill, and I think as we started to listen to those submissions, it became quite clear that there was an issue that needed to be addressed. I want to start with just some of the submissions from the Abortion Providers Group Aotearoa New Zealand, and what they talked about was the fact that they\u2019d sent out a questionnaire to clinics in June 2020 because there had been quite a bit of debate about whether this was an issue or not, and they asked them about their experiences of current protest action over the past three years, and they got 13 responses back. Of those, eight reported that they did see current protest action, and six of those said there was protest action every week, and it was usually on the days that abortions were provided. One had monthly protests and one had them annually. And apart from that larger annual protest, what they talked about was sometimes single, or up to 10 regular protesters, and one clinic reporting 15 to 20 people turning up regularly. Some qualitative comments within that survey, one said that \u201CNow they\u2019re not allowed in the main hospital, but sometimes on occasion people managed to bypass security and they know where our department is and they\u2019ll question women attending appointments.\u201D And another comment, \u201COne person in question will give money to women as an incentive for not proceeding with their appointment.\u201D So just really signalling that this is an ongoing issue for many providers.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000510\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003EBut also the stories of individual submitters, and we had a few. Some just actually said \u201CI support the bill\u201D, and that was it, in their written submission, but some actually talked a little bit more. One said, \u201CI\u2019ve been a victim of verbal abuse in the past while attending a clinic for a routine scan, and there were protesters outside. I was pregnant at the time and I found out that I was having a miscarriage. It was a highly emotional time and to exit the building and have people protesting about abortion as murder was very upsetting.\u201D I can\u2019t imagine a young woman with no support trying to make the best decision for her and her baby hearing the same. So I think there was a real suggestion that this is an area where we did need to provide some protection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000511\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003EBut on the other hand, we also had a number of submitters coming in with quite opposing views, and a lot of them said, \u201CLook, we\u2019ve got really deeply held views about abortion, and we feel that this bill impacts negatively on our freedom of speech.\u201D So I\u2019ll just read you an example of a quote from one of those, that says, \u201CI\u2019m completely opposed to this bill. It effectively removes the right of freedom to peaceful assembly for us as citizens and the right to peacefully object to the practice of abortion. If those who are in favour of abortion want to have it as a right, we believe we deserve the right to dissent and object.\u201D\u2014and so, basically, those tensions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000512\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003EBut the other issue that was raised by the Attorney-General, as we\u2019ve had spoken about in a number of the meetings, was that clause 5 of the bill he felt was not sufficiently narrow enough, so it was inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, and that the term \u201Ccommunicating\u201D in his view was overly broad and it may not be interpreted as just relating to issues around abortion or abortion related matters. He thought that might be a problem also about inadvertently capturing, say, discussions by family members that were accompanying people into the services. There were also other broader issues with clinicians who might be discussing bad news about a baby, and that might be inadvertently captured. So, basically, I think where we\u2019ve ended up as a committee is the recommendations that we\u2019ve made, I think, have achieved the right balance between protecting women\u2019s privacy and dignity, but ensuring that we\u2019ve gone sufficiently narrow in terms of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000513\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003EI think how we\u2019ve managed to do that was, basically, by prescribing a certain range of things that it would be prohibited for people to do in the safe area, and those are things that could be safely seen and heard by somebody accessing abortion services. I think one of the issues that we were so concerned about was the concept of a protected person, because in the bill as introduced, it was around a protected person being impacted by the behaviour. But a protected person was somebody that was then attending those services for the purpose of accessing abortion services. So the concern we had was the ability for people to be able to testify, but in testifying they would also have to then declare the reason they were in the safe area. We felt that that would actually prevent a lot of people stepping up and saying, you know, \u201CI\u2019ve experienced this\u201D and testifying in court.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000514\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003ESo with the changes that we recommended and made, we removed that whole provision of having to have somebody that was a protected person and rather, instead, made it a range of behaviours that were quite clearly defined. So what that meant was that while you would still need evidence of the behaviour occurring, it didn\u2019t have to be actually that person accessing services themselves that could bring that forward. So I think that added an extra layer for those who wanted to be protected so that things could still go ahead without them having to be the one to do it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000515\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003EThen, just finally, the timeliness issue was something that was really important to the committee, because there was a real sense that we needed to get on and provide protections in a very timely manner. The question was that there was a range of options considered, but if we could put in place a blanket protection 150 metres from all abortion services\u2014could you do that quickly\u2014and I think that brought up a whole range of questions about, \u201COK, if you\u2019re sitting in a safe area that is 150 metres from the service or from the building; is it the building itself or is it the land on which the service is located?\u201D, because you\u2019ve got a lot of services that may be delivered in a big hospital complex where the land area is rather large. Where do you put that boundary? Then there are other issues around private property, and could you include private property in a safe area? I think where we landed was going back to the original provisions where we\u2019ve got a customised regulation-making power so that each facility has its own regulations developed around that so that we\u2019ve got the ability to work out for each area how to potentially exclude private property, but also make sure we\u2019ve got the maximum protection.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000516\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00223c5917bd-9c2f-4bdf-af2f-b13cd1a2c8bb\u0022\u003ESo I think this was a bill where submitters really suggested that something needed to be done. We had to work through the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act provisions, but I think where we\u2019ve ended up is a good balance between the two. So I think that I\u2019m really happy with where this has landed and I\u2019d just like to acknowledge all the work of those involved in the select committee, and again acknowledge Louisa Wall for bringing this bill to the House. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u0022c438e8c2f938427cb7a0879164566e4f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000517\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c438e8c2f938427cb7a0879164566e4f\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022 data-id=\u0022155d302698554ebcb1f136b6ba6e542c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022155d302698554ebcb1f136b6ba6e542c\u0022\u003EDr EMILY HENDERSON (Labour\u2014Whang\u0101rei) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Madam Speaker. I\u2019m rising to speak to this bill tonight, with gratitude. I was not a member of this House when the primary legislation was passed, making abortion a legal medical treatment that women and pregnant people were free to seek over their own bodies. Nor was I a member of the select committee. I have watched your work, my sister Louisa Wall, from afar, with gratitude and a very clear awareness of how difficult it is to operate in a space like this one, to take on board all of the very intense emotions that are generated by talk of pregnancy, of termination, and of the right of women to choose how they operate within their own bodies and their own spaces, and our control over our reproductive rights.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000519\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003EI am lucky in that I am someone who has never faced the choice between a pregnancy and a situation where I was not able to raise a baby. All of my four babies, I was able to welcome into a family that was capable of coping with them and loving them and joying in them. I was raised in a family, also, where babies were joyous and welcomed. But I was also raised by feminist parents and a mother who was a registered nurse in the 1960s, so I was raised with a very clear awareness that the choice to have a baby can be one that is intolerable for some women. I vividly remember the stories from my mother, of nursing a young mum, who, after three children and a very happy marriage, she and her husband simply could not afford a fourth child, and after much travail they chose a backstreet abortion, which was all that was available to them, and as a result that woman contracted a most terrible infection and died horribly in hospital. That is what you people have done: in making the abortion act legal, you have avoided any young women like that young woman, her young husband, and her three children going through that trauma.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000520\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003ETo be pregnant is just such an intensely vulnerable time. So it is so important that we take this step of protecting women who are in the appalling situation of having to make a decision about their bodies from the pressure and harassment of those who have very strong, and sometimes ill-considered, ways of expressing their opposition to the personal choice of a woman or a pregnant person over her own body.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000521\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003EWhen we look at the Attorney-General\u2019s report, we consider the advice that he gave to the select committee as to the scope of what should be prohibited or what it was lawful to prohibit under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. He was alarmed by the word \u201Ccommunicating\u201D. He felt that that was too wide a term and that that could not be used in the context of prohibiting free speech. Let us remind ourselves of the words of section 5 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, that our rights and freedoms are \u201Csubject only to such reasonable limits [as] prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.\u201D Rights are never absolute. Finding the boundary between where one\u2019s own rights of expression unjustifiably infringe upon the freedoms and liberties of another is a difficult job.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000522\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003ESo I commend the select committee for the work that they did and the way in which they came down on a careful, considered, and, I think, eminently reasonable approach to this. So, rather than a person being prohibited from merely communicating, we now have the clear advice in new section 13A, inserted by clause 5, that it is prohibited to obstruct a person from trying to access abortion services; to visually record that person in a way that is likely to cause them distress; to try to interfere with their decision, without their consent; or to engage in protest. And that, as my friend Dr Craig has said, also is ameliorated by the fact that the 150-metre rule and exclusion zone is negotiable depending on the circumstances. This is a sensible, straightforward regime that is going to protect people at an incredibly vulnerable point in their lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000523\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003EI sometimes wonder whether those who protest, including outside my local hospital, quite realise the level of vulnerability, and, indeed, shame there still is around women and pregnant people accessing what is a perfectly legal service in control of their own destinies and their own lives. I sometimes wonder whether their efforts would, in fact, be better served\u2014if indeed they have such aroha for women and for children\u2014in perhaps going out and supporting our young mums who struggle to raise babies; maybe it would be better served by an effort to volunteer at your local after-school care programme or perhaps to donate food or offer practical support rather than to harass and bully\u2014however well intentioned you may be\u2014women at such a vulnerable point in their lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000524\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003EBut I can understand why people feel that right to interfere with women at that point in their lives, because we are used to being allowed to interfere with women\u2019s rights over our bodies. To be born into a typically female body is to be born knowing that society will never leave you in any doubt as to your choices over how to use that body, whether it is what you wear, who you associate with, or whether you have or have not children. To be born into an apparently female body is to be born into a society which assumes it can tell you exactly what it likes about that body. That is not OK. Our women need\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000525\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002273697ddb05fe4e428ee7971e848649f8\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! My apologies to the member. This debate is interrupted. We will resume after dinner at 7 p.m. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000526\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003ESitting suspended from 6.01 p.m. to 7 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000527\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002217bfa49a-da49-4001-9466-0b4bfd70b3f3\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00221451298399f5468d9bd15eff8a1a1046\u0022\u003EDr EMILY HENDERSON\u003C/span\u003E: Kia ora, Mr Speaker. For the reasons discussed prior to the dinner break, I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022 data-id=\u0022b329baf536444853ab4004ecc5023c3c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000528\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022b329baf536444853ab4004ecc5023c3c\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR (National\u2014T\u0101maki):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much. Hey, I will be continuing to oppose this bill. It sits very firmly, as I mentioned in the first reading, within the scope of some of the most fundamental freedoms of a proper functioning liberal democracy, and that\u2019s freedom of speech, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly. I think others have rightly noted, including the proponent of this bill, that rights always interact. Along with those rights, we have also the right in society to not be, if you will, molested, abused, harassed, and so forth. So, fundamentally, for me this bill doesn\u2019t strike the right balance, and hence I\u2019m opposing it. As people will know in this House, I\u2019m more than happy to argue and debate abortion\u2014I think, relatively confidently; you don\u2019t have to agree with me but I\u2019ll debate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000529\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EBut that\u2019s not really, ultimately, what this bill is about, because it\u2019s situated for me in a growing number, if you will, of safe spaces. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s the spaces themselves, the ideas that need to be kept safe from people, right through to more and more legislation in this House. It\u2019s been a growing concern of mine for many, many years\u2014in fact, even from my early days in university, which was a long time ago now. We seem to have this increasing desire to isolate ourselves as a society from ideas and opinions which we don\u2019t like, and some speakers tonight\u2014and it\u2019s been a respectful debate, so I want to keep it in that tone\u2014have said we\u2019ve just got to keep those opinions, those ideas we don\u2019t like, away from us. They could be harmful, and there\u2019s been a stress particularly on emotional harm. Of course there\u2019s emotional harm, but we should never conflate that, I would suggest, with obviously higher levels of harm and violence such as physical harm, and so forth.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000530\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EThere has been, unfortunately even around this debate of safe spaces, quite a conflation out of the American situation, which is often quite heinous, actually, the behaviours of pro-lifers or anti-abortionists or whatever nomenclature you want to use. It can be very, very aggressive, but it\u2019s conflated and drawn over as if that\u2019s happening here in New Zealand. But by and large, and from my own understanding from reading the select committee report and others, more of it is just seen as offensive, problematic, that someone might be outside, in this case, an abortion clinic offering an alternative opinion. As I\u2019ve noted before in a different topic and speech, a nun standing out with rosary beads is now deemed as harmful\u2014emotional harm. I just think we\u2019re treading an unfortunate path as a society and as a democracy if we\u2019re beginning to limit actions like that simply because something is perceived to be harmful.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000531\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EI want to stress again: a lot of the conversation tonight\u2019s not been about physical violence. We all abhor that. The law rightly covers that already. We\u2019re talking about ideas which are seen as harmful, opinions which we don\u2019t like, and it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s increasing safe spaces because, of course, as I put before, what\u2019s the next safe space that is required to protect another group from ideas, again, or opinions that they don\u2019t wish to hear? We\u2019ve had laws passed through this House which, effectively, criminalise conversations. We\u2019re still having discussions, or the Government certainly is and some of its activist friends, of introducing hate speech: certain words, ideas, have to be banned. Then we look in the wider society to, I\u2019d suggest, the overflow\u2014the harassment, for example, of the seven professors because they happen to have a view around issues like m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000532\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003ESo it sits, this bill, within that purview, within that context of a tightening of the grip, particularly by the State, on ideas and opinions, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s right. I think fundamentally too\u2014and it\u2019s probably why abortion in this one becomes quite important\u2014this is a controversial topic. No matter what people think, it is controversial. There isn\u2019t a singular view. It won\u2019t, again, surprise the House and those listening in that I sit on the side that when things are more controversial, you need more leaning in to the rights and freedoms to have a different opinion. So that\u2019s the first point.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000533\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EThe next point I think we have to touch on, and it has come up in some of the speeches tonight but it\u2019s more manifest outside in society, particularly those who rightly say there shouldn\u2019t be harassment, who are themselves often involved in a lot of harassment and abuse of people. You often see it in the likes of social media, and so forth. I want to stress: it\u2019s not here in the Chamber. But absolute abuse of anyone who might, in this case, hold a pro-life\u2014you might hold a different view. If they\u2019re not part of the monological view on particularly ethical issues, they are to be derided, insulted, threatened, and so forth. Well, at times I\u2019ve been one of them, but I\u2019m not asking for a safe space to be put around me. People are welcome to have contrary opinions, and I\u2019m sure those who deride people like myself who have a different view are more than happy, as they continue to be, to protest, to yell, to scream, to threaten, and so forth. So there\u2019s a paradox, a hypocrisy, if you will.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000534\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EBut we\u2019re also seeing more and more in society the labelling of people and denigrating them. There\u2019s again been hints of that tonight: the suggestion that someone who might be pro-life is misogynist, and then that begins to be applied to women as well. It all gets, for me, wrapped up in pseudo-academics to try and explain how this is all internalised, and so forth. But it is ultimately a denigration, and I\u2019d say, particularly to those academics, they are just activists. They\u2019re just activists who masquerade, coming up with ever-latest terms, particularly in the panoply that is identity politics and intersectionality. I think it\u2019s dehumanising, ultimately, because it doesn\u2019t allow, again, this forefront of a proper functioning liberal democracy\u2014which is all people are inherently good and trying to actually articulate views which are very deeply held by them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000535\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EI\u2019ll begin to finish here. We are seeing a dangerous trend developing in particularly the Western world that who you are as an individual is becoming secondary to the group, and the more insidious element that\u2019s coming through in recent years is that your identity within the group is now defined by the group. So if you\u2019re a woman, you\u2019d think you were in the woman group, but unless you hold to a set of views that, you know, a certain group have defined, as I say, you\u2019re now a misogynist. So you\u2019re a woman who\u2019s a misogynist. It\u2019s the same as we\u2019ve seen in the anti-vax movement\u2014or, rather, people at the moment running around saying everyone\u2019s anti-vax who might have a different opinion. The fact that a whole lot of people are vaccinated but have a different view doesn\u2019t make them anti-vax. It\u2019s the same when we talk about cultural or race issues. Just because someone has a different view doesn\u2019t make them a racist.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000536\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EGot friends in America\u2014God, you could bring it here to New Zealand\u2014who are themselves Black Americans, or M\u0101ori here, but now they\u2019re being called racists or white supremacists. It\u2019s this bizarre, dehumanising labelling that\u2019s going on, and I think it\u2019s an unfortunate dynamic that\u2019s even coming through as we discuss safe spaces tonight, that people who might have a contrary opinion are being, I would suggest, mislabelled. I think it would be useful for people to reflect on that, particularly if they are wanting to argue that they should have particularly opinions around abortions protected\u2014they need a safe space. They are making life, if you will, unsafe for another group of people by deriding them. As I say, this groupthink, I think, is becoming a problem.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000537\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EAgain, to address what was a very particular charge or suggestion earlier, that any women\u2014woman, sorry; I\u2019d better get my wording and grammar right\u2014who opposes this bill, and I know thousands of them, are all of a sudden not proper women or they\u2019re misogynist is just wrong. It\u2019s just this manifestation of a growing groupthink: you can be a woman so long as you follow a whole lot of prescriptions of particularly the academic left; you\u2019ll be M\u0101ori so long as you fit a certain set of views. That\u2019s why, amongst many, many reasons, I continue to oppose this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000538\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EOur liberal democracy functions best when, firstly, we\u2019re not dehumanising people, we\u2019re not labelling them, and we\u2019re not trying to degenerate\u2014or, rather, denigrate\u2014their views. So freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association are so fundamentally important, and, as I said at the start too, so is the freedom to not be harassed, if we get into the negative freedoms at different levels. Those are important too, but the fundamental point is the more controversial a topic is, the more discussion there should and needs to be. So we\u2019ll have to continue opposing this bill. I\u2019m not going to go into all the details. That would have been dealt with in committee of the whole House and, obviously, within second reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000539\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EI will acknowledge, to the sponsor of the bill, what we have here now is a huge step forward from where we started. Things are better defined. Still not enough for me. As I say, conceptually I don\u2019t like the idea of safe spaces, and I asked a rhetorical question of the House: what\u2019s the next safe space that we have to create? Safe spaces around parliamentary offices from Green Party activists? You know, of course I don\u2019t want that, but why not if you want to follow that argument through. We shouldn\u2019t be, if you will\u2014and I\u2019ve said it in a different context before: ideas and opinions are never safe. They always challenge us. I again just want to reiterate in this House tonight: I worry of this continuing trend to try and limit what people can say, think, or be. So with that, I\u2019ll leave it there. Thanks, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022 data-id=\u0022fffc857220824fc2abf10de1da76766f\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fffc857220824fc2abf10de1da76766f\u0022\u003ECAMILLA BELICH (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is a pleasure to take a call on the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill. This is the first time I\u2019ve had the opportunity to speak on this bill, and I\u2019m pleased to do so, albeit from my home in Auckland.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000541\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003EI have a few comments, first of all, to make in relation to the last speaker, Simon O\u2019Connor, who talked about concerns he had about this type of legislation in New Zealand and what was almost a concept of creep into certain areas where we would need safe zones, and\u2014from his perspective, if I\u2019m characterising it correctly\u2014people wouldn\u2019t be free to share their opinions. I want to really challenge that idea. I don\u2019t think there is an equivalent medical procedure that occurs to me that is similar to abortion. It is such as important health issue that women need to be able to access, and it is such, such an important human right that they are able to do that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000542\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003EWhat we are actually looking at with this bill is not a situation where people can\u2019t oppose abortion. We know that people have different views on abortion. We know that it\u2019s important that people are able to express those views. All we are trying to do\u2014and what I imagine the member who\u2019s brought this bill, Louisa Wall, is trying to do\u2014is to allow women to access a key medical procedure free from harassment, free from intimidation, so that they can go about their lives and live them in the way that they choose. That is why I fundamentally support this bill, and disagree with the comments of the last member respectfully.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000543\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003EI was first made aware of the concept of abortion safe zones or buffer zones, as they\u2019re sometimes called, in a borough that I used to live in, in West London, that introduced them in 2018. They were used, in that instance, to prevent the harassment of those seeking abortions, staff members, and members of the public. It was a first for the UK, and these safe zones proved to be effective, and so, in 2021, the safe zone was renewed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000544\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003EI\u2019m also proud of the recent work that New Zealand has done to allow those who wish to access abortion to do so safely and legally. The change last term to legalise abortion and to take it out of the Crimes Act was historic. I\u2019m also proud of the work undertaken by my friend and colleague the Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall, to increase access to abortion through the use of telehealth services that she\u2019s recently announced. This bill really builds on that progress. It will ensure that people seeking an abortion will be able to access this important health service free from harassment, free from intimidation. The right to access abortion safely is an important human right, and I would respectfully ask all those colleagues from across the House to consider this when they cast their vote on the final vote on today\u2019s third reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000545\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a503e324-3a0b-4efd-bf44-ec6740ec9a62\u0022\u003EI want to also congratulate my colleague Louisa Wall for bringing this bill to the House, and for being a champion for women\u2019s rights. It\u2019s not always easy and, as we\u2019ve seen, not everyone always agrees. But when we came to this House, we did so to make a difference, and casting a conscience vote in favour of this bill will certainly do that for those wishing to access this important health service. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022 data-id=\u0022db4435b9cd8f4f0cacfd7ad36ece4fef\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000546\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002269dfdffa-4227-42b6-875a-fc8033bc25cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022db4435b9cd8f4f0cacfd7ad36ece4fef\u0022\u003EJAN LOGIE (Green): Thank you, Mr Speaker, and it\u2019s a real treat to get to rise and speak in support of Louisa Wall\u2019s member\u2019s bill, the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill at this, the third reading. It really is getting the job finished that was started quite a long time ago. I really want to acknowledge Louisa Wall\u2019s very adept shepherding of this through the House, and increasing support for it through the process, and, again, to acknowledge the chair of the Health Committee, Liz Craig, and all the other members because, unlike one of the previous speakers\u2014who suggested that while, yes, it had been improved, that actually this was a fundamental attack on fundamental rights\u2014this has been given a very clear vet from the Attorney-General in terms of being compliant with our New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, which protects those fundamental rights. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000547\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a3e00e9e007342089d720bf17b72b44a\u0022\u003EThe committee spent a huge amount of time making sure that we got to that point and, to be honest, I was on the committee considering the abortion legislation back in 2019-20, and this was an area of that piece of legislation that I was uncomfortable with. I was totally willing to be voting and supporting it because it was a really tenuous dance, and I didn\u2019t want to do anything to interfere with the progress of that legislation, because it was such a watershed moment for us as a country to secure the bodily integrity and protect women from forced pregnancy; a pretty important moment in our history. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000548\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cf99245672eb44c5b889617efe3a7766\u0022\u003EI was OK with supporting the safe zone provisions as they were, but I had levels of discomfort. So I\u2019m really pleased that we got to consider this in its specificity and go through the detail of it, and I think we\u2019ve got a much better result now than what we had in the original legislation, because it is the balancing of rights, but also it recognises the fact that the provisions in our law at the moment that protect against harassment are fundamentally useless, because they rely on the person going for an abortion to be providing evidence in the court, to be able to take that case. That\u2019s not really something anybody wants to do. You imagine: you\u2019re going through this medical procedure, you are harassed, and then you have to deal with the police on top of that, and then at some date well out into the future, you have to then stand up in court and relive all of that in front of a public audience, and spill your guts. There\u2019s a reason those pieces of law are not being used, because nobody is going to do that. So we have fixed that problem in this piece of legislation, and I think that will make it effective as well, and I think that\u2019s really important. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000549\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002213282aeab45d49339eb1ab2df20bdf8e\u0022\u003EI do want to address the perception that was given by a previous speaker that this is an attack on the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act vet clearly says it is not. It is consistent with those rights in our society. That same speaker said that he disagreed with harassment but he didn\u2019t seem to believe that we had a problem with it, and I\u2019ve seen some other people opposing this legislation who say that there is no problem because there are no court cases. Well, I\u2019ve just explained why there are no court cases\u2014because nobody\u2019s going to go through that process. What we heard very clearly in select committee was evidence of patients being chased into clinics. We heard of pamphleting with anti-abortion and inaccurate images, and information that is just blatantly untrue; of loud hymn singing; of blockading of doors; of protesters approaching and speaking to patients, and calling individual staff by their names; photographing of staff and patients; people refusing to leave when being asked. We also heard of a situation, and we had somebody present to us in the committee who had previously been arrested for violent protests outside an abortion clinic, who was telling us that this is God\u2019s work\u2014to be protesting outside clinics\u2014and we could not deprive them of that work. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000550\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00225a243ddda4b24597927396a96edc8bda\u0022\u003EWe also heard the survey from providers who are doing this work, showing an increase in activities around clinics. One clinic who had previously not had any protest action was now reporting twice-weekly protests on the day that they provided services. An escalating protest was reported in another clinic, and, one clinic noted that after more than 20 years of experiencing protesters, they were tired of the ongoing rights that the anti-choice protesters had, but their patients\u2019 right to privacy and safe access without harassment was continually being ignored. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000551\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003Ehat right is not being protected in our current situation, because people are\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cb7de162c90b4045baf8e2672ba8be3e\u0022\u003EThis piece of legislation is recognising that they have rights\u2014as staff and as patients\u2014and our code of disability rights recognises this. It guarantees consumers the specific rights to privacy, respect, and the right to freedom from discrimination, coercion, harassment, and exploitation. Now, t\u2014from so much of the evidence we heard\u2014experiencing harassment and, even in the peaceful protests where people are just standing, praying with anti-abortion signs usually, that are often inaccurate, but even then they lose their right to privacy. We heard from submitters that sense of sometimes they\u2019ve known people in that group, and they have wanted to go and access their right to abortion, but have felt intimidated or unable to because they have known that there would be people known to their family who would be observing them accessing that service. That is not consistent with our fundamentals of a safe and appropriate healthcare system. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000552\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002250e887f44c0747a295ae88bc20b893cc\u0022\u003EThis safe zone does not stop anybody protesting. I recognise that, where people are saying that people have the right to access, they have the right to oppose. When people were presenting to the committee and they would say that, and I would say, \u201CSo would that right still be in place if you were 150 metres away?\u201D That right would still be in place. They can absolutely continue to oppose abortion\u2014they can just do it 150 metres away so that they do not impinge on the rights of the patient accessing healthcare. That, to me, is an absolutely essential part of the work that we are doing, which is to protect that right and balance the right of freedom of expression, and protest, and assembly for others. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000553\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022995e3bc37fed42a69a0239604b7ceb20\u0022\u003EI think the other piece I wanted to touch on, because I, initially, wanted to have automatic safe zones, and that was what I came into this thinking\u2014and we didn\u2019t get to that at the end of the process, because we could not guarantee a process to set that up that would have a logic to it, now that abortions no longer just happen in a very limited number of places, where they could be provided through mobile clinics, or in doctors\u2019 surgeries around the country. How would we coherently do that, to set them up automatically? Also, if we set them up automatically with set areas, without thinking through the logistics of the space, actually it could have some perverse and negative outcomes that wouldn\u2019t achieve our desired goal. While it may not be what I initially wanted, I think this will work, and again, next week it will be two years since this country decriminalised abortion. We\u2019ve seen in recent surveys an increase in the number of people in this country who believe women should have the right to choose what they do with their body. That represents progress; this represents progress. I look forward to a time when women and pregnant people are free of all stigma, to be able to care for their own health. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u002282787d44052e49589b2a5ebd16a5576b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000554\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002282787d44052e49589b2a5ebd16a5576b\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: Members, before I take the next call\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000555\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222822f81389c44a3ab3a85058f6c203a9\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Mr Speaker\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000556\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002260f4aad4999c48cda31c66ccadebd2cf\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, well you\u2019ve actually done what I want to ask for; before I take the next call, I wanted to say this debate is limited to 12 10-minute speeches, and because we\u2019re taking calls all over the place, it\u2019s very useful if I knew who wished to take the call. I now know who wishes to take a call in the House, but I\u2019m going to go to Sarah Pallett, who\u2019s been waiting remotely for a call for a while. So thank you, you two, David Seymour and Simon O\u2019Connor. I take it no one else wants a call?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022e7bab061-0905-44a1-a4ec-cf89b58a1baf\u0022 data-id=\u00226539857fe1a945d1a30368bc63818c17\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000557\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e7bab061-0905-44a1-a4ec-cf89b58a1baf\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226539857fe1a945d1a30368bc63818c17\u0022\u003ESARAH PALLETT (Labour\u2014Ilam) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. It\u2019s with great pleasure that I rise to speak for the third time on the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill. I want to take a couple of seconds just to add my thanks to those of previous speakers to Louisa Wall, who brought this amendment bill to the House, but also to my colleagues on the Health Committee, chaired really ably by Dr Liz Craig, and to the clerks and officials. Because, actually, as you\u2019ve probably heard, this piece of work was indeed a piece of work. Because we all wanted to create the very best piece of legislation that we could, we did need to do a decent amount of work on it. As other members have mentioned, we had issues with the first draft with New Zealand Bill of Rights Act compliance, which we worked extremely hard to make sure that we had actually covered. So I\u2019m really proud to be able to stand\u2014in a seated position remotely\u2014to support this bill and to bring it forward. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000558\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e7bab061-0905-44a1-a4ec-cf89b58a1baf\u0022\u003EWe had 890 submitters, as we\u2019ve heard in previous speeches, and 97 of those submitted orally. But what we\u2019re really doing here is this bill aims to protect, as we\u2019ve heard, the safety and wellbeing and respect the privacy and dignity of women accessing abortion facilities, as well as for those practitioners providing and helping with abortion services. We\u2019re not here to relitigate the provision of abortion as lawful healthcare. We\u2019ve had and heard many, many speeches over an extremely long period of time before we passed the primary legislation. I really want to emphasise that we do often have differing views about the provision of abortion services. My position is obviously that it is lawful healthcare, and it\u2019s one that\u2019s vital and often lifesaving for the pregnant person or woman who is pregnant. Often, it\u2019s necessary for complex medical reasons. But, again, we\u2019re not here to relitigate. What I think is really important is that this is not about that. What this is about is about allowing people who are accessing lawful healthcare to do so without intimidation, threats, and harassment. And you can support that and not actually be personally in favour of abortion yourself. You may choose yourself to not support it, but you can still respect the rights of people and healthcare providers to access this healthcare without being threatened or harassed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000559\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e7bab061-0905-44a1-a4ec-cf89b58a1baf\u0022\u003ENow, one of the earlier speakers, Mr O\u2019Connor, was describing this harassment as an isolation of views that we disagree with. I fundamentally disagree with this assertion. This is not an isolation of views that we disagree with; this is about people who are literally going about the business of accessing lawful healthcare. As Jan Logie said, just now, you can do that from a maximum of 150 metres away. The safe area provision is literally a maximum of 150 metres, and so those banners can be held, those chants can be chanted, and the very loud prayers can be prayed, but 150 metres maximum away. The safe area isn\u2019t going to be applied automatically. The individual providers will need to apply for a safe area and there\u2019ll have to be a good reason for it, although previous harm or threat will not be one of those contingencies. I think we need to ask ourselves, if you disagree with this and you feel that the rights\u2014the need to bring those banners into the faces of people accessing healthcare, some of whom are going through extremely difficult and challenging times\u2014if you feel the need to be allowed to have overt and often fact-bereft banners in people\u2019s faces, I think you need to ask yourself why. Why do you need to do that in the faces of people that are providing healthcare? Why do you need to do something that you know, because you\u2019ve been told, is threatening, is harassment, is challenging, and does cause trauma. It\u2019s not about hurt feelings or feeling offended; it\u2019s about actually, literally, causing trauma and pain to somebody who may already be in a great deal of it, although sometimes not. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000560\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e7bab061-0905-44a1-a4ec-cf89b58a1baf\u0022\u003ESo we\u2019re not here to relitigate and we\u2019re not here to stop peaceful protest. We\u2019re not here to stop a nun standing with a rosary, Mr O\u2019Connor, because that won\u2019t be prohibited under this piece of legislation, and it\u2019s a shame that you didn\u2019t read it thoroughly enough to realise that peaceful prayer that doesn\u2019t involve the carrying of banners is not something that\u2019s going to be prohibited. It won\u2019t fall into the legislation, because we don\u2019t intend to do that. We really tried hard as a committee\u2014and bearing in mind that the committee did hold differing views on the provision of abortion itself\u2014to make sure that the rights of people to peacefully protest were upheld. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000561\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e7bab061-0905-44a1-a4ec-cf89b58a1baf\u0022\u003EPeaceful protest is something I think you\u2019ll find that we\u2019re all strongly in favour of. But we\u2019re all really aware that sometimes peaceful protest is not necessarily what all protesters intend. We\u2019ve seen a really solid example of that recently outside our House, our place of work. We\u2019ve seen people being threatened and harassed with violence. The nooses came out on day one for journalists and politicians, and they didn\u2019t go away until the protesters went away. Those protesters did interfere with people going about their business. They stopped schools running. They made businesses closed. We\u2019re really clear that there was a line that was crossed where all the namastes and yoga tents in the world are not going to persuade you that these were people who had peace in their hearts and minds, and so we need to move that elsewhere. And it\u2019s 150 metres away, maximum. Your right to protest peacefully, I would say, is one that we upheld. It\u2019s a bit like your right to swing your arm ends where my nose begins. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000562\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022e7bab061-0905-44a1-a4ec-cf89b58a1baf\u0022\u003ESo what we\u2019re doing here is prohibiting actions and behaviours that cause extreme distress, as described by some of the people who presented to us. It\u2019s worth noting that all of the healthcare providers were supportive of this legislation. We have no intention of restricting people\u2019s rights to protest peacefully or pray quietly, but we do want to protect people who are accessing lawful healthcare and their healthcare providers. And as one myself, I can say that I directly experience some of the threats coming to me. I was vocal in my support of the provision of abortion as lawful healthcare, and so I\u2019ve experienced personally threats from somebody who was quite cheerily doing that in front of my children. It was not an enjoyable experience, as I would encourage people to look into their hearts and ask themselves what it is they would want to achieve. What\u2019s their goal? What do they want by actually going into that 150-metre zone, and ask themselves if it\u2019s something that they want to support or not. I would encourage those who\u2019ve previously maybe voted against this bill to change their minds and realise that all we\u2019re trying to do is to keep people safe just in a really small and restricted area and not interfere with their broader rights, as has been confirmed by the Attorney-General. And with that, I commend this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022 data-id=\u0022e2d7a5d1fa1844339a3643829a5ed934\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000563\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022e2d7a5d1fa1844339a3643829a5ed934\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I would like to speak in favour of this Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill. I understand that all ACT MPs will be voting for it, although there\u2019s a limited number of speeches.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000564\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EThe genesis of this bill I had a little bit to do with. The Abortion Legislation Bill would have included the original version of \u201Csafe areas\u201D that were in this bill before we had amendments made to it through the Health Committee. And I want to take a bit of time to explain how it is possible for someone to be stridently pro-choice and in favour of a woman\u2019s right to choose abortion without State interference, and yet have concerns about these safe areas, and then how ACT has watched this legislation change to a point where we believe it is consistent with the values of free speech and we can support it. Altogether, a very good story. The Abortion Legislation Bill is one that I supported stridently. I was one of 20 members of the House at the time who voted for option A, which would have made abortion a choice between a woman and her doctor at any stage of pregnancy, rather than after 20 or so weeks, which we actually ended up with.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000565\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EAnd I believe in a woman\u2019s right to choose and I am pro-choice on this issue, for a couple of reasons. One, it just seems right that if it\u2019s your body, it should be your choice. But when you drill into what anti-abortion laws really mean, practically, they mean that somebody wants the apparatus of the State\u2014the police, the courts, corrections\u2014to actively go out and force women to take pregnancies to term against their will. And I seriously struggle with why people think that would be a useful thing for the State to do. I think anyone that believes in freedom would have to ask themselves how you can really talk about freedom once you have done that. So it\u2019s very easy for me to be pro-choice. It\u2019s the right thing to do, and I think our country is a much better place having passed the Abortion Legislation Bill two years ago, which, effectively, decriminalised abortion, and that is something we\u2019re proud to have supported it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000566\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EBut it\u2019s also true that it was my amendment that took safe areas out of that bill, because there\u2019s a tension: you can be in favour of a person\u2019s right to choose, but also be concerned about free speech. The bill, as originally introduced in this case and as a subpart of that Abortion Legislation Bill, would have said that it is prohibited to communicate with a person on any terms within a safe area. And I think it\u2019s true\u2014I find myself agreeing with some of the earlier speakers, and even Simon O\u2019Connor, which is rare; the Venn diagram of beliefs that intersect for us is a very tiny sliver, it has to be said. But, nevertheless, he\u2019s right that we have a real problem in the Western World, that people find it harder to disagree without being disagreeable, to have honest conversations and work through our problems in a way that\u2019s respectful. And we also have a terrible habit of commodifying people into identities, rather than focusing on our universal humanity in an objective reality that we can observe and work through together as equals because we\u2019re human. That\u2019s a big problem, and it\u2019s a problem throughout the West. And if we look at the situation in Europe, I think it becomes more and more important that we understand, articulate, and stand up for those basic, classical liberal values.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000567\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003ESo when we were confronted with legislation that said a Minister of Health can define an area\u2014a part of New Zealand, a public place\u2014and say it\u2019s illegal to communicate in that area, well, here\u2019s the thing: standing up for free speech seldom involves defending people that you\u2019d want to have over for dinner. In fact, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve done any defence of free speech on behalf of anyone who I actually like, yet\u2014but you never know; the way that this Government\u2019s going, they might widen the range of people who need defence of free speech. And so it\u2019s easy to say that you really detest the odious ogres who stand outside and shout at scared, often young, women who are going to have a pretty traumatic medical procedure, and abuse them because of their own sense of justice or belief or spirituality. It\u2019s pretty easy to be opposed to all of that, but still think it would be wrong to have the gradual creep of State power to ban communication within an area. And when this bill was introduced, the Attorney-General and Crown Law advice agreed with ACT about that. They said that the word \u201Ccommunicate\u201D being included was actually a breach of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, particularly the right to freedom of expression, and it was a breach that exceeded what was demonstrably justifiable in a free and democratic society.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000568\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003ENow, here\u2019s the good thing\u2014sometimes it happens: people listened. And the select committee did its job, and often select committees can function very well on these cross-partisan issues, when people take down their political party affiliations and actually work on the issue. I just wish we could do that in Health Committee sometimes\u2014I know Chris Bishop will agree with me on that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000569\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022211c2368a3a44781b8d3f8db3e1c4afe\u0022\u003EChris Bishop\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019d be a fine thing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000570\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022bf53b9d119bb442494433da021a97f41\u0022\u003EDAVID SEYMOUR\u003C/span\u003E: Yeah, it sure would. But the select committee listened, and what they achieved\u2014they said, \u201CWe\u2019re going to listen to the Attorney-General. We\u2019re going to take the word \u201Ccommunicate\u201D out.\u201D And so our big concern about a Government banning communication, even communication that I personally don\u2019t like\u2014that has been resolved by the select committee changing this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000571\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EAnd what the bill now says is that if there is an abortion clinic, a premises they call it, then the Minister has the ability to define an area\u2014doesn\u2019t have to be a 150-metre radius, but up to 150 metres around that premise\u2014and say this is an abortion safe zone. And in that area, you must not \u201Cobstruct a person who\u2019s approaching, entering, or leaving\u201D. Well, that\u2019s reasonable. I don\u2019t think anyone in a free society should be physically obstructed. So we support that. It\u2019s a big tick. \u201CMake a visual recording of another person in a safe area in a manner that\u2019s likely to cause emotional distress\u201D\u2014well, frankly, you know, I would defend a lot of freedoms, but the freedom to go and video people that are going to get an abortion\u2014that\u2019s not of the freedoms we need to defend. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a priority. In fact, I think it\u2019s pretty grotesque. So very happy with that. And it says, \u201Cdo any of the following in a safe area in a manner that could easily be seen or heard by another person who may be accessing, providing, or assisting with abortion services: advise or persuade against it; inform them about matters relating to the abortion, other than if you are actually a clinical person or engaged in the procedure; or engage in protest about matters relating to the provision of abortion services.\u201D\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000572\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003EYou can\u2019t do those things, but you can still communicate. You can still do silent prayer. You can still do things, if you really want to, and you can still communicate. There\u2019s not a ban on communication. And if you do do those things, a police officer can come along and ask you to stop. Here\u2019s your opportunity: just stop doing it. And if you don\u2019t, then the law gives them the right to arrest you without warrant, and you can be fined up to $1,000. So that is how this law works. And then, every five years, the Minister has to review and check if it\u2019s still necessary, the safe areas that have been put in place. That\u2019s how it actually works in what you can and can\u2019t do in these safe areas, and how they are established, and how they\u2019re reviewed, and how the police behave in them, if necessary. And I think that is a pretty reasonable place to land. The Attorney-General has revised his opinion in light of the changes made, and said, actually, this is consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000573\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003ESo I think this is a very good example of how this Parliament can work: people send their representatives here, everybody has a voice, people listen, there\u2019s deliberation, the laws can actually change and be made better and more consistent with our values and principles\u2014such as freedom of expression\u2014that are so sacred in this place and up and down our country, and we can get to a place where we have better laws that protect those people who just don\u2019t want to be harassed and also not impinge on those other values that we need. We\u2019ve found that balance. And I\u2019m very pleased to have stood on principle to make this possible, by ensuring that a safe area provision inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act was taken out of the original Abortion Legislation Bill, which I stridently supported in every other aspect, so that it could come back and be properly and separately debated and improved by a select committee and made consistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. That\u2019s a very good ending for a piece of legislation. I commend Louisa Wall for her indefatigable approach to lawmaking and making this possible. Thank you, Mr Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022 data-id=\u00228adac948cd664790a7635db392e7b570\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000574\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228adac948cd664790a7635db392e7b570\u0022\u003EVANUSHI WALTERS (Labour\u2014Upper Harbour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. Knowing that this bill was coming up for its third reading, I dug an article out of an old family storage box, and it was published on Sunday, 9 August 1973, in the Sun, which is a Sri Lankan paper. It was written by the then president of the Ceylon Medical Association and entitled \u201CThe CMA President asks for liberal laws to terminate early pregnancies\u201D. The president at the time, Dr S. Rajanayagam, was my grandfather, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, and it\u2019s this that I dwelt on over the weekend. While I tend to approach arguments in this space in the dialogue of rights balancing, the entirety of his argument, as a medical practitioner, for liberal laws was health-bound. It was a very practical and real argument for access to healthcare. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000575\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003EHe, unfortunately, wasn\u2019t successful in his advocacy. Sri Lanka continues to have one of the most Draconian laws in regards to abortion, which actually dates from 1883. But reflecting on my grandfather\u2019s advocacy made me reflect on the advocates here in New Zealand over the years who have championed women\u2019s health issues, often in the face of aggressive and what was in some cases very personally directed opposition: Dame Margaret Sparrow, Terry Bellamak, and there are many more, including women in this House, one of whom is Louisa Wall, whose bill we usher through the House today. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000576\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003EUltimately, this bill reminds us that a right to a health service means nothing without the ability to access it safely, and I do want to address briefly the apparent rights arguments that I\u2019ve heard sitting in some of the objection to this bill, with the first argument, of course, being that freedom of speech should not be interfered with. I spoke several weeks ago to the Conversion Therapy Prohibition Bill, providing some examples of how freedom of speech is frequently limited in places like consumer law, employment law, electoral regulation, copyright, and, actually, many other areas as well. I noted especially that rights aren\u2019t things to be verbally wielded around one\u2019s head, and I often cringe when giants of thought like Voltaire and Mill are selectively quoted without acknowledging the broader context of their theories, which often include recognising the limits that harm can and should place on freedoms. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000577\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003ERights require precision in definition and analysis in imposing what are reasonable limitations. The analysis requires us to consider, first, the definition of the right itself, which in some cases actually might limit how we understand the right, and then, if the right is engaged, we need to consider whether it\u2019s limited in a reasonably justifiable way. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000578\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003ESo the consideration of justifiable limitations in a free and democratic society means walking through explicitly a number of steps. The first is to establish that there is a sufficiently important objective to curtail a right, which there is in this case, in terms of allowing individuals to safely access healthcare. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000579\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003EThe second is that there must be a rational connection between the limitation proposed and the objective sought, which, again, there is in this case, as we know that women face obstruction and harassment as they attempt to engage healthcare of this nature. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000580\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003EThirdly, the limitation must be no more than is reasonably necessary to sufficiently achieve the objective, and I\u2019ll quote Terry Bellamak here, who said, \u201CThe right of anti-abortion activists to express themselves is not being curtailed, it is [simply] being moved down the road \u2026 150 metres. What is being curtailed is their ability to target people who are there to attend a medical appointment\u201D. We\u2019ve heard how the Health Committee very carefully considered this aspect of what is the reasonable limitation, and, indeed, I\u2019ll acknowledge that there were changes made at the select committee on that front. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000581\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003EFourthly, the limitation must be in due proportion to the importance of the objective, and here I want to commend the select committee for their work, again. In my view, the limitation that the select committee landed on is, in this instance, a reasonable one. In this case, this health access proposal doesn\u2019t remove a right to free speech. It proposes reasonable, stepped-through limitations. Women should be entitled to be able to walk up to a healthcare provider\u2019s premises without worrying about being harassed or obstructed. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000582\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003ESome talk about the chilling effect on freedom of speech when we put in any limitation whatsoever on the right to freedom of speech, but\u2014let\u2019s be honest\u2014the absence of law in this space has created a chill. Without this change, many women who need to access safe healthcare simply wouldn\u2019t risk it. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000583\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002283dca3a7-93a6-4a78-a313-6fce42ebe49e\u0022\u003ESo I\u2019d like to end just by offering my sincere thanks to the many advocates for women\u2019s healthcare, both women and men, who have done the mahi to get us across many hurdles over the last decades to a place where we can usher this bill through the House today. I commend this bill to the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022 data-id=\u002231c04cccd92843a49c5d89df8aa6023e\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000584\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002231c04cccd92843a49c5d89df8aa6023e\u0022\u003ECHRIS PENK (National\u2014Kaipara ki Mahurangi):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to speak on this, the third reading of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill. I\u2019ve enjoyed the debate. As always in these matters, it\u2019s helpful, I think, that we have such an opportunity, in this case for me, to make a second contribution, having spoken at the start of the legislative process\u2014so to bookend it, so to speak, with some thoughts that I\u2019d like to share with the House and, indeed, anyone who may be watching.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000585\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EFirst, may I place on record what I would hope would be an obvious wish that harassment not be visited upon anyone, at any time, anywhere, for any reason, but that general desire and hope is not the stuff of legislation. We are concerned, of course, in this House, or should always be concerned in this House, with the specific application and implication of laws that we pass in this place. So within my time, I\u2019d like to focus a little bit on some arguments around what this bill might add to the statute book relative to those provisions in other laws that are already on that; second, to give a bit of context in terms of the constitutional interplay that we had with the Attorney-General\u2019s original vet and then discussion, effectively, with the House through the select committee on the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act implications; obviously then to look at the specific provisions of the bill, including and especially the extent to which it may capture behaviour that may or may not be intended by the Parliament to be caught; and then, finally, a reflection on the unique nature of the services that have been\u2014protesting about the nature of the services at stake in this particular bill, as opposed to protest more generally. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000586\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EFirst of all then, relative to existing laws, I do note that the select committee report addressed the fact that our statute book has already various pieces of legislation that substantially do cover this area. So I\u2019m just quoting from that in a way that would more usually take place at second reading, but, noting that I didn\u2019t speak at the second reading, they note that the Summary Offences Act 1981, to which I\u2019d add section 4 \u201COffensive behaviour or language\u201D, has provisions that are very much in the space of preventing behaviour that is deemed to be offensive, or language included; the Harassment Act 1987, the Trespass Act 1980 under which notices can be issued, and so forth. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000587\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve heard from a previous contributor to the debate, who was arguing in favour of the bill, that one of the issues with such legislation is it would require evidence to be given of such wrongdoing. When the State gives itself the power to forcibly remove a person and to limit their rights in such a way as this bill is seeking to do, the giving of evidence about the things that have taken place is a feature of our system, not a bug. We should tread very carefully when we contemplate giving the power\u2014physical, coercive power\u2014of the State over human beings in relation to matters in which evidence is not required for the exercise in application of such force.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000588\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EThe second point\u2014but actually I\u2019ll just pause on that note briefly. I think there is a legitimate argument around the privacy aspects. I think in this country\u2014and this is a personal view; I\u2019m taking the liberty of expressing it under the guise of a conscience vote\u2014but I think our privacy laws in this country are seriously deficient in many different areas. And so I would have sympathy for the view that\u2019s expressed in the House that that the privacy of people generally needs to be protected much more rigorously than it currently is.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000589\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EOn the point that I\u2019ve appealingly described as a constitutional point, but bear with me, I do want to acknowledge the interaction which I regard as very positive in itself between the Attorney-General and the Parliament through the select committee. The member in charge of the bill is nodding and I\u2019m pleased that she acknowledges that point, and other colleagues have spoken on that\u2014I think approvingly in every case, notwithstanding that other views on the bill may differ. So I think it\u2019s positive that the Attorney-General, having given a report on the inconsistency of the bill as introduced with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, then became subject of the dialogue between the select committee and the Attorney-General such that he suggested, I think, a couple of amendments. I think the suggestion came from him, and I think I\u2019m receiving affirmation again from the member in charge of the bill. The select committee responded by making, essentially, the suggestions that are amended. So I would say on that basis that the bill is better than it was. But of course, in order to cast a vote in favour of a piece of legislation, to me, at least, the test is not whether merely that it is better but that it is good enough and specifically that its positives are not outweighed by its negatives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000590\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ESo in terms of the issue that was raised by the Attorney-General, his view\u2014with which I agree, for what that\u2019s worth\u2014was that the phrase \u201Ccommunicating with\u201D was too broad in the bill as introduced at first reading. So we have now three sets of behaviour, if you like, that are prohibited under new section 13A, set out in clause 5. The first is that a person cannot be obstructed in a safe area. Well, that\u2019s already covered by existing law. The second is to make a visual recording of another person in a safe area in a way that might cause emotional distress. I do actually have sympathy with that. As I\u2019ve said, I\u2019m happy to place on record I don\u2019t believe that such behaviour is valid anywhere in New Zealand, including in this context. So, as I said, that fits in with a more general view I have about the need to protect New Zealanders\u2019 privacy in any kind of intimate situation, notwithstanding that such recording may take place in a public space.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000591\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EThen the third set of behaviour includes a provision in new section 13A(1)(i), which I still have difficulty with and I refer back to my comments in the first reading. So it would be an offence to do any of the following, including in the one particular I wish to highlight: to \u201Cadvise or persuade [person] A\u201D\u2014the one who may be accessing, providing, or assisting with providing abortion services\u2014\u201Cto refrain from accessing or providing abortion services (unless the advice or persuasion is by a person who is, with the consent of A, accompanying A)\u201D. So they have covered the consent possibility but this doesn\u2019t preclude the possibility, or doesn\u2019t exempt from the application of the bill, that the other parent, if I can use that shorthand, might wish to seek to persuade their partner, so to speak, against accessing abortion services in relation to the unborn child. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000592\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003ETo me, that remains objectionable and it is, of course, entirely possible that a person\u2014it would more typically be a male partner; not necessarily, I suppose\u2014would wish to say, and the other person might not agree, that the abortion procedure should not take place. And we are providing a pretty heavy hand of the State on that person and preventing them from doing so with a fine of up to $1,000, the commission of an offence, and the ability of that person to be taken into custody without a warrant. So I refer there to the following provision which is new section 13B \u201CPower of constable to arrest without warrant\u201D. It is pretty serious stuff and as a Parliament we should take very seriously the impinging of liberty in such areas, and I don\u2019t believe that we should legislate as lightly as it seems we are about to act in this space, bearing in mind, you know, different rights and balances that need to be struck in those areas. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000593\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EI do want to acknowledge the arguments that have been made, I think on both sides of the debate, but including by proponents of the bill, that this is not about abortion, it\u2019s not about relitigating the legislation of 2020. And I agree with that. I agree strongly that we should be considering this through the framework of rights. But nevertheless, it is. It is about abortion and the clue\u2019s in the title of the bill; the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act is the one that is being amended. So while it is true in a way to say, as a previous contributor has, that abortion is a key medical procedure, it is unique in its own terms and that was put forward as a reason to allow this as an exception to the general rule that we allow freedom of expression. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000594\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f96cdca1-b63c-4602-b2b3-276f58ebb518\u0022\u003EBut, actually, it\u2019s also unique in the sense that it\u2019s on our statute book alone as an act to end a human life without the consent of that human\u2014other than in self-defence. I\u2019m conscious that some might say that\u2019s just my view. It\u2019s also the view of science, of course, that an independent, separate, human life is involved. As I say, that\u2019s my view; others have different views. They\u2019re entitled to these, and those who hold the same view as me are also entitled to theirs. So for that reason, and with the caveats and qualifications that I\u2019ve put on it, I cannot support this bill at this, the third and final reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u002284758b756e8c43e0bb99df7abea84a39\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000595\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002284758b756e8c43e0bb99df7abea84a39\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: Members, I\u2019ve got one 10-minute call left; I have two speakers wishing to speak. So I propose to offer Karen Chhour five minutes and Dr Gaurav Sharma five minutes, but go second. So I call Karen Chhour.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u002250a7c7d136a44330937d3710ea70361c\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000596\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002250a7c7d136a44330937d3710ea70361c\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National):\u003C/span\u003E Point of order, Mr Speaker. I move that the debate be extended by 10 minutes to allow both speakers to make a 10-minute call, if they so desire. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022 data-id=\u00221447d21be58a42a8afc5674389afb84b\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000597\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a6c42c44-3622-4c9c-98b8-793fb5ec15cc\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221447d21be58a42a8afc5674389afb84b\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ian McKelvie)\u003C/span\u003E: Is there any objection? There being none, I call Karen Chhour\u201410 minutes. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002286ae9a20-33bd-4912-8dc1-5b4eb670be44\u0022 data-id=\u002264fc7be6ceac4c4383285d10f3f2bfbb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000598\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002286ae9a20-33bd-4912-8dc1-5b4eb670be44\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002264fc7be6ceac4c4383285d10f3f2bfbb\u0022\u003EKAREN CHHOUR (ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. I just wanted to take a call on this from the point of view of a parent. I have two daughters, and I would like to know that when they grow up, and if they have to make a difficult decision like this, they will feel safe and they will feel like they are not going to be intimidated, harassed, or made to feel shame for what can be a very difficult time in life.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000599\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002286ae9a20-33bd-4912-8dc1-5b4eb670be44\u0022\u003EWomen do not make these decisions lightly, but these are decisions that can affect us for the rest of our life no matter which way we decide to go. If we decide to keep a child, that\u2019s a lifetime decision. If we decide not to keep a child, that can also be a lifetime decision in our minds. We never forget; we just learn to live with the decision we\u2019ve made.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000600\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002286ae9a20-33bd-4912-8dc1-5b4eb670be44\u0022\u003EI think we hear and we see people in the public that make assumptions about a decision we\u2019re making, without the full facts of why that decision has been made. Putting your opinions on to others may be your right, but just remember: with your right comes responsibility\u2014comes the responsibility of understanding the damage that could be done to the person that you are obstructing, intimidating, and forcing your opinion on. They also have a right to make a decision about their body, about their future, and about their lives and how it affects the people around them. So we need to find a middle ground where both parties can have their right to freedom, to make a choice, and to decide how they feel about something, without interfering and without stopping one or the other\u2019s right.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000601\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002286ae9a20-33bd-4912-8dc1-5b4eb670be44\u0022\u003EI have seen the effects that this has had on some women. We have a huge mental health issue in this country. When you\u2019re dealing with a decision like this, it can affect a woman\u2019s mental health for a very long time. They can be down on themselves, they can be questioning the decision right up to the moment they walk through that door. Who are we to interfere with that? Who are we to tell this person, \u201CYou\u2019re wrong.\u201D? Who are we to ask somebody to justify their decision to a stranger\u2014to a person that has nothing to do with them?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000602\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002286ae9a20-33bd-4912-8dc1-5b4eb670be44\u0022\u003ESo I would just like to remind people: yes, you have the right to disagree with abortion. But you do not have the right to abuse my daughter, to abuse me, to abuse my future grandchildren because you don\u2019t agree with them. They have a right to freedom of movement without obstruction and without being harassed, and that\u2019s what this bill is about. It\u2019s not about the abortion; it\u2019s not about that discussion any more. It\u2019s about freedom of movement and freedom from harassment. And with that, I would like to support this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022 data-id=\u0022db9dd4aab35e4c6997e08432e95753cb\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000603\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022db9dd4aab35e4c6997e08432e95753cb\u0022\u003EDr GAURAV SHARMA (Labour\u2014Hamilton West) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E T\u0113n\u0101 koe, Mr Speaker. T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te Whare. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak on the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill. I\u2019ve been meaning to speak in the previous readings, but have not been able to due to other parliamentary commitments but also, because of the interest that other members have shown, it has been hard to get a successful call.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000604\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EI, first of all, would like to thank Louisa Wall for taking up this important cause and addressing the current gap in legislation. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000605\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EWhile I was hearing Mr David Seymour speak today, I had to look out my window and just see if the sun had risen from the east and was actually setting in the west, because it\u2019s not often that I agree with the comments he makes, but it\u2019s interesting to be on the same side of history and to be supporting this very important legislation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000606\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EI know many members today have spoken for and against this bill based on personal experiences. I want to add to this discussion, based on my own experiences as a medical professional. I know one of the speakers recently talked about pseudo-academics who were involved in this bill, so I wanted to give some real-life experiences from the ground.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000607\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EI want to start, first of all, by saying that in my time as a GP I have never met a person who has not taken the decision to have an abortion seriously. Every single patient I have seen who has wanted to access an abortion has not only spent a lot of time considering the decision but has also had support both psychologically through the clinic and also after long discussions, often with their own families.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000608\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EWhat this bill is about is providing a safe area that can be no more than 150 metres from any part of a protected facility. These safe areas are designated spaces around premises where abortions are provided, where it will now become unlawful to intimidate, obstruct, or interfere with people who are there to receive abortion care or provide it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000609\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EThis isn\u2019t just about providing protection for our w\u0101hine but it\u2019s also for our medical professionals. Many times on my own way to work in the hospital ward, and not in the abortion clinic but a medical or often a surgical ward, I had protestors harassing myself and other staff members as we just went about our normal day entering or leaving work. I want to again reiterate that these are staff members who are not working at the abortion clinic; they were just working in other parts of the hospital, and they still got harassed. Many got harassed not only at the hospital while they were coming in or going out but also online, similar to the women who are trying to access these services\u2014getting harassed not only at the spot but again online.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000610\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EIt is important that the patients have the right to access healthcare with their privacy intact and without coercion. When the bill came to the Health Committee, one of the concerns was around the right to the freedom of expression, and a lot of members today have talked about it and raised it. As a member of the Health Committee, I can assure you that the committee worked really hard to make sure that the rights to freedom and the rights of patients were balanced. This is why clause 5 inserts new section 13A, which removed the definitions of \u201Cprohibited behaviour\u201D and \u201Cprotected person\u201D, and specifically [Audio cut] the types of behaviour that would be prohibited in a safe area. In addition to this, there was a provision made that if the patient gave their consent, that a person could carry out any of these specific prohibited activities while the patient was there, it was OK.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000611\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EWe also heard from people who talked about praying for patients while they are accessing these abortion services. A lot of these people were actually very well meaning. I definitely agree with the power of prayer, but I say to these people that you don\u2019t need to be 150 metres away from the hospital to pray for someone; you can sit at home and still pray for someone and their wellbeing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000612\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003EFinally, I want to say to those who are worried about the right to freedom that the decision to make regulations creating a safe area would be made on the recommendation of the Ministry of Health in consultation with the Minister of Justice. The specific size and exact location of the area would be determined on a case by case basis as appropriate for that individual facility. So what this does, then, is that the bill has a provision to make sure that our medical professionals can go to work without having to be harassed; that our w\u0101hine can actually access healthcare in a dignified manner while having their privacy protected, like any other medical procedure, all the while making sure that the right to freedom of expression is minimally, if at all, limited.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000613\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002234ec4a4e-60bd-4a4d-b211-10f9324db3ac\u0022\u003ESo, with that, I want to commend Louisa Wall for bringing this very important bill to the House and I would like to highly recommend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca id=\u00227a00e64a3a324aba9162ffec6c685513\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 Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion (Safe Areas) Amendment Bill be now read a third time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003EAyes 108\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp class=\u0022HpsDivision\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsItem\u0022\u003ENew Zealand Labour 62 (Allan, Andersen, Ardern, Belich, Bennett G, Boyack, Brooking, Chen, Clark, Coffey, Craig, Davis, Eagle, Edmonds, Faafoi, Halbert, Henare, Henderson, Hipkins, Jackson, Leary, Lewis, Little, Lorck, Lubeck, Luxton, Mahuta, Mallard, McAnulty, McLellan, Nash, Ngobi, O\u2019Connor D, O\u2019Connor G, Omer, Pallett, Parker, Prime, Radhakrishnan, Roberts, Robertson, Rurawhe, Russell, Salesa, Sepuloni, Sharma, Sio, Tinetti, Tirikatene, Twyford, Utikere, Verrall, Wall, Walters, Warren-Clark, Webb, Whaitiri, White, Williams A, Williams P, Wood, Woods); New Zealand National 24 (Bayly, Bennett D, Bishop, Bridges, Brownlee, Collins, Dean, Doocey, Goldsmith, Grigg, Kuriger, Luxon, McClay, McKelvie, Mitchell, Mooney, Muller, Reti, Simpson, Smith S, Stanford, van de Molen, Watts, Willis); Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 10; ACT New Zealand 10; Te Paati M\u0101ori 2.\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 Labour 3 (Kanongata\u2019a-Suisuiki, Leavasa, Strange); New Zealand National 9 (Brown, Hipango, Lee, O\u2019Connor S, Penk, Pugh, Simmonds, Upston, Woodhouse).\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=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000614\u0022\u003EBill read a third time. \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=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000615\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00229ac4973770844efcb4b378644599047d\u0022\u003EBiosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000616\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022013a71bb0da1409c92b7a9c37ed857e2\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000617\u0022\u003EDebate resumed from 2 March.\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022 data-id=\u002271f55cb4677449b1a06c74aed33883c6\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000618\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u002271f55cb4677449b1a06c74aed33883c6\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR (National\u2014T\u0101maki):\u003C/span\u003E Sorry, I was expecting that someone else was going to complete their call rather than jumping straight into it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000619\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003ELook, the biosecurity information bill, it\u2019s been well traversed in a number of ways.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000620\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022d793291e68b54ffdbbf2526e7222cc44\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: Tell us some more.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000621\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00222741896b1bbb4ac3ab37e9a548bb7061\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: Well, we could, but, you know, it could be an element of security.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000622\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00227e22bb95-9afb-449c-bcd2-de9fd4f2277c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022e8becad5229d4ffc87782bf03fb0e752\u0022\u003EDavid Seymour\u003C/span\u003E: What does the bill say? \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000623\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022664db675cca04d089179e7b51f6fc582\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: Well, Mr Seymour, it begins with the definite article \u201Cthe\u201D, so it\u2019s probably useful for you, and we can move on from there. Look, National\u2019s well traversed this bill. Put really simply, it\u2019s about\u2014I suppose part of the reason I\u2019m struggling is it\u2019s a good bill\u2014 \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000624\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002290ea1538-43e8-4257-bd80-df3ccd1e5f27\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cc1d2c46e1e44fe0bf9b71a7de2597e7\u0022\u003EHon Kris Faafoi\u003C/span\u003E: You started.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000625\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022f5983d735e644130ac8e0dd0fc39987f\u0022\u003ESIMON O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: \u2014in its intention. No, I know I do, but in fact, it\u2019s so exceedingly simple that all it\u2019s really doing is asking that biosecurity information be provided across multiple mediums at the border. That\u2019s a good thing. I really want to say that to the person putting forward the bill and to the House. But as I say, part of the reason I\u2019ve been hesitating tonight is that really there isn\u2019t too much more to it than that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000626\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225b6b1d74-9e5e-42ba-a922-85b0ea7f5ab6\u0022\u003EI suppose it does highlight to us in the House an aspect of why these things were missed, if you will, in the first place. I suppose it\u2019s a humble option for all of us to reflect on the fact that, you know, even with the best of intentions, the work of ourselves and officials and others, things can slip through. So this is, again, a good bill. It\u2019s fixing up a particular aspect that needs tidying. Being able to have information around the biosecurity of New Zealand presented both visually and aurally makes a lot of sense, so that it extends that protocol, that it tidies things up\u2014that\u2019s a really, really positive thing. And hopefully it\u2019s a no-brainer to people in the House that we want to continue to protect our biosecurity. We\u2019ve had issues in the past, we\u2019ll have issues in the future, and to the extent that this bill enables our biosecurity to improve, I\u2019m delighted to therefore commend it to the House. Oh, and if in the spirit of this, it had been in both forms, I\u2019m more than happy to provide a written copy of my speech, as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022 data-id=\u00228c0de28d7676404f8f02a9a5f3e6c003\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000627\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00228c0de28d7676404f8f02a9a5f3e6c003\u0022\u003EJO LUXTON (Labour\u2014Rangitata) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Mr Speaker. This is my first time speaking in the hybrid House, so it\u2019s quite a different feeling, actually. But, actually, it\u2019s a pleasure to take a call on the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Amendment Bill, and there\u2019s far more to it than what the previous speaker, Simon O\u2019Connor, has alluded to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000628\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003ECan I congratulate my colleague again, Steph Lewis, for having this bill drawn out of the ballot, and I want to acknowledge the work of the committee and the submitters, which has resulted in some changes that the select committee proposes to this bill that I will come to a little bit later on. I\u2019d also really like to acknowledge my colleague Kiritapu Allan. I was in her office having a meeting with Horticulture New Zealand when this issue arose. We heard that it was currently only optional to provide passengers with information about our biosecurity arrangements, and I think we were all actually really, really surprised by that. So from that, the idea for this bill was born, and I know that Horticulture New Zealand was absolutely thrilled when it was pulled out of the ballot.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000629\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EThis bill seeks to amend the Biosecurity Act 1993, and while it\u2019s not a large bill, the importance of it is huge. It will strengthen our biosecurity system and protect our primary industries, our environment, and our way of life. Doing everything to protect our environment\u2014it\u2019s paramount. Our beautiful, natural environment, it\u2019s world renowned. It\u2019s what attracts tourists to our shores. They want to experience and enjoy all that New Zealand has to offer. It\u2019s quite upsetting to know that more than 3,000 of our native species are in serious trouble or at risk of extinction, and these are native to New Zealand, they\u2019re our taonga, and in order to ensure that future generations can also experience and enjoy our native environment, incoming passengers do need to be aware of what their role is to protect our environment. As we open up our borders and welcome friends from overseas back here, it will be particularly important to remind them.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000630\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EOur primary sector has been at the forefront of our economic recovery from COVID-19, and so it\u2019s got to be protected\u2014tight biosecurity is crucial. Mid-Canterbury farmers in my electorate are now producing nearly half of the world\u2019s carrot, beet, and hybrid radish seed. Close to 90 percent of the $240 million of seed and grain exported by New Zealand growers comes from there, and the impact of an unwanted pest would just be catastrophic to our local economy regionally and nationwide. We\u2019ve seen the devastating impacts of Mycoplasma bovis amongst our cattle and dairy herds in my electorate and in areas such as Ashburton. It\u2019s been a severe impact from that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000631\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s not just the toll that it takes on our animals but it\u2019s the toll that it takes on farmers and other people that are involved, and the impact on mental health. Equally, our horticultural sector could be impacted if pests were able to make their way here, and that would also have catastrophic effects on our export and our economy. So again, I say that we must do everything possible to protect our primary industries. It only takes one small pest or disease to enter New Zealand and the result is devastating. So again, a small bill, as Mr Simon O\u2019Connor alluded to, but hugely important.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000632\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EAs I mentioned before, after hearing submissions and receiving advice, the committee has made some proposed changes to the bill just to ensure that the integrity and the purpose of the bill is maintained. The committee proposes a change to the commencement date, which amends clause 2. As introduced, the bill will come into force after the day that it receives Royal assent, but the committee was aware that having a set date for the commencement could be too prescriptive. The ministry and industry representatives probably need to have some flexibility to respond to issues that could arise and interfere with their ability to have everything in place on time\u2014disruptions like COVID, for example. The committee recommended instead that it come into force on a date specified by Order in Council or 12 months after the bill receives Royal assent, whichever comes first.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000633\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EAs the bill was introduced, it was quite prescriptive that the person in charge of the craft had to provide biosecurity information to people on board in written and audiovisual form. The committee heard that that could create some logistical issues for aircraft, where weight and space restrictions are extremely important. Submitters also highlighted that moving away from paper-based information will help aircraft reduce their carbon footprint. So the committee therefore recommended amending clause 4 in proposed new section 17AA, subsections (2)(a) and (2)(b) that describes how the biosecurity information is presented, and instead create secondary legislation regulations that stipulate that the person in charge of the aircraft must provide biosecurity information to passengers before arriving in New Zealand. It doesn\u2019t specify exactly how and what format, so it does allow some flexibility for this to happen and also to be able to be changed fairly quickly, which is quite important for the needs around biosecurity when we have threats and incursions that create those changes, or the information needs to be changed fairly quickly. It also gives the Ministry for Primary Industries the time and the ability to consult with airlines and others that will be impacted by this bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000634\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EWe had lots of discussion around the different types of craft that enter New Zealand. So, as introduced, in clause 4, the bill required all craft coming to New Zealand to provide biosecurity information. That ended up being more than what we might typically think of when we think about craft entering New Zealand. We tend to think about aeroplanes and cruise ships and the like, but actually, when you get down into the weeds of it, aircraft such as air ambulance and donor organ retrieval flights would be captured within the bill. So, practically, that didn\u2019t make sense because types of craft and fishing vessels and cargo ships, etc., already have a high level of compliance with biosecurity measures. So I think that what the bill was trying to target was those passenger vessels, as mentioned before, and passenger planes and, say, the cruise ships with lots of people and generally associated with bringing tourists into the country.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000635\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003ESo we worked through that and made changes to narrow the scope to include commercial passenger craft with 20 or more passengers on board. So we replaced the term \u201Ccraft\u201D with \u201Clarge commercial craft\u201D. Now, the committee also heard that the biosecurity risks are lower on craft that carry 20 or fewer passengers because they have more interaction with ministry inspectors on arrival. As introduced, the bill required a person on board to receive biosecurity information, so that also meant that crew would also be captured, meaning that biosecurity information would have to be provided to the crew every time. So we decided that that was pretty unnecessary and decided to agree to change the persons on board to \u201Cpassengers\u201D. So again, I want to thank those that made submissions. It was evident from those that this bill is very important to them for one reason or another. It is of paramount importance to protect our environment, our primary sector, and our economy. So I am pleased that this bill and the proposed amendments to it were agreed to unanimously by the select committee. Again, I just want to thank and acknowledge Steph Lewis for bringing this bill to the House, and I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000636\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EMotion agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000637\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002226b88bf1-f634-40e7-8019-e75cc483ace7\u0022\u003EBill read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022HpsHansard\u0022\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsProceedingHeading\u0022\u003EBills\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000638\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubjectHeading\u0022 id=\u00226763a95ab41b4b08989c19cd0ee9618d\u0022\u003EUnit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000639\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsSubproceedingHeading\u0022 id=\u0022a0f4a6d4ad1e4589bb90550818b15652\u0022\u003ESecond Reading\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022 data-id=\u00227d8da59ff0284b688e31cc02b8195f11\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000640\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00227d8da59ff0284b688e31cc02b8195f11\u0022\u003ENICOLA WILLIS (Deputy Leader\u2014National):\u003C/span\u003E I move, That the Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill be now read a second time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000641\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EIn this Parliament, we have different types of legislation. Some of it is things that make profound and significant changes that fundamentally change something. Other times, what we do is we modernise and update and incrementally improve the law as it stands. This bill falls into that latter category.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000642\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EIt is a member\u2019s bill, and I want to acknowledge that it is unusual to have a member\u2019s bill of such technical matters, and actually, of such complexity as we have in this bill. I want to acknowledge Government members for supporting this member\u2019s bill in a way that I think has been very constructive and collaborative, because it matters. The reason we need to modernise unit titles law in New Zealand is that we have far more people today living in multi-dwelling housing arrangements than we did when the Unit Titles Act was first enacted.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000643\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EActually, we want to continue to encourage more New Zealanders to feel confident about choosing this style of housing. That\u2019s because we are, now, in New Zealand, one of the least affordable places in the world to own a home. I have given many other speeches in this House about why that is, and what the underlying causes of that are. But certainly I think we can agree across the Parliament that one of the solutions to increasing the choices and options of the kind of housing there\u2019ll be available to New Zealanders is to encourage higher-density housing in our urban areas and to ensure that New Zealanders are readily able to choose that kind of housing when it suits their circumstances.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000644\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EHowever, at the moment, there\u2019s a lot of people who are very scared about buying an apartment. This bill is about making it less risky for them and taking away some of their fears. Furthermore, there are a lot of people who aren\u2019t just concerned about the buying process and what might or could go wrong during that process. There are a lot of people who are concerned that once they live in an apartment or a multi-dwelling block, they will be constrained by difficulties in the bodies corporate and all sorts of challenges in how shared property will be arranged. So this bill is a very good step forward in addressing some of those concerns.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000645\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s a bill which, I think, has had many mothers. So I want to acknowledge, in particular, the Hon Nikki Kaye, who, as the Auckland Central MP at the time, picked up the need for reform in this area. She had many apartment dwellers living in her electorate who pressed home to her how important it was that this law be modernised. She picked up reforms that had been canvassed through a review in 2016 that had been conducted by the ministry of business and progressed them in this member\u2019s bill. The member\u2019s bill has also been in the name of Judith Collins, then National\u2019s housing spokesperson, and I have willingly taken it up.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000646\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EThe bill, essentially, does five big groups of things. It has a better disclosure regime for buyers, with the intention that they be able to access and have confidence that they will get the information relevant to their property before they offer on it. It improves the governance of bodies corporate; it improves the regulation of body corporate managers and ensures professional standards apply; it puts better rules around long-term maintenance planning; and it improves dispute resolution practices.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000647\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EIt\u2019s a bill that has been much enhanced by the select committee process. I want to thank the 85 submitters who submitted on the bill, and the officials who helped us work through the issues that they raised. We had a range of experts submit, many who\u2019d lived in apartments themselves, others who\u2019d been tied up in litigation or legal disputes arising in part from the poorly drafted law, and some individuals had terrible stories of what had gone wrong for them, for what they saw as inadequacies in our current unit titles regime. We also had brought to bear people with international experience who were able to provide us some comparison with how behind the pace New Zealand\u2019s unit titles regime has become relative to other countries. The submissions varied in terms of the areas that they focused on. There were a range of views, but broadly, there was consensus about the need for greater transparency, greater accountability, and protection of unit title owners.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000648\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EThe select committee made a range of changes. They\u2019re detailed very well in the select committee report. I would encourage those interested in this debate and these issues to read that report thoroughly. I would summarise the judgments that were made as this: that the balance must be struck\u2014it was the view of the committee\u2014between ensuring that those who are purchasing a property in a unit title arrangement or living in a unit title arrangement have their rights and interests protected and are able to access good amounts of information, balancing that set of rights with the need, also, not to create such a cumbersome and bureaucratic regime that, in itself, it puts people off this kind of living. Striking that balance, as you\u2019ll appreciate, is challenging and involves some nuanced judgments. So the committee, I think, would join me in my gratitude towards the officials for helping us work through some of that balancing act and the resulting changes that came out of it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000649\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EHowever, as is often the way with these things, having published our select committee report, I have gone and engaged further with people living in apartments or who are experts. They have highlighted for me three residual issues, which I believe and hope we, as a House, can continue to collaborate on to make this an even better bill in the committee of the whole House. I wish to signal that I will be putting forward three further amendments. I have written to the Minister to highlight that I would like to work with her and her officials on these, if possible. Those three issues are, first, around the disclosure regime. Now, this is an area where there are conveyancing lawyers who have a range of opinions. I would summarise where they have come to is saying that they share the intent of the officials, but they do not believe that the drafting, as it currently stands, adequately meets their intentions. I understand that behind the scenes they have been meeting with Government officials to explain and further understand those concerns. I would simply ask that the Minister gives mind to that and that we consider whether further technical amendment is needed in this area.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000650\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EThe second key issue is around remediation reports. Now, it was noted by some stakeholders following our select committee report that, actually, we should be quite specific about the fact that people buying an apartment should be able to access, as of right, any remediation reports that have been produced. I find myself in favour of that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000651\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EFinally, we had quite a debate about proxy voting. This was about limiting the number of proxies a person can hold and exercise in a body corporate. The bill in its original form is, as it was brought to this House, sought to limit those proxies. Now, some submitters said\u2014and this is a debate that will be familiar to members of this House who have taken part in political committees and other groups where proxies are exercised. Others said, \u201CLook, it\u2019s going to be very hard to make quorum if proxies aren\u2019t enabled in the way that they have been previously.\u201D We did, in this process, seek to alleviate that by allowing unit title holders to direct and specify how their proxy vote would be cast on their behalf. However, I have had it put to me by people with direct experience that they believe as a committee we did underweight the reality of proxy farming as it stands, and its ability to subvert the democratic process when it comes to the governing of bodies corporate. I propose that we do continue to progress some limits to proxy voting, and I will be putting forward an amendment to achieve that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000652\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003EI want to acknowledge Chl\u00F6e Swarbrick who, as the member for Auckland Central, has taken a particular interest in this bill, carrying it on from the Hon Nikki Kaye, who previously had shown such an interest in it. This has been a truly collaborative cross-parliamentary process, the drafting of this law. I want to thank the Minister for her generosity in providing her officials to the committee. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022 data-id=\u00226664b0e1ddce41348e14df8a3a52d9d9\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000653\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00226664b0e1ddce41348e14df8a3a52d9d9\u0022\u003EDr DUNCAN WEBB (Labour\u2014Christchurch Central) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Kia ora, Madam Speaker. Thank you for this. It\u2019s a real pleasure to speak on this bill. It is, as the member said, an important bill. It might be seen as more of a tidy up, but I think its importance can\u2019t be understated because we really need to make sure that people who purchase homes which are in unit titles can do so with a degree of confidence, and with as few costs as possible, and that those homes are properly kept and maintained in the housing stock. That\u2019s, I think, what this bill seeks to do.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000654\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003ELook, as chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee, which looked at this, I\u2019m surprised that the member\u2019s coming up with some more amendments by way of Supplementary Order Paper, but I\u2019m sure they\u2019ll be looked at very, very carefully indeed. Look, all members around the table had a lot of input. As a central city MP myself, I was very interested in unit titles, and I know that Helen White also took a significant interest in exactly how we can make, essentially, apartment dwelling and living in a more compact way more efficient and effective. The committee did give the bill a good old working over, I must say, and there was some, as Nicola Willis alluded to, some really important debates.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000655\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003EI\u2019m going to go to proxy voting first. There are a number of things I want to talk about, if I get a chance, but I actually want to talk about proxy voting because she has raised it, and this spectre of proxy farming was identified. Now, in another life, I\u2019ve had a fair bit to do with unit titles, and I know that the politics of unit titles can be almost as fierce as the politics of this place. But I struggle with a rule which refuses the right of one person to give their decision-making power to another, should they choose to do so. If I have a trusted adviser or friend, or even a trusted committee member, or a trusted manager, then why can I not let them exercise my vote on my behalf? Now, I accept that unit titles, as with any neighbour dispute\u2014disputes in unit titles can be fierce, and people can feel that the process was wrong when they don\u2019t get the outcome they want. But I\u2019m not sure that proxy voting, or restricting the amount of proxy voting, is the way to address that. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000656\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003EIn committee, we did look at this, and it went to and fro\u2014one of the joys of virtual Parliament is I can see Chl\u00F6e Swarbrick quite clearly taking notes, and I\u2019m sure she\u2019ll have something to say on this. But what we did do is something quite important and that is address two things: remote voting is one\u2014the ability of unit title holders, who couldn\u2019t otherwise make the meeting, to attend a meeting remotely and vote remotely\u2014and also to vote in advance, electronically, perhaps by email. And the third thing was to give a proxy to a third party but direct how that proxy is exercised. So they\u2019ve seen the motion, and they have made clear that it\u2019s to be voted for or against, so it\u2019s a very limited proxy. So I think proxy farming, the idea that somehow it\u2019s illegitimate to go out and get votes for a particular course of action\u2014even if we accept that, I think there\u2019s a really substantial set of things which address that in the bill itself.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000657\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003EOne of the other things that we did was look at body corporate managers\u2014because, of course, many bodies corporate, simply by dint of their complexity, need a manager\u2014and that places the body corporate owners at something of a vulnerability. So whilst the original bill wanted, essentially, to require industry membership, or membership of an industry organisation\u2014a professional body of some sort\u2014we thought that that was going to be difficult given the fact that there was no real industry organisation that was quite suitable at the present time, and we didn\u2019t think it was appropriate in a member\u2019s bill to construct one from scratch. So, rather, we went down the road of a code of conduct. We thought that it was quite appropriate to impose a code of conduct on body corporate managers to make clear what their obligations were, and, essentially, to give rights to unit title holders if they overstep the mark. Obviously, things like conflict of interest and due diligence and those kinds of things are going to be critical as well.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000658\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003EOne of the other things we looked at was long-term maintenance plans. When you\u2019re digging in here it might sound very dull and unimportant but, I can assure you, thank you\u2014I can see you again, Chl\u00F6e\u2014but when your roof is leaking and no one has put money aside and it\u2019s a $100,000 or $200,000 job, you get pretty excited about it. So it is really important. For myself, I was a bit sceptical of the ability to opt out of long-term maintenance plans but, once again, if you\u2019re a body corporate and you want to opt out of having them, it\u2019s a big call but over to the owners, ultimately. But what we did do was recognise that there\u2019s a kind of distinction between a long long-term maintenance plan\u201430 years\u2014and sort of the immediate long-term of 10 years. In 10 years you can have, essentially, a schedule of maintenance, but in 30 years, what you\u2019re going to say is out there we expect we will be re-roofing, or re-cladding, or whatever it might be. So it\u2019s a different kind of plan. The first requires a lot more detail; the other ones are high level.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000659\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003EI\u2019ll just touch on, if I can, one other area, because it was, in fact, new to the bill, and that\u2019s around the role of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), because, at the moment, if there\u2019s a problem in a body corporate, it\u2019s up to the body corporate members to fix that problem, or to litigate, or to go through a dispute resolution process. In some of these large bodies corporate, that may not work. There may be absentee owners, or the owners simply don\u2019t have the wherewithal to do that. So, essentially, MBIE has been given some enforcement powers, including the power to request documents. The one that we really wrestled with, and we really did, was a power to enter. I can say that the committee members, and I think we were pretty much all one here, were concerned about a power to enter. So that power to enter, to see whether the Act is being complied with, will only exist by order of a Tenancy Tribunal. I think that\u2019s a really good protection, to have a sort of quasi-judicial oversight, because, particularly for entry into a residential property, I think the threshold should be set very high, and I think we probably got it about right there.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000660\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003ESo this is a really, really important bill. There is a lot in it. The material around disclosure is going to be important, and there was a significant discussion around how it would work in conveyancing terms, particularly with the later disclosure\u2014the ability to cancel or not for non-disclosure. Now, there\u2019s pre-contract disclosure\u2014the kind of pack that you get when you sign the contract\u2014and then, just prior to handing your money, there is the immediate disclosure, or the pre-settlement disclosure. Now, that\u2019s usually an update, and we thought whilst you could defer settlement if you didn\u2019t get it in a timely manner, we didn\u2019t think it appropriate to have a cancellation right in there. So that\u2019s maybe something that the member will be asking us to have another look at. But, certainly, it\u2019s an important point to make sure that people get the right information and that they can look through it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000661\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003EThe idea was to simplify the disclosure process. Again, it\u2019s about cost, because putting that documentation together, the original bill, I think, was a little onerous. It required too much of the seller of a body corporate, and that\u2019s just another transaction cost which will drive the price up, string out a settlement process, and make it more difficult for these really important housing units to be bought and sold.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000662\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003ESo, look, this is an example of the House coming together effectively to try and improve something\u2014another little piece of the puzzle of housing in New Zealand. I\u2019m really happy. You can see that there\u2019s probably going to be some debate yet to come. If we make the bill better that\u2019s good, but I\u2019m happy to say that I think the Finance and Expenditure Committee did an absolutely fantastic job and worked really hard with officials on making this bill as good as it possibly can be.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000663\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f7fc7ac3-5ce1-43ca-8cd6-dbb0941bf3ae\u0022\u003ESo kia ora. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I commend this to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u0022f6735dd5d5e1457fab1511c354c1186a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000664\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022f6735dd5d5e1457fab1511c354c1186a\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: The question is that the motion be agreed to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022 data-id=\u0022a5851b5aed1b48eeb0e72bbf7ce84c88\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000665\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022a5851b5aed1b48eeb0e72bbf7ce84c88\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP (National):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and it\u2019s a pleasure to take my first call as National\u2019s new housing spokesperson on a bill that I won\u2019t pretend to have had anything to do with, but I do want to acknowledge the very hard work of Nicola Willis, who has the custody of this bill, but also Judith Collins, who I see is in the House tonight. The former National housing spokesperson who introduced this bill was the Hon Nikki Kaye, who did all the sort of heavy lifting on it as a member\u2019s bill back in 2016 and 2017 at the tail end of the last National Government. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000666\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022f12da0af-dc73-4870-8f77-1d50a75eb44c\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022949ca44d9f2845dfb276c691bad74bbf\u0022\u003ENicola Willis\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, they were better days.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000667\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022fc263e282ae64ca59a84eed9cefd3260\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Oh, they were glory days\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000668\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022cee2093388a348599883d493a037fbc6\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: Glory days.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000669\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002230872fc4179b46c0881d014e22bd4329\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: They were glory days. It\u2019s just one of those lessons, I suppose, that good things take time. And a real example of building support within a particular community and going away and doing the research, which Nikki Kaye did as local MP for Auckland Central\u2014I remember she ran the apartment blues session and a lot of people told their stories, in some cases horror stories, of owning and living in apartments, and then she worked with the sector and developed a bill. And, like many members\u2019 bills that attempt to deal with complicated areas of law, it wasn\u2019t probably perfect when it first turned up, but now it\u2019s been introduced and sent to the Finance and Expenditure Committee, and it\u2019s come back in better shape. And so here we are in early 2022 considering it, and I understand that there\u2019s further changes proposed by the member, and we\u2019ll wait and see whether or not they meet with the support of the House. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000670\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EBut I do want to say that today\u2019s member\u2019s day is really an example of Parliament at its best because we\u2019ve just had the debate on the abortion legislation, the safe areas bill, and as David Seymour noted, that is an example of a bill that again wasn\u2019t in a particularly great shape when it first came into the Parliament. It was sent to the committee. It\u2019s been fixed. It\u2019s now met with near unanimous support of the Parliament over an extended period of time. And this is another example where perhaps not perfect when introduced, but a good start addressing a serious issue or a series of issues, improved by a committee, where a committee put their head down and really got on with the job. And I want to acknowledge Duncan Webb, who I understand is a pretty fair and good chair of the Finance and Expenditure Committee. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000671\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EJust in passing, I will say that the treatment of the abortion bill and also this unit titles bill stands in contradistinction to the treatment of my bill, which is the lawyers and conveyancers bill, which went to the Justice Committee and met with unanimous support of the Parliament at first reading, and there was no good faith attempt by anyone to improve the bill and work together with the officials to\u2014\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000672\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b33a7e75b8a94683a84312f3ea10d9bc\u0022\u003EKieran McAnulty\u003C/span\u003E: Sour grapes.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000673\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022eb71c90df01545e29e6fd9cf5ef04eb7\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Well, it is sour grapes. I\u2019m annoyed about it because politics has got in the way of access to justice, and Labour members will have to justify on the campaign trail in 18 months\u2019 time why they have disenfranchised 8,000 lawyers from doing pro-bono legal work who want to do work. So, I mean, good luck with that if you want to defend that. Good luck to you, but I think you\u2019ll struggle to explain why 8,000 lawyers are prohibited from doing pro-bono legal work on the basis that Labour members don\u2019t like me very much. OK, that\u2019s cool. You can do that. But maybe, maybe they like Nicola Willis and Judith Collins more; maybe not.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000674\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022a1f7bbd1-b6ae-41c0-963b-dbe1251f5540\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002294ba84742ed842bd87f979281a9b13cf\u0022\u003EKieran McAnulty\u003C/span\u003E: That\u2019s not true.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000675\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223d68eb8df938445b974d7125f4850ebc\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Oh \u201CThat\u2019s not true.\u201D, says Kieran. See, we play in the parliamentary cricket team, and I know that Kieran thinks I\u2019m all right, but maybe his colleagues don\u2019t. But anyway, that was really just an aside, and he\u2019s right. I do have sour grapes about it, but that\u2019s OK. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000676\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EThis this is an important vote. My first home\u2014[Interruption] What was that?\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000677\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229054ffbdb3b74bd79fb78dd2894d4c72\u0022\u003EHon Member\u003C/span\u003E: He\u2019s 12th man.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000678\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00223cc959b5412944a7bdd8d701a1115b51\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Well, he\u2019s actually our best player, so we can\u2019t make him the 12th man. [Interruption] I\u2019m trying to be nice. We never got that coffee earlier today that we had after a little t\u00EAte-\u00E1-t\u00EAte with the Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000679\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u00229f3382fecb0f431ea250198f3c6ec7b3\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: I remind the member to come back to the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000680\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u002294994ec3107c454eb1676c117496e96b\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: We can go for a coffee too, Madam Speaker. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000681\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b3812f32a83c40b79c0238c63066a10a\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: Order! Order! Thank you. Back to the bill.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000682\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022b05a4401f19943a6b80388fd769b1f80\u0022\u003ECHRIS BISHOP\u003C/span\u003E: Anyway, I was going to tell you, Madam Speaker, and Mr McAnulty, about my first house or apartment\u2014you know, my first home, which was an apartment. And like many New Zealanders, I bought my first home in my mid-twenties and I couldn\u2019t afford a house. I was living in Auckland at the time and I could see house prices going up. And like many Kiwis, you want to get on the property ladder and you don\u2019t want to miss out; you\u2019ve got FOMO, fear of missing out, and that drives a lot of price increases. This was back in 2013 and the first home I could afford was an apartment and I bought an apartment in Ponsonby. I can testify to the House that the prospect of owning an apartment did scare me, because you do hear the horror stories\u2014you do. You read about people who buy apartments and it all looks great when you first turn up and you buy into the body corporate, and then a year later, you find that you\u2019re up for the lift, which has broken down and no one has put aside the money to upgrade it. And you\u2019re stung with a 15 grand bill, and when you\u2019ve just bought the apartment, you probably don\u2019t have that much spare cash lying around. So you do read these stories.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000683\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003EAnd many people listening, although I suspect there\u2019s not that many at this time of night, but people listening in Wellington will know of stories in Wellington and Auckland that are very similar to that. But the critical point is this: we need more apartments, we need more apartments built, and we need more apartments that people live in. And we want people to have confidence to be able to buy an apartment, not necessarily even for their first home. There are many older New Zealanders who move out of the big three and four bedroom house with the picket fence in the suburbs because it\u2019s too big for them. The kids have left home and they want to downsize, and actually there are many older New Zealanders for whom a nice one or two bedroom apartment in the city is something they want to move to. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000684\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002257e41e9d-285b-4fb3-847d-a63820ae7137\u0022\u003ESo the critical point is we need a range of housing types. We do need the suburban greenfields housing houses and we do need the medium and high density townhouses in and around public transport corridors and spines, and we do need apartments in the CBD. And I, for one, would like to see more apartments in Auckland and more apartments in Wellington, because it\u2019s ultimately by getting greater variety of housing types and greater housing supply that we will start to grapple and tackle our housing challenges. And so this bill\u2019s aim of promoting confidence in apartment buying, and particularly bodies corporate, is extremely important. I look forward to the debate as it progresses and as National\u2019s new spokesperson, I\u2019ll be participating in that debate. Thank you very much, Madam Speaker, and I look forward to this bill progressing further.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022 data-id=\u00220f8b22e2901342189a942ca592d99fe7\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000685\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220f8b22e2901342189a942ca592d99fe7\u0022\u003EANNA LORCK (Labour\u2014Tukituki) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise as a member of the Finance and Expenditure Committee in support of the second reading of the Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. I\u2019d like to acknowledge not only the member whose name is on the bill, Nicola Willis, but also my colleague Helen White, who has in my opinion picked up much of the real work in making this a better bill. She has helped us get to the result we see in the second reading today. I\u2019m looking forward to hearing Helen White speak on the many parts she has driven as a city-based Auckland MP with many of her constituents living in apartments and coming to talk to her about their issues.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000686\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003EThis has been a very large piece of work. When it started at our committee, it started with our member Nicola Willis, who was on the Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC) at the time. Then she left, and then we had Chris Luxon, and then he left, and then came along Simon Bridges, but only for short time, and now he\u2019s left too. I would like to wish him very well in his future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000687\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003ENow the member whose name was on the bill is coming back, and I do wish her well in her new role as well today. She may also be returning to our great select committee, which is chaired by Duncan Webb, who has highlighted some of the real challenges that this better bill [Audio failure]\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000688\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003EI would also like to acknowledge my colleague Barbara Edmonds, who chaired the [Audio failure] through all-day submissions from Auckland. It was an excellent and efficient day, I must say.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000689\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003EAs a regional MP, I have to admit that when I first started working on this bill, I was not as passionate as many of the city-based MPs, and much of this has been brought about by these multi-storey - plus high apartment buildings in Auckland and other cities. So it was much to my delight when I found we would be hearing from a submitter from my own electorate of Tukituki, from Frimley Lifestyle Village in Hastings. The submission aims to highlight a villa; a single-storey, village that comprises 66 villas, made up of 23 duplexes and 20 single units. We heard that in a development like Frimley Village, there are no common spaces like lifts or stairs, and they raised specific concerns, including the requirement for a body corporate manager to engage professional experts and to have a long-term maintenance fund.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000690\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003EThey argued that they had already made the longstanding decision to retain in the village all functions of managing the development. Now, that\u2019s not to say that they might not, if they choose, engage professional assistance to help from time to time. The same could be said, as they raised in their submission, about having the unnecessary costs of having, say, a professional surveyor or engineer. Now, I\u2019m pleased to say as the local MP on the FEC that had this submission, they were listened to. I have also been able to follow up with the chair of Frimley Village, actually today when I spoke to Trevor Helson and thanked him for making the submission. He had actually been able to make strong submissions that we listened to.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000691\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003ENow, in the bill, we have, in the second reading, an opt-out provision, which would allow flexibility to manage their own affairs as they see fit.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000692\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003EIn cities like Hastings, where we are seeing more density of housing, going up, not out, as part of the place-based housing being proposed, I believe there will be situations where this amended bill will have important protections for unit title holders. And we will be seeing this happen more in the regions. So as a provincial MP I am pleased to have participated in this legislative process, and how relevant it will be for growing regions like Hawke\u2019s Bay in the future.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000693\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003EThe main purposes of the bill being introduced tonight in the second reading are: improving information available to prospective unit buyers, strengthening body corporate governance arrangements, increasing the standards of the body corporate managers, ensuring that unit title development adequately plans for and funds long-term maintenance projects, and strengthens the dispute resolution process.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000694\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00224b53c8fa-5ba4-4150-98be-dd23e49cf0bb\u0022\u003EHousing is a huge issue for everybody. We want to have great homes, a range of different living options, and a modern, bright future for everyone. I am very proud to speak to this and to acknowledge Frimley Lifestyle Village in my speech tonight. I commend the bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u0022fd0bbf175b064ad9b8c72f110b315fdc\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000695\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022fd0bbf175b064ad9b8c72f110b315fdc\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: Before I call the next speaker, I\u2019d like to remind all the members in the House to keep the interjections and the noise down. One of the reasons why there was a period of time when we couldn\u2019t hear the member who was giving her speech via Zoom was because it was picking up the noise from this House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022 data-id=\u0022c078492ee7e240fca06c40af34bc48e3\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000696\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022c078492ee7e240fca06c40af34bc48e3\u0022\u003ECHL\u00D6E SWARBRICK (Green\u2014Auckland Central) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E E te M\u0101ngai, t\u0113n\u0101 koe. T\u0113n\u0101 koe e te Whare. I want to start by acknowledging Nicola Willis, who, as she herself stated, initially inherited this bill from the Hon Judith Collins and the Hon Nikki Kaye, my predecessor in Auckland Central. Nicola has done a stellar job in stewarding this through Parliament and the politics, I might add, associated since then. And I want to thank her for her willingness to collaborate with me, and, actually, for her work as well with the Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) in seeking to improve what might seem a very niche and nerdy law but impacts hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders\u2019 lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000697\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003ESuch is a sign of the times: I am giving my first ever virtual speech in the Chamber whilst isolating as a household contact in my apartment in Auckland Central, in the same way that I had the privilege of working with the Body Corporate Chairs\u2019 Group. I want to here particularly acknowledge Tim Jones and the Auckland City Centre Residents\u2019 Group, and thank you particularly to Noelene and to Adam on apartment isolation guidance for bodies corporate. So too I have had the privilege of working with them every step of the way as this bill has progressed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000698\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EWhile Parliament has recently passed historic laws to increase density and amenity in our cities, which others have referred to, this bill is concerned with how we govern the communities that form in those buildings. It is, at a basic level, about the information that people are entitled to when they are looking to buy into a place. It\u2019s about the conduct that we expect of the professionals brought in to help manage increasingly complicated administration and maintenance. It\u2019s about the reasonable limits to power by any one of the owners within that building, or a block of those owners. Ultimately, it is a rulebook for more and more of our future living.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000699\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThe first reading of this bill in Parliament happened actually almost a year ago today, on 10 March in 2021. Unanimous support across the Chamber took it to the Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC), which I was stoked to see Nicola Willis agreed with me on, and I\u2019m pleased to hear, given the party reshuffle, that Nicola will soon be joining us back in her rightful place on FEC. I want to say thank you, as well, to the Minister for agreeing to lend us officials to our committee for the purposes of improving this law, because, indeed, they have. They helped us to process 85 submissions from interested individuals and organisations, 39 of which gave us in-person submissions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000700\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThank you to all of those submitters who meticulously picked through the issues. It was brilliant to have been able to hold one of those sessions, in a COVID-free period, in the one and only electorate of Auckland Central. Throughout the process of public hearings and evidence, we heard some of the incredibly complex circumstances, the legal fish hooks, international best practice, and local challenges, be they our country\u2019s position on a fault line and earthquake risk and the requisite reasonable planning required; all about the New South Wales model; increasing numbers of developments with shared amenities skirting the grey area of the law and causing future headaches for buyers who couldn\u2019t have known better. And we heard so much more. Those submissions helped to improve this bill substantially, as others have reflected on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000701\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EBut there were three key issues that I ended up having a sole differing view from the committee, as reflected in our report. As the Green committee member and as the representative of Auckland Central, I still believe that they are requiring as a serious revisit, and I\u2019m confident, as far as the major two go, as Nicola Willis has just reflected on\u2014and I\u2019m keen to see her Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs) to that effect\u2014that we will see progress. We wait in hope that the Minister and Labour members are as well. I might add that I have some SOPs up my sleeve, as well, if they are needed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000702\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThe two big issues regarding those changes are disclosure to potential buyers and proxy voting. The third issue, while currently periphery, I do think could pose future issues if not pre-emptively professionalising body corporate managers. There is fulsome mention of it in the select committee report, so I won\u2019t labour it, but I think that we have found, time and again, that where this Parliament has had a good opportunity to professionalise sectors, particularly the property industry, there\u2019s been a broad refusal to act until it is too late. The select committee majority removed previously required professional industry organisation membership for body corporate managers on advice from officials that we had not yet seen enough of a problem to justify the need for it. But just like Parliament refused to regulate property managers in 2008 because at that point in time there wasn\u2019t a sizeable enough evidence of a problem, leading us to 15 years later and now having to fix that problem after a lot of collateral damage, I see this as an unnecessary, missed opportunity to not tighten things up now. It\u2019s gutting that other members of the committee didn\u2019t agree, and I hope a future MP isn\u2019t looking at this speech in Hansard in the future, as I did on the point of property managers, in another 15 years\u2019 time.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000703\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EBut back to the major two points on which I believe we now seem to have, at very least, by virtue of the leadership of the member in charge of this bill, broad consensus to address and to fix, on disclosure and on proxies. I wouldn\u2019t really hesitate to suggest that there weren\u2019t many MPs\u2014although, as we just heard, I would never doubt the intellectual prowess of our chair, \u201CDr Dunc\u201D\u2014sorry, that\u2019s Dr Duncan Webb\u2014that many of us could seriously follow the changes made in committee to pre-contractual disclosure statements, nor the rationale for the removal of the pre-settlement disclosure. I\u2019ll be the first to admit that I couldn\u2019t, which is why I again registered a dissenting view. It has in turn been validating to know that those are sentiments shared by those with property, conveyancing, and broader legal experience. It\u2019s heartening to know that the member in charge, Nicola Willis, now agrees and that we will be continuing work together to amend those clauses to a far more practical, accessible, and workable set of rules. I feel that this one, hopefully, will be relatively easily resolved.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000704\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EThe second major issue is on the removal of limits to proxy voting. For the uninitiated\u2014very lucky of you\u2014proxy voting is when you get the right to vote on somebody else\u2019s behalf. While that seems to make sense generally, as elucidated by Dr Duncan Webb\u2014life happens, after all\u2014problems, and I mean huge problems, can arise with what\u2019s come to be known colloquially as proxy farming. This is where one group, or individuals, do their darnedest to collect as many votes as possible to force through their will on everybody else. It\u2019s where I\u2019ve heard countless reports of, effectively, corporate takeovers, where owner-occupiers are plunged sometimes into debt by egregious costs forced on them as a result of entities who capture enough of the votes to require excessive work in common areas in order to split the bill and flip their property for more money. It\u2019s particularly dangerous in instances of absentee landlords.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000705\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EIf I may register it on the parliamentary record, I know of many current instances where such proxy farming has occurred in my electorate, with a number of overseas-based landlords caring about not much else more than profit maximisation, resulting in cuts to amenities, security, and upkeep for everybody else in the building. Where those situations are in their most egregious and lessening neighbourhood safety, I have, unfortunately, found that some people, some politicians, and even some news reporters have wrongfully begun to lay the blame in the stigmatising concept of K\u0101inga Ora tenants, which, firstly, could not be any further from the truth, but it does satiate a deeply dangerous narrative about who does and who doesn\u2019t belong in our neighbourhoods. The fact of the matter is, we should be creating rules to prioritise the views and the values of those who live and breathe our communities, not profit maximisation and fast decisions when they can be bad decisions. While the majority of the committee\u2014everyone bar this lonely Greenie\u2014originally agreed with the removal of those limits, as Nicola Willis has just told us, she has since held conversations that have swayed the National Party stance, and I sincerely hope that Labour colleagues follow.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000706\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022dbaac12b-3efa-4d95-a08d-f0f637a48bab\u0022\u003EI\u2019m really looking forward to the committee of the whole House stage in the next fortnight or so, where we can see these improvements come to fruition and, hopefully, debate some awesome SOPs. The Greens are incredibly proud to support this bill, and we will be striving to improve it for all New Zealanders, current and future, who will bring all of this talk of density to life and community-building. Kia ora.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022 data-id=\u00220dcf1ffe31134734b4f5c97db0956ded\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000707\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00220dcf1ffe31134734b4f5c97db0956ded\u0022\u003EINGRID LEARY (Labour\u2014Taieri) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Everyone knows somebody who has bought a leaky home or apartment, and with the massive growth in apartment dwelling over the last couple of decades, sadly the incidence of those who\u2019ve been lassoed with faulty dwellings and massive repair bills has also grown. The damage here isn\u2019t just the financial side, it\u2019s the stress of uncertainty, it\u2019s infighting within bodies corporate, rising repair bills\u2014I know people in my electorate, Taieri, who are living in Dunedin who say their families have actually been torn apart, and their lives have been ruined by the purchase of a leaky apartment, and I don\u2019t think they\u2019re exaggerating their pain.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000708\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EI want to shout-out to my former TV colleagues, Rachel Stace and John Hagen, for their documentary A Living Hell: Apartment Disasters and then the follow up, A Rotten Shame. They\u2019re both fine storytellers, and their documentaries on leaky apartments that they\u2019ve made are a real labour of love, and they\u2019re an example of the fourth estate doing its job really well. They lift the lid on the leaky apartment sector and some of the cowboy developers who for decades have exploited New Zealand\u2019s housing crisis by making sub-standard dwellings. And so that\u2019s part of the housing crisis that Labour inherited when we came to office.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000709\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s a lot of work to do to review and modernise the Unit Titles Act 2010. Labour committed to that in 2020, and we will be introducing legislation that is broad and pretty much overhauls the way unit titles are managed. But in the meantime, this bill before us tonight moves in the right direction, which is why we\u2019re supporting it. So it\u2019s really good to see it in the House again, and as others have said it is the end of a long select committee process. So for taking on a pretty messy and problematic sector, and for her perseverance working with us all on the Finance and Expenditure Committee to panel-beat the original bill into shape, I do commend former committee member Nicola Willis, and look forward to seeing her back on the committee.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000710\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ELabour supports increasing transparency when it comes to the information owners disclose to prospective buyers. We also respect that all-important legal maxim, caveat emptor, and in this bill we think we\u2019ve got the balance right. Others have mentioned what the bill changes\u2014it creates a proportionate utility cost, a code of conduct for body corporate committees, requirements for long-term maintenance plans, and a yearly audit of those plans for complexes larger than 10 units. And it requires sellers to disclose information about a unit to potential buyers, and prevents bodies corporate from entering service agreements for longer than 24 months. So this member\u2019s bill makes some of the changes we would like to see. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000711\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EWhen it comes to unit titles, as I\u2019ve said, there\u2019s a lot to sort out, so the bill goes some ways in addressing some of those issues. Many of the changes created by the bill seek to implement recommendations from a 2016 review of the unit title regime. Those recommendations were really about trying to empower apartment owners and avoid leaky home - type situations. So specifically, the changes seek to give prospective owners more information, so as to be able to make informed choices when buying dwellings like apartments; make the governance of apartment buildings stronger and more accountable; increase the standards of body corporate managers to safeguard the interests of apartment owners; and ensure that unit title developments adequately plan for and fund long-term maintenance projects, as we\u2019ve heard; as well as strengthening the dispute resolution process. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000712\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EAs I\u2019ve mentioned, the bill tonight looks quite different now to when it was introduced, and as a committee, we felt the industry-wide obligations were unduly onerous, so we worked hard to make sure the industry compliance was reasonable while still keeping with the intent of the proposed obligations and duties. As a one-time lawyer myself, I could appreciate the real value of having a professor in law chair our committee in the form of Dr Duncan Webb, as we painstakingly made our way through the hundreds of clauses, as we\u2019ve already heard. We discussed things like whether a broom cupboard might be misconstrued as a room for the sake of a long-term maintenance plan, we debated parties\u2019 rights and responsibilities if disclosure is incomplete, inaccurate, or not provided in a timely fashion\u2014including a right for buyers to delay or cancel settlement. We were concerned that some of the original submissions didn\u2019t appropriately reflect how properties are usually bought and sold, and actually most of the submitters shared similar concerns.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000713\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003E So I\u2019d like to acknowledge my Labour colleague Helen White MP, who worked really hard to ensure that what was being proposed made practical sense on the ground in Auckland with the many apartment owners that she had spoken to over many months. They told her that sellers often hire agents to fulfil those requirements, and therefore it seemed to us that requiring disclosure discussions specifically with the purchaser, excluding their agent, put an unreasonable obligation on the buyer, especially at the pre-contract disclosure stage. We heard a diverse range of opinions from submitters about exactly what information should be included in a pre-contract disclosure statement. And based on those views and advice received, we changed up the information required, again, to fine tune the balance and ensure that they worked in a practical sense.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000714\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo, for example, we included the requirement for details of any weathertightness issues that had not been remediated. Plus, we included needing details of any other known significant defects that might require remediation. We also said a copy of the body corporate\u2019s long-term maintenance plan should be in those disclosures, along with the body corporate financial statements and audit reports for the last three years\u2014and that was opposed to seven years in the bill as it was introduced. So those are just some of the examples of how technical we got, however we believe the changes were important because they would strengthen the overall disclosure regime while balancing the rights and the obligations of the parties. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000715\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003EThis Government believes every New Zealander should live in a warm, dry, secure house, whether they own or rent. There\u2019s no quick fix to the housing crisis we inherited, but we are determined to do it. It\u2019s a problem that\u2019s been decades in the making, and just like the unit titles problem it is basically that there\u2019s not enough new affordable homes that have been built\u2014and our policies are on track to do that. We first moved to stop housing speculation with our ban on foreign buyers, and now we\u2019re removing tax advantages for property speculators. We\u2019re on track to deliver 18,000 public and transitional homes by 2024. We\u2019re replacing the Resource Management Act, which is a massive step in the right direction. I\u2019d like to shout out to my colleague, Rachel Brooking, MP, who\u2019s based here in Dunedin and Otago and who brings her considerable expertise to this work. We\u2019re also introducing new building intensification rules, which other speakers tonight have referred to, and that will mean up to three homes of three stories can be built on most sites without the need for a resource consent. So new rules will result in tens of thousands of new homes built in the next five to eight years, and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing that in my electorate of Taieri. We\u2019ve got lots of people needing homes, apartments thanks to our record low unemployment rate, and needing housing.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000716\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo there\u2019s one thing this unit titles bill has taught me, along with the assignment that I attempted a couple of weeks ago for my postgraduate studies into finance and policy. I attempted to do my own analysis on the housing crisis. And what I learnt was this: housing is complicated, unit titles are complex; there is no quick fix. But Labour is using the right levers to sort out both the supply side and the demand side, and unit titles are part of the equation.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000717\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo the member Nicola Willis, and before her, Judith Collins, and I think before her, Nikki Kaye, they took on a mammoth task bringing this particular bill to life. They should be commended for shepherding it through this House, and they can take heart that despite the panel beating that it has had\u2014because it is a complex area, as we\u2019ve heard tonight, and I guess the bill was many years in coming. A lot of changes have happened and there were also just a lot of changes still to be made by us\u2014and we\u2019ve heard tonight that there are more changes being suggested by Nicola Willis, which we are interested to see. I think that the bill that came to us at select committee was in a shape where we could work on it. We\u2019ve done that work, we\u2019re happy where it landed. I don\u2019t think it needs any more work, but let\u2019s wait and see. It\u2019s well on its way to becoming law.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000718\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002296f5f6b7-c116-477e-88a9-ea17aa616886\u0022\u003ESo, with that, I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022 data-id=\u00224c97379727c040bd93d2b62c07071057\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000719\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00224c97379727c040bd93d2b62c07071057\u0022\u003EBROOKE VAN VELDEN (Deputy Leader\u2014ACT):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. I rise tonight on behalf of the ACT Party, in support of the second reading of the Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill. It must be quite a while since we had the first reading on this bill, because I was in my office earlier and I went and checked Hansard on what I had said in the first reading, and I had said in that speech that I don\u2019t own a home. It\u2019s coming up to nearly a year since I bought a property, so I thought it was quite incredible how long this process must have been at select committee, and how much has changed in that time. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000720\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EAt the time, I referred to the fact that I wanted to\u2014in the future, hopefully\u2014be able to afford a three-bedroom weatherboard home with enough room for a dog, and a garden, and enough surface-level problems to justify weekend trips to Bunnings. Unfortunately, I haven\u2019t been able to afford a home with three bedrooms that\u2019s weatherboard, and it doesn\u2019t have room for a dog\u2014definitely not. It does, however, have enough surface-level problems, because I have already gone to Bunnings with dripping taps, and I am very proud that I am able to fix my own home, like many other New Zealanders. But I have been in the situation where I bought into a body corp, like many New Zealanders who have also bought into body corps, because we\u2019re seeing more and more apartment buildings and more unit titles being used for long-term residential development nowadays. And while my home is a well-established one, there are a lot of townhouses and apartments going up all around New Zealand, and more people will be finding themselves delving into the depths of body corporates, and figuring out the ins and outs of what\u2019s happening, and maintenance funds, and long-term projections, and how they get on in a relationship with everybody else who lives around them. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000721\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EApartment dwelling and living in townhouses, it\u2019s more than just students in temporary accommodation. It\u2019s more than just young professionals renting in town, wanting to get to live closer to their work for a short period of time until they move out to the suburbs. More and more people are actually choosing to live in unit titles, and to raise their families without a back garden, and without a larger spot of land\u2014but close to parks, and close to their family. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000722\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EAround 150,000 New Zealanders currently live in apartments, and that is expected to double in the next 20 years. There is a need, when people are buying into these types of developments, to know what they\u2019re buying into: what the maintenance issues are actually going to look like, how the body corporate even operates day to day, and whether they have set aside contingency funds for any future issues. I found, when I was in the process of trying to look for a place, that the body corporate minutes are a goldmine, a treasure trove of really interesting relationships and interactions\u2014things as specific as whether or not a specific unit should have the ability to own a dog, whether one person has complained about the type of carpet that their neighbour has laid down in the other unit next door, and the fact that somebody stomps too loud overhead. There is so much information, and some of it is quite hilarious. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000723\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EBut there\u2019s also some serious points that happen with bodies corporate that happen too. That is, the interactions between, for example, people who live long term in a unit versus people who own them and rent them out as landlords, and the conflicting relationships that can exist between whether people want to put more money aside for long-term maintenance plans or the particular type of roofing style that should be used in the future. There are huge issues, and this bill seeks to go some small way to improve the governance for existing owners, and the disclosure for potential new owners, and strengthen dispute resolution that is inevitable to happen in any form of body corporate or unit title arrangement. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000724\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EAnd there\u2019s a really good example, when I was reading through the report from the Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC), that says that when you are trying to obtain information about a unit title development, it can be a lot more difficult than what you find on a standalone property. For example, a buyer cannot reasonably assess an apartment building\u2019s ventilation system. However, as a member of the body corporate, they might be liable for the shared obligation for repairs and upgrades to the system, and the integrity of the disclosure regime relies on the seller being able to access that information in order to disclose it to the buyer. So there\u2019s a really important relationship there that exists, which is in the interests of both the seller and the buyer and the body corp. Nobody intends to buy into a new apartment development to not be transparent about what\u2019s going to happen in the future. But you can certainly see that you might, in good faith, buy into what you think is being run very well and in 20 years\u2019 time nothing\u2019s been maintained but it\u2019s not through any fault of your own; it\u2019s through the management of the body corporate system. And before you know it, you\u2019re finding it incredibly hard to sell because the information that you rely on to be able to sell your own home isn\u2019t actually able to be found through the body corp. There\u2019s information that the seller needs and there\u2019s information that the buyer needs, and there\u2019s information that the body corporate should be making available. So this goes some way to trying to fix that and make it in everybody\u2019s best interest. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000725\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EThere are also the important points of making sure that we\u2019re not putting too much a costly burden on people that outweighs the benefits. And I thought one really good change that the FEC came back with was about the long-term maintenance plans. They said that they \u201Cempathise with submitters\u2019 concerns and agree that it would be difficult to account for the future unknowns, such as inflation or new technologies,\u201D when they were planning on changing the long-term maintenance plans from 10 years to 30 years, and they instead settled on a bit of a middle ground that there should be a detailed cost estimate for the first 10 years and then projections for the following 20 years. So it\u2019s important that people know what they\u2019re buying into and what the long-term maintenance plans are, but not putting such an unnecessary burden on the people who are living in that development that it\u2019s going into too much detail where those costs outweigh the benefits. So I think that is a good middle ground that we\u2019ve settled on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000726\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002266f06e7e-afa8-457f-a105-048b86a13282\u0022\u003EParliament should be here to help fix issues to make New Zealanders\u2019 lives better. We should be there for better public policy, and I think this bill is a step in the right direction. On my final note, I would just say that I particularly like the change that allows for more proxy voting via electronic means, and I certainly look forward to being able to vote in my body corporate when I\u2019m down here in Parliament. Thank you, Madam Speaker.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022 data-id=\u0022cc3d94a59c4f4ddba071e9c25cf26b34\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000727\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022cc3d94a59c4f4ddba071e9c25cf26b34\u0022\u003EHELEN WHITE (Labour) (remote):\u003C/span\u003E Madam Speaker, thank you for letting me take a call on this bill, and I would first of all like to start by congratulating Nicola Willis on this bill. It\u2019s a very important bill, and I\u2019m very pleased that it has progressed with the cooperation of all parties.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000728\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EI\u2019d also like to thank Nikki Kaye, whose bill was really the first iteration of this bill. She promoted it and she worked with, as I understand it, Grant Robertson on this bill because Grant Robertson is in another big city, and I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a coincidence that that\u2019s where we\u2019re seeing a passion for the changes, which are fairly necessary.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000729\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EFirst of all, what I want to say about this is that the bill has changed enormously, and it\u2019s changed enormously not because anyone did a bad job, but because times are changing and we\u2019re learning about living together. We haven\u2019t lived together in the same way in cities in the past in New Zealand, and a lot of our habits are actually not particularly useful when you do live together\u2014we don\u2019t really know how to do it. I suspect that in other cities in the world, we\u2019d get this right more often, but we are used to making our own decisions about our own situations and not actually sharing and cooperating. So one of the things that I think this process taught me was that this issue actually goes well beyond the unit title. It goes to the whole area of community living, and we\u2019re going to have to have a really good stream of work on that beyond this, because this was a gnarly piece of work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000730\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EIt was really hard to get the balances that we did, but it\u2019s only a piece of the picture, because there are still quite a few structures beyond it\u2014things like people who don\u2019t have body corporates, people who are actually living in company structures, etc. So those are the kinds of things that maybe in the future are places we need to go, but right now, what Labour saw was a pragmatic situation where it could add value to this bill and work cooperatively with the National Party and Nicola Willis to make this bill work.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000731\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003ESo you will see a lot of change from the first iteration. Those changes are ones that are based on the stories we heard, and the stories we heard were actually fairly dramatic. This is people\u2019s most expensive purchase, and it is also one which is going to attract a lot of people who can\u2019t afford a house in the suburbs.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000732\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s a lot of vulnerable people buying apartments, and so we heard some pretty sad stories about people who have been caught up in a culture that wasn\u2019t really ready for them. We\u2019ll remember that a lot of the apartments that are in central Auckland are ones that were built at the time of leaky buildings, which adds to the issue, and they have been not necessarily handled in a mature fashion. So those issues that we had around disclosure, which were about making sure that we got the rules right about what was disclosed to a purchaser\u2014those issues came out of really painful experiences for people. I hope that by bringing in this law, I can go from being a person who went through this process very worried about the purchases that people were making on apartments to actually being able to be feeling that people were safely making a purchase which is the most important purchase of their lives.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000733\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EThe first thing that has been done here is there\u2019s been very much a balanced approach taken, but there will be a level of disclosure that a purchaser gets, and there will be a level of comfort about what happens if not everything is disclosed. So there is delay if, in fact, not everything is disclosed, and there\u2019s enough records that they are getting that they know what they\u2019re buying. It\u2019s very, very important that people actually engage in good faith in these things, but these rules will, hopefully, set a culture that is actually one of good faith.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000734\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EAnother part of this is that when people engage a body corporate manager, they put a lot of faith into them. It\u2019s very vulnerable when you do that, because that person has power over a lot of things, and this bill was one where we had actually gone for a code of conduct in that area. So those managers will be expected to behave in a certain way.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000735\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EThere are also issues, really, around remote voting. We\u2019ve got this issue about proxies that perhaps will come up for a little bit more debate because it sounds like there may be a Supplementary Order Paper about this, but one of the things to keep in mind about proxies and the information around those is that now people will have an option of voting for themselves remotely. So they won\u2019t necessarily have to engage in the proxy voting situation by giving their vote to someone else in the same way. They will be able to actually directly engage in a process when they are involved with their body corporate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000736\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EThere\u2019s also a real distinction made between very big body corporates and little ones. There\u2019s been very much a pragmatic approach taken to how much we can expect simple structures to do, and you\u2019ve heard my colleague Anna Lorck talk about that. Simple structures won\u2019t have to do the same amount as the big structures, because having a big apartment\u2014like we heard from somebody from Metropolis. Metropolis is, basically, a city. It\u2019s 500-plus people. That is going to have a lot more complex issues and it\u2019s going to need a much more professional level of management. We heard about that alongside other people we heard from who are in single-level dwellings that are connected by shared walls, but they have simple structures, and those structures won\u2019t have the same level of need for maintenance, etc., and they won\u2019t have the same level of professionalism required in their management.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000737\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EThe code of conduct that was used for body corporate managers was actually borrowed from Queensland. Queensland has quite a complicated structure, and we leaned on it because it had got it right in this instance. So I\u2019m confident that that part of the bill is spectacularly robust.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000738\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve also got maintenance plans. When you think about when you buy something that\u2019s so important, it\u2019s very easy to fool yourself that you\u2019ve got a great deal if you don\u2019t actually know what the cost of upkeep is going to be. It\u2019s pretty important that people know what they\u2019re in for, and so there is a plan here to maintain the building that is much more detailed in the first 10 years and is high level out from that, and that will actually let somebody buy a house or buy an apartment knowing what they\u2019re buying. We\u2019ve been pretty pragmatic about that, as I think you\u2019ve heard from other people, but we haven\u2019t made it rigorous at the level of that later part of the years, because, practically, it wouldn\u2019t be possible. It\u2019s very hard to tell what happens in the future, but it\u2019s pretty easy to actually plan out to 10 years.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000739\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EWe\u2019ve also put in a dispute resolution process, and that\u2019s important because the processes that we had weren\u2019t fit for purpose. We\u2019ve actually just raised the cap and we\u2019ve put the disputes of under $100,000 into a much more user-friendly pathway, because when litigation is so expensive and so intimidating, it tends, again, to come back because of the people who are feeling most vulnerable and whose purses are tightest. They\u2019re the ones who suffer under that system.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000740\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EAs Dr Duncan Webb said, we took very seriously the issue about the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment people entering the property. We had a good look at it because, obviously, it\u2019s something that we probably\u2014many of us on the committee are lawyers and we all care about powers of entry. So that really did get a lot of scrutiny.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000741\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003EFinally, penalties. Penalties are something that are there for non-compliance. You\u2019ve got to have teeth in these things, and there are teeth, but, basically, this is a very, very pragmatic bill that has moved a long way from where it started.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000742\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u00225ec01d23-b55e-45b9-a668-d3bf14212126\u0022\u003ESo I am grateful to Nikki Kaye for bringing this issue into the ballot originally, and I\u2019m grateful to Nicola Willis for pursuing it. Thank you. I commend this bill to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022 data-id=\u0022bd0a9da3648b418e828e0059bd94c253\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000743\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022bd0a9da3648b418e828e0059bd94c253\u0022\u003EHon JUDITH COLLINS (National\u2014Papakura):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. Thanks for the opportunity to take a short call on this bill. This is a bill that had a lot of the work done by the Hon Nikki Kaye. I don\u2019t think that Grant Robertson did anything at all, actually, other than to note in a Wellington Central meeting that he did think that there were some really good points in the bill but the Government wasn\u2019t supporting it. I was with Nikki Kaye at a meeting with Phil Twyford, who was then the Minister of Housing, in 2018, where we suggested that the Government take over the bill and actually turn it into a Government bill so that it could have all the work done that the Government was saying needed to be done, and that request was refused. So I don\u2019t think we should suggest that this is\u2014in any way, shape, or form\u2014a Government bill. I think the current Minister of Housing is correct, though, to support this bill, and I\u2019m pleased to see that sort of cross-party support for it.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000744\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EWe all know, those of us who have lived in apartments instead of a freehold single-unit property, that living in an apartment in a body corporate situation is significantly not the same as living in a freehold property with land around it and your neighbours a wee way away. There is required a significantly more respectful acknowledgment of the fact that your neighbours are upstairs, downstairs, and beside you, and that consequently when we get to some of the horror stories that come from apartments, it is not just that people are being picky; sometimes it\u2019s because the way of life that some people undertake is actually not suitable for apartment living. At this stage, we are currently living in an apartment as we have more renovations done to our house, but we are living in an apartment block where there are no animals allowed. So there are real restrictions on people\u2019s decisions, and that is something which people know when they buy into or rent into these properties: that there are restrictions.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000745\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EThis, however, is a bill that deals with things such as the issues around long-term maintenance programmes, the ability of people who are buying into properties to actually understand what the costs might be. I think it\u2019s a real shame that we see, sometimes, properties advertised as having no body corporate fees. What that generally means is that they\u2019re a cross-lease, which, by the way, brings its own issues. But there is this sort of myth around, and I don\u2019t know whether it\u2019s because of the stories about leaky apartments\u2014I mean, you could say the same about leaky houses and leaky anything else, too\u2014but it is important that we address the fact that we do need to have more people able to access apartment living in a way that gets them housed.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000746\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EI look at the fact that the United Kingdom is slightly smaller than New Zealand in size, they have 68 million people; we have 5 million people and we can\u2019t house the people that we\u2019ve got. There\u2019s something incredibly wrong. That\u2019s why I support the ability of housing to be intensified in ways to get people housed. It is an absolute disgrace that property in this country costs so much. It is an absolute disgrace that we have people, 25,000-plus, on the State house waiting list. It is an absolute disgrace that we don\u2019t have enough housing for people. There is no reason, other than restrictive use of land, the cost of land, the fact that we have so many rules. And we\u2019re worrying about leaky homes; we should be worrying about the fact that we\u2019ve got people in tents and living under bridges. It\u2019s about time that we do have an obligation to make sure that people have an opportunity to purchase a home; to have a stake in the ground, as such; to be able to have something to leave to their children\u2014an opportunity to be part of a property-owning democracy and to know that nobody can kick them out of their accommodation. That is something that we should celebrate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000747\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003EI\u2019m very happy to have been the member whose name this bill was in, and I\u2019m very happy, also, to pass it over to Nicola Willis, who is already doing a fantastic job in the portfolio. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022 data-id=\u0022df2fffba9117404f95eaacb44d7c425a\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000748\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022df2fffba9117404f95eaacb44d7c425a\u0022\u003EGREG O\u2019CONNOR (Labour\u2014\u014Ch\u0101riu):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. Good to see the member opposite remains an irony-free zone. A shame that speech wasn\u2019t made in about 2013, when the Salvation Army were told by Bill English in his office that they had a major housing problem coming and could they help with it, and they had to tell him they couldn\u2019t. What a shame that that member didn\u2019t stand up and make that speech about then, because we probably wouldn\u2019t be in the situation we are now, where fortunately\u2014I\u2019m very proud to be a member of a Government that has actually now hit record number of consents. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000749\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002285ec30d4-6394-433a-a12e-2c4def705dd0\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022df92d371cb0c4083b4974503b6418fde\u0022\u003EHon Judith Collins\u003C/span\u003E: Point of order, Madam Speaker. The member, who has now resumed his seat, has no idea about what speeches I gave at those appropriate times.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000750\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsBy\u0022 id=\u0022a09d78a994824759bc949074858209f1\u0022\u003EGREG O\u2019CONNOR\u003C/span\u003E: Well, if I get a lazy moment some time over the winter, then I\u2019ll go through Hansard and find one, shall I\u2014to that speaker. I\u2019m sure that there\u2019ll be some riveting reading.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000751\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EBut anyway, perhaps I should get back to the topic. This is a topic that really is a time, because even that last speaker did speak of how many people there are in the UK. In fact, just a bit of accuracy: if you overlay a map of the South Island over the UK, you will see it\u2019s actually vastly smaller than the whole of New Zealand land area itself. But she does make a good point: as you do walk around the UK, around anywhere around Europe; any of the major capitals, Barcelona comes to mind\u2014where certainly you\u2019ve got to walk a long way from city centres before you\u2019ll see any single-level dwellings. You may get the odd relic of wealthier times in the area, but certainly living in apartments, living multi-storey, is part of life in the Northern Hemisphere. As a result, the laws around, the regulations around, and the way that people live have evolved accordingly.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000752\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EOf course, in New Zealand, we haven\u2019t. We have looked forward to our quarter-acre paradise, designed at a time when those people who owned those houses, or were even renting them, were expected to put in a garden out the back, there was room for it, and they would actually grow their own vegetables and supplies. Well, those days are well and truly gone. If you go to any town or city in New Zealand of any medium size, you\u2019ll find many of those back lawns now have been subdivided and the dreaded cross-lease that the previous speaker talked about is a reality, even if it is really only down a driveway.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000753\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EI personally nearly bought a property recently myself, became aware of the complications that were going to arise as a result of it being a unit title, particularly since one of the people on the unit title didn\u2019t live in either of the flats on the property but did own the land around, and was going to be able to do, essentially, what he wanted as an equal partner in that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000754\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EMany speakers before me today have spoken of finding out just\u2014well, human nature initially, particularly where there is a sharing, because when you live in those sort of confines, if you can\u2019t rely on human nature, if you can\u2019t rely on the goodwill of your fellow man or woman in that area, then you will actually require some sort of governance; some sort of oversight.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000755\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EIn fact, it\u2019s quite important that while we discuss this tonight, it is an amendment bill, to go back to actually what the Unit Titles Act 2010\u2014it\u2019s the law governing building developments, where multiple owners own a unit title, and there is shared ownership of common areas such as lifts, lobbies, or driveways.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000756\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EMore New Zealanders are choosing to live in apartments and townhouses. The annual number of townhouses, flats, and units consented exceeding 10,000 for the first time in August. So, again, all talk really, be it around your local territorial authority, your local council, district councils, is all now about intensification, particularly in the city. While many residents\u2019 associations and others are naturally concerned to preserve the nature of their areas, the reality of it, I think we all know, is we can\u2019t continue to just build out, particularly where you drive into work and you see what once was beautiful, growing, luscious, and fertile land now being housing. That\u2019s pretty much the case around most cities and even towns in New Zealand now. It simply can\u2019t continue, and the reality of it is: we simply must go up. If we\u2019re going to go up, we need the sort of rules and regulations and guidelines that this piece of legislation actually enables.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000757\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EThis long-term maintenance plan\u2014I think I was on the committee that considered this bill and really that was, I suppose, the part of it that really struck me, as we started talking about the need for a 30-year long-term maintenance plan. So what\u2019s that all about? Well, clearly that\u2019s the sort of plan\u2014there\u2019s nothing worse than buying into a building, into an apartment, into a unit, and suddenly finding out the lifts are going to need replacing in five years\u2019 time and it was well known to those who perhaps got out, perhaps to those who have been part of the body corporate, not minuted, and so there was no way they would have been able to find out. So you get in and all of a sudden find not only is it the dreaded \u201Cleaky\u201D that many speakers have spoken about tonight but actually you\u2019re up for the lifts. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000758\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EAlso, just another aspect is of where someone who did buy into a body corporate, they were on the property, the property they actually occupied was industrial property, which wasn\u2019t even connected to the largely residential and semi-commercial property connected to it, which did have lifts, had quite high maintenance long-term maintenance costs, and although these particular tenants or these owners were never going to be beneficiaries of that, they were also up for the costs. So these are the sorts of protections that people will need\u2014just working through the bill, the various aspects of it\u2014as I say, going back particularly about the long-term plans. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000759\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003EThe other thing\u2014and again one of the earlier speakers talked about how it has been some time since we did discuss this bill here. Since we did so, of course we\u2019ve now had COVID, we\u2019ve all learnt how easy remote access can be, evidenced by the mere fact here we are standing doing a virtual Parliament or a hybrid Parliament, something that was inconceivable\u2014actually wouldn\u2019t be conceived; some people wouldn\u2019t conceive it last year, but actually it was inconceivable at all before 2020. So for the bill which we are in, we are concerned about the proxy part of the bill\u2014proxy farming. I think anyone who\u2019s been involved in many of these organisations, and they often are amateurs, know that some hopefully well-meaning individuals who can take over, who have probably got time on their hands, can take over the running of these things, can get proxy votes from those who either deliberately or just through ignorance are quite happy to have their vote going to individuals who may or may not have their own best long-term interests at heart. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000760\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo, again, when one looks at this bill and says, \u201CWhy are we digging so deep into this\u201D? it is an incredibly important part of ensuring that we do give the protection to what is really going to be the next generation. What I\u2019m finding in my own \u014Ch\u0101riu electorate is that some of the developers up there who probably experimentally started building what we\u2019d call side-by-sides or tenement buildings, they felt that they probably wouldn\u2019t really be selling, suddenly found there was a huge demand for the types of buildings they built as something of an experiment and now they can\u2019t build enough of them. So what we are seeing is that we have got a generation coming through that probably doesn\u2019t necessarily need or want the maintenance of a back lawn, which on the surface of it looks nice, but don\u2019t get a nice growing spring, making one bored enough either from reading Hansard of the previous speakers\u2019 speeches or watching grass grow, which are probably about the same. But some people actually don\u2019t necessarily want that type of property and will end up very happy to be living downtown or living in a city where they can walk to the type of things that perhaps the next generation is more keen on.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000761\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u002202e74c40-9529-4e15-adc2-c032eadc2205\u0022\u003ESo there was a lot of work to do on this bill. It was certainly a learning experience for many of us, I know, on the committee and I think that we have got it into something of a workable bill and of course I do have to at this stage congratulate those who have been part of getting it to this part of the process. So I\u2019m happy to commend it to the House.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022 data-id=\u0022611d6606150e4bf0b1a3d86f9fd24654\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000762\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u0022611d6606150e4bf0b1a3d86f9fd24654\u0022\u003ESTUART SMITH (National\u2014Kaik\u014Dura):\u003C/span\u003E Thank you, Madam Speaker. I would actually like just to take the previous speaker, Greg O\u2019Connor, to task. There was a bit of a gratuitous flick or two at the Hon Judith Collins\u2014quite uncalled for\u2014and I thought it was a bit rich to say he would be implying that reading the Hansard would be quite dull. Well, we had to just suffer 10 minutes of dullness, so I think it was a bit rich.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000763\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EI would like to say that actually in 2018 I remember the Hon Judith Collins bringing this bill to caucus. So this bill\u2019s been around quite some time, and it\u2019s great congratulations to the member Nicola Willis for bringing this right through at this point, and the Hon Nikki Kaye, who\u2019s been involved with it. This is a really technical bill. It is very unusual for a bill of this technicality and how dense it is to be a member\u2019s bill. And I know from my own experience with the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions (Regulatory Improvements) Amendment Bill or Act in my name, which was quite technical as well, how difficult that can be when you don\u2019t have the resources at your disposal that a Minister would have. So it actually speaks a lot to the capability of the member in charge of the bill that she managed to get it through in the form that it has; although, albeit that we\u2019ve had member after member standing up and taking credit for improving the bill on the way through. But I can assure you, Madam Speaker, and the House that the quality of this bill has a lot to be thankful for from the member Nicola Willis who has steered this admirably through this stage.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000764\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EI have been on the Finance and Expenditure Committee for part of this bill\u2019s life\u2014not all of it by the way\u2014and I can say sitting through some of those hearings was really interesting, but boy you had to pay attention. It was very technical in nature, and particularly if it was a part\u2014coming in fresh, it took a bit to catch up on. And as someone who\u2019s got involvement with some body corporates, I know how important it is. It is usually that a home or an apartment is the biggest investment that people actually have in their entire life, so it\u2019s not only money that they\u2019ve got invested in that property, it\u2019s their heart and soul. And they are putting everything on the line in something that most of us don\u2019t have a lot of expertise in. Even if you know how to wield a hammer, that doesn\u2019t mean you understand how a lift works and how the various maintenance activities are needed on those particular buildings. I think that where people fall down is not because of ill will usually, it\u2019s because of lack of skills in that area.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000765\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EThis bill is trying to capture those gaps in the legislation and make it much fairer for those people who are members of a body corporate. I think it\u2019s never going to be perfect. I think we\u2019ve got it into a very good state. I\u2019m not claiming, unlike others, any credit for that, but I think it is the people that came along and gave evidence to the select committee that actually had a massive impact on the quality of this bill in the end. It is testament to the select committee process. I think most members of the public don\u2019t realise how important this is. It doesn\u2019t matter whether you\u2019ve got all the resources of the ministry behind you or it\u2019s a member\u2019s bill, it\u2019s never perfect when it goes to a select committee, and it\u2019s really dependent on evidence from those people coming before the select committee, the committee\u2019s work to try and distil all that evidence, decide what needs to be done and what not to be done that ends up with a piece of legislation that\u2019s workable. So I\u2019d like to thank all those people that did come along to the select committee and give up their time. It was very important, it was appreciated, and we all listened very intently to their evidence. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000766\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003ESo I think, as Nicola Willis said earlier, that this bill had very many mothers. Like what John F Kennedy said, which was that success had many mothers and failure was an orphan, this bill is not an orphan. This is going to have, as we\u2019ve witnessed tonight, lots of mothers and fathers in this House tonight.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000767\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EThere were 85 submitters with a lot of experience in different areas. It was quite an effort by everyone concerned.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000768\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EI note that Nicola Willis is going to bring some Supplementary Order Papers (SOPs) through the next stage, particularly around conveyancing and remediation reports. I think that\u2019s really important. I know from one of the bodies corporate I was involved with, with earthquake damage here in Wellington\u2014and I think that the importance of getting all of those details fairly to the purchaser is really important. That\u2019s one area where dishonesty is\u2014there\u2019s a real opportunity there for someone to be dishonest about what they know, and when you get a deal where one party has more information than the other, that is a very dangerous place to go, particularly that, as I said earlier, this will be one of the biggest investments that most people make, and it\u2019s all on the line. For them to be led up the garden path, as it were, or buy something that is a liability they were not expecting, is very unfair. I\u2019m sure the SOP will go some way to fix that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000769\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EAlso proxy voting, which has been touched on by a number of people\u2014that was a very contentious issue. I\u2019m still not sure what the right answer is. I note that the member bringing the bill is clearly not quite satisfied with where it sits at the moment, so she\u2019s going to bring an SOP to fix this bill, or remediate the bill. I would really look forward to reading that SOP and debating it when we get to the committee of the whole House. So I think that is going to be a very important area. Because of the nature of these things, often people don\u2019t live in their bodies corporate all the time, and therefore find it difficult to attend meetings and be a part of the process. So it\u2019s really important that they have their say; albeit we don\u2019t want that to be used in an unfair way either. So I look forward to reading that.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000770\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EWe had some debate at the end about the size of the UK, and I think that the Hon Judith Collins is a bit closer to the geographical facts, anyway, than the other member.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000771\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003EBut it is a growing trend that I see, anyway, in New Zealand, of building apartments. I note that I had the pleasure, with Andrew Bayly, to visit a company called Hector Egger down in Queenstown, building modular homes. I think these are the type of thing that we\u2019re going to see in New Zealand\u2014much, much more of\u2014and this is a really positive thing. Joseph Mooney was on that visit as well. I can\u2019t speak highly enough of that particular company and the type of home that they are building. We have a shortage of homes in New Zealand for lots of reasons, and I think the Resource Management Act has a heck of a lot to do with it, setting urban limits has got a lot to do with it\u2014all of those sorts of things. But building modular homes that are put up in three days, as Hector Egger are doing in Queenstown, is absolutely the way for New Zealand to go. That is the future. They can build a very good house at a very good price, and a lot of those are going to be in bodies corporate.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000772\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022094b0ff4-e404-451b-b4a9-ad12bd4dee56\u0022\u003ESo it is essential that we get this legislation together. I congratulate the member once again. I look forward, very much, to taking part in the next stage of this, and then ultimately seeing it become an Act. I congratulate all those involved. Thank you.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\u003Ca name=\u0022member\u0022 data-type=\u0022article\u0022 data-memberid=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022 data-id=\u00221c7401efe9a54e7a89f83fdb747d3506\u0022\u003E\u003C/a\u003E\u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000773\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsByToc\u0022 id=\u00221c7401efe9a54e7a89f83fdb747d3506\u0022\u003EASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jenny Salesa)\u003C/span\u003E: This debate is interrupted and is set down for resumption next sitting day. The House stands adjourned until 2 p.m. tomorrow. P\u014D m\u0101rie. \u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp id=\u0022id202203163392f7c15d054e748f8a39bc8f24262e000774\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022HpsNormal\u0022 id=\u0022d14b1afe-2069-41e4-96fa-c8dc81a991a4\u0022\u003EThe House adjourned at 9.59 p.m.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n    \u003C/div\u003E\n  \u003C/body\u003E\n\u003C/html\u003E"