Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Justice) : I move, That the Electoral Finance Bill be now read a first time. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Justice and Electoral Committee for consideration. I also indicate to members that I will be seeking leave, assuming that the referral of the bill to the Justice and Electoral Committee is successful, for the voting membership of the committee to be extended to mirror that of the Finance and Expenditure Committee, in order to give all members and parties the opportunity to fully participate in the consideration of this bill.

Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. I am wondering, in noting the comments just made by the Minister that he will seek leave for the course of action he proposes, whether the Minister has misunderstood the arrangement that has been put in place. The arrangement was that he would seek leave, and it would, of course, be a debating matter. We observe that although the Government is very keen to put this electoral bill together without consultation and in a partisan fashion, it seems very, very keen to have the bill considered in a bipartisan fashion. We cannot have one thing without the other. I think the Minister may have meant to say that he was going to move that the Justice and Electoral Committee be reconfigured as if it were the Finance and Expenditure Committee, for the purposes of hearing this bill alone. That, of course, would be a debatable motion.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): I thank the honourable member for that.

Hon MARK BURTON: Speaking to the point of order, I say that I was clear about what I intended. I indicated to the House that at the conclusion of the debate, assuming that the House votes successfully for the first reading of the bill, I would seek leave for the voting membership of that committee, for the purposes of consideration of this bill, to be extended to mirror that of the Finance and Expenditure Committee.

Gerry Brownlee: This House usually operates quite smoothly because there is agreement about the way in which things should progress. I just indicate to you, Mr Assistant Speaker, because the Speaker obviously has an interest in the House maintaining its order, that this sort of riding roughshod approach where we have a partisan approach to a bill that affects the entire electoral process in New Zealand, and this idea that the Opposition should simply roll over and capitulate to what the Government wants to do as far as hearing the nation’s views on the bill, is completely unacceptable and simply exacerbates the already ham-fisted way in which the Government has dealt with this.

Hon Peter Dunne: I have been listening to the points raised by both the member and the Minister. As I understand it, the composition of a select committee is determined by the Business Committee in the first instance, and ratified by this House at a later date. The question of either augmenting the membership of an existing committee, or changing it in the way the Minister indicated he would seek leave to do, has to be cleared by the Business Committee first. I wonder whether the point that Mr Brownlee raises is really tied up with the issue of the matter being referred to the Business Committee to make the changes in the membership, which can then proceed. I think there is a misunderstanding around that point.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): The issue has not been discussed in the Business Committee. However, the House can seek leave to do so.

Gerry Brownlee: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The point Mr Dunne makes is an interesting one. You are right, Mr Assistant Speaker, that the issue has not been considered by the Business Committee. In general, select committees are agreed on by the Business Committee at the start of a Parliament as far as proportionality and all the rest is concerned. But the formation of select committees takes place by virtue of a debate here in the House—a motion on the Order Paper and a debate in the House. There has been no consultation in any significant way on the Electoral Finance Bill. There is a desire to have as many parties represented in the process as possible, but I do believe that it would be most appropriate and proper at this late stage of the proceedings for there to be a debate over the constitution of that select committee.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): I just advise members that the leave that the Minister has foreshadowed can be debated by members in the course of this debate.

Hon MARK BURTON: This bill deals with one of the most important aspects of our democratic system, the fairness of elections. At the heart of the bill is the principle that the public should have the highest confidence that our electoral system is honest and open, and that money spent in the run-up to an election is clearly accounted for. Alongside this, a second principle promoted by this bill is that there should be fair and equitable participation in electoral campaigning. Wealthy interest groups should not have a disproportionate influence on the outcome of an election simply because they have access to greater financial resources than the general public.

The 2005 general election brought concerns about campaign financing into sharp focus. This led to debate across the public and political spectrum about the nature of the electoral finance regime. To this end, the bill is directed at reforming the rules governing electoral finances. It also responds to recommendations from successive Justice and Electoral Committees, including the committee I consulted with that reported last year. Finally, the legislation also addresses some of the unimplemented recommendations of the 1986 Royal Commission on the Electoral System.

The bill is a detailed one, and I know that members will be very interested in the fine detail of its provisions. The key features of the bill are as follows. Firstly, it makes a raft of changes to the accounting, audit, and disclosure framework that applies to candidates and political parties in the run-up to a general election. Under the bill, candidates and parties will have to provide much more detailed information about their election expenditure. In tandem with this, the bill will require all expenditure and donations to go through a financial agent who is appointed expressly for this purpose and who also will be responsible for filing a candidate’s or party’s expense and donation returns on their behalf. These measures will create an environment of accountability and transparency in the run-up to an election, thereby making the campaign finances of candidates and parties a matter of clear public record. The proposals are also in line with other comparative regimes such as the United Kingdom and Canada, which place strict limitations on who can authorise spending and pay for campaign expenditure.

The bill contains a much stricter regime for third parties that choose to enter the campaign arena. During the 2005 election it became evident that third parties could mount campaigns that had the potential to undermine candidate and party expenditure limits. It is simply unacceptable to the general public that a third party should be able to, in effect, buy an election result. The key features of the new third-party regime are as follows. Firstly, every third party will be required to notify the Chief Electoral Officer of its involvement in electoral activities when spending over a certain threshold occurs or is anticipated. The Chief Electoral Officer will keep a list of all third parties so that everyone is aware of their identity during the lead-up to an election. Alongside this, such third parties will be required to account for their spending in a detailed manner, and provide comprehensive information about any donations they receive that are to be spent on campaigning. Third parties will also be subject to strict election expenditure limits under the new regime. A third party will be limited to spending $60,000 nationally, or $2,000 in an electorate contest. This will help to guard against parallel election campaigns.

The Government, in introducing these third-party proposals, is seeking to encourage full and open expression from a diverse range of interests in the run-up to a general election. Some members have already suggested that the third-party reforms unjustifiably restrict freedom of expression. They do not, and the Crown Law Office advice on this matter is clear in that regard. The aim of the reforms is to ensure that wealthy interests do not have a disproportionate voice in our electoral system; nor, for that matter, should they be able to overwhelm the speech of political parties and candidates. To this end, the bill sets a fair limit on the amount that third parties can spend and introduces much greater transparency around their identity and financial expenditure.

Another important new measure in the bill is that the regulated period for election expenditure will significantly increase. The bill proposes that where a general election is held in the final year of the parliamentary term, candidates, parties, and third parties will all have to account for their expenditure from 1 January. This is a significantly longer period than the 3-month rule that currently applies, and it should provide a much more accurate picture of campaign expenditure. This is in line, again, with other comparable jurisdictions. For example, the period is less than that of the United Kingdom, which provides for a regulated period of a full calendar year before polling day. For early elections—that is, any general election that is held in the first 2 years of the parliamentary term—there will be a fixed 3-month regulated period for candidates and parties. For third parties, the regulated period will run from the date when the Prime Minister announces the election.

The bill also seeks to clarify issues that emerged from the Peters v Clarkson election petition about the interpretation of the current law. Amongst other things, that case raised questions about the allocation of election expenses between a candidate and a party where an advertisement says: “Vote for me, vote for my party”. These issues are clarified so that the clearly defined rules are in place for the next election.

The bill also strengthens the electoral penalty regime. The penalties for the most serious electoral offences—corrupt and illegal practices—will be significantly increased. Alongside this, changes are proposed to the time limits for prosecution, which will make New Zealand’s system, again, comparable to that in jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom. The bill provides a new penalty that will allow the courts to require persons convicted of an offence under the electoral finance regime to pay any benefit they have received from their offending to the Crown. This recognises the significance of these types of offences and ensures that people who breach the provisions cannot profit from their offending.

There are also changes to the broadcasting regime. The most significant change relates to the membership of the Electoral Commission. The bill will remove the requirement for political representatives to be appointed members of the Electoral Commission when exercising their functions under Part 6 of the Broadcasting Act. The bill also simplifies some aspects of the broadcasting regime.

The Government has also considered the question of the structure of electoral agencies. In 2001 the Election Framework Taskforce recommended that there should be a single electoral agency with integrated responsibility for all parliamentary electoral administration. That recommendation has, I believe, significant merit. However, it needs to be reconsidered in the context of the bill that is before the House now, which confers new functions on the Chief Electoral Office and the Electoral Commission.

As part of the preparation of this reform package, the Government also looked very closely at the way in which political parties are funded. One possibility that was considered was that political parties might receive some public funding, as this system already operates in a number of other countries. The Government also looked at implementing much stricter rules around the donations that candidates and parties receive from private individuals. However, the reality is that such proposals require very detailed consideration and also a measure of consensus. In the United Kingdom, for instance, Sir Haydon Phillips was recently asked by the Prime Minister to conduct a review of political party funding. His report was published in March this year. The report, for those members who have not read it, provides a very useful examination of the substantive issues. More important, Sir Hayden has built consensus among political parties about the reform of party funding.

To enable full and careful consideration of these matters, the Government is establishing a review of electoral administration and political party funding. The review will report back in December 2008. This will give time to consider the recommendations and, if appropriate and required, to introduce legislation before the 2011 election.

In conclusion, I reiterate that many of the measures in the bill are consistent with those of comparable jurisdictions. Other countries are moving in a similar direction. There are some very valuable measures in the bill, and it is my view that it will enable far greater public confidence that our electoral system is open and fair, with clearly defined rules to protect it from abuse. I strongly encourage members of the public to make submissions on the bill when it is before the select committee. I commend the Electoral Finance Bill to the House.

Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Leader—National) : This advertisement that I am holding up appeared today in the New Zealand Herald and the . It is an advertisement from the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA), and it is the start of what I think will be a long and difficult campaign to get pay rises out of the Government. It is a vigorous kind of advertisement. I was the subject of such advertisements personally when I was an education spokesman.

The PPTA, with its advertisements in today’s Dominion Post and the , has spent half of the annual allowance that this legislation gives to anyone in New Zealand to influence public opinion with. If the PPTA ran this ad after 1 January next year, the $30,000 it has spent today would be half of the $60,000 limit that, under this bill, any third party can spend to influence public opinion. That $30,000 for the ads does not include the posters in the staffrooms or the pamphlets it is distributing. It does not include the email, which is covered by this bill. It could well be—[] That member should listen, because the PPTA is going to come kicking her door down. It could well be that this week the PPTA, with what it has spent on all the other material that goes with this ad, has spent the lot. In an election year it would not be able to do one more thing to influence public opinion.

That shows us just how paranoid Labour is. That is the impact it is having on its mates—the people who vote for Labour, who deliver its pamphlets, and who raise its money loyally, election after election. The PPTA and the New Zealand Educational Institute, which represents 60,000 New Zealanders, will, between them, be able to run four full-page ads for 1 day each, next year. Do they know that? Imagine the size of the riot there would be on the front steps of Parliament if National said to the teacher unions: “Between you, you can run four one-page ads all election year. That’s all you’re allowed, because we’re worried that you’ll criticise us.”

This week we have seen how deep the paranoia in the Labour Party is. We have had a long-running scandal about the sacking of a civil servant, not because of her political views but because of the political views of the person she lives with. That paranoia extends to the introduction by the State Services Commission of a register of interests for senior civil servants, whereby they will have to declare the political interests of people with whom they are associated. That is how deep the paranoia is, and this bill is a case of more paranoia. This bill represents a Labour Party that is worried that someone might criticise it. Someone might run an ad in the newspaper.

John Carter: Who?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: The PPTA—that is who.

What will happen when Greenpeace wakes up and realises what a shambles Labour’s climate change policy is?

Simon Power: Amnesty International.

Hon BILL ENGLISH: Amnesty International, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society—they know that the climate change policy is a total shambles. The people who are opposed to battery hens hold their convictions deeply, I can tell members.

John Carter: What does Nandor think about that?

Hon BILL ENGLISH: All the people he says he represents are, by this bill, virtually banned from trying to influence public opinion. The $60,000 is only the start of it. They are limited to $60,000 at the top, but if someone spends $5,000, that person has to register as a third party. Labour cannot stand the idea that someone out there is spending $5,000, which is about the cost of one mail-out going to a couple of thousand homes. That sum of money could not cover Gore. A mail-out in Gore means that someone qualifies as a paranoid critic of the Labour Government.

The SPCA in Gore and the Women’s Refuge are trying to raise money. Do members know why those organisations would count? Let us look at the definition of election advertising in the bill and see just how broad this paranoia goes. Clause 5(1)(ii) states that an election advertisement is any form of words or graphics, or both, that can be regarded as “encouraging or persuading voters to vote, or not to vote”—we are familiar with that; it is the rule now, in terms of the 3-month period—“for a type of party or for a type of candidate that is described or indicated by reference to views, positions, or policies that … are pursued (whether or not the name of a party or the name of a candidate is stated):”. So election advertising is anything someone says that might persuade someone to vote or not to vote—and members should listen to this—that is “described or indicated by reference to views, positions, or policies that are or are not held, taken or pursued …”, whether or not the party is named. So someone does not even need to say: “This is a National Party position.” Someone can just say: “I am against good climate change policy.”, and that counts, because National has the position of having good climate change policy.

But it gets worse. Clause 5(1)(iii) states: “taking a position on a proposition with which 1 or more parties … is associated;”. So if National is associated with people working hard, with self-reliance, and with getting ahead, and a person goes out and runs an ad that says: “I want New Zealanders to get ahead. Please get out and vote.”, then that will be covered, because it is a proposition—hard work—that is associated with National. Someone cannot advertise in favour of hard work, because that is associated with National. Someone cannot advertise against corruption, because that is associated with Labour—it is that simple.

This is straight out of Zimbabwe. In fact, if members read the rules of the former Soviet Union about election campaigning, they will see that those rules were less restrictive than these ones.

John Carter: Mugabe wrote them.

Hon BILL ENGLISH: Mugabe would be proud of this. He cuts out the middle man; he just locks them up.

Labour has come up with the worst possible result in respect of electoral reform. All Labour’s mates thought they would get State funding. Well, the public said no to that. The Christchurch Press said that Labour would bring in a clear, robust, and transparent set of rules that would do away with the dark and potentially corrupt practices of the past, like the pledge card. Then the said that that was not what had happened, and that this legislation had Dr Cullen’s and Helen Clark’s fingerprints all over it. Helen Clark has paranoia and Dr Cullen is bluffing. Dr Cullen sounded big and tough all through last year about what Labour would do, but the Christchurch said the bill was a botch-up. Well, we could have told the that, because Minister Burton was doing it. The bill fails to fix the obvious flaws in the present system.

The Government is setting out to regulate political opinion for the whole of the election year. After 1 January next year nobody can have an opinion without it being counted against a spending limit. If anyone wants to have a public opinion and spends more than $5,000, that person will have to register. A person will have to register in New Zealand to have a public opinion! That is a disgrace! That is why this bill will go down. National members will oppose it with every fibre of their effort, because it must go down. The registration of Government critics is deeply paranoid, it is offensive, and it must be stopped. I say to Helen Clark that New Zealand will stop it.

Helen Clark is wrong again. She was wrong about the pledge card, she was wrong about Taito Phillip Field, she was wrong about the smacking bill, and she has totally misjudged public opinion on this. Will New Zealanders roll over and say: “Yes, Helen, please make me register, because I have an opinion you don’t like.”?

LYNNE PILLAY (Labour—Waitakere) : I am absolutely appalled at that member, Bill English, standing in this House and saying what he did, when a select committee with National Party members unanimously pushed that we should have a change to electoral law, that we should have transparency, and that we should have accountability—all the things that are really important. That member stands in this House and says the National Party will not support this bill. He does not even say National will let the public of New Zealand have a say—not even that. He says it will oppose this bill. Why? And what was he frothing at the mouth the most about? It was about third-party funding. Why did that cut such a nerve? Bill English, the champion of the Post Primary Teachers Association (PPTA), and the friend of the unions! He is worried about the unions’ ability to communicate with their members, and that they will be stymied by being able to spend only $60,000 on third-party advertising. That is just a smokescreen.

We know why Mr English is so upset that he and National are not going to support the referral of this bill to a select committee. We know why he is going to insist on being part of the Justice and Electoral Committee and hearing submissions, when he is not even prepared to have an open mind and listen to what the public of New Zealand says, listen to what unions say, and listen to what the employers associations say. The Exclusive Brethren may even front up and have a view on the legislation. I know they do not vote, but they may have a view on third-party funding.

I am really proud to stand and speak in support of this bill. It is very, very welcome. The Justice and Electoral Committee will be delighted to have this bill before it, because at the heart of this bill is the principle that the public should have the highest confidence in our electoral system. They should have that, and I know they will when this bill has been through the select committee process and is back before this House. We need to have an electoral system that is transparent, fair, and not open to the undue influence of wealthy interest groups. We want to have a democracy that is informed, and where, in fact, interest groups can directly inform their members; where employers associations can directly communicate with their members, as can unions, churches, and any other organisation. But Labour says that when it comes to third-party funding, there has to be accountability: that the funding is declared, that it is clear where the funding comes from, and that there is a limit. We think that is very appropriate. So I am really proud to stand in support of the bill.

Indeed, it was the Justice and Electoral Committee that said this legislation was due. When the Minister was before the committee very recently, he was asked by members of the Opposition—and he will confirm this—

Hon Mark Burton: National Party members!

LYNNE PILLAY: —by National Party members—when we would get this legislation before the committee. National members said they wanted this legislation, and now they stand in this House and say that they will not vote for it, and that it would not even go to the select committee under National. That is appalling.

We are not cutting freedom of speech; we are ensuring there is freedom of speech. We are ensuring that votes will not be bought, that the public will have the information available to them, and that they will make an informed decision—and they will be able to do so under this legislation.

I commend the Minister. I know he has been very committed to this legislation. I know that the public of New Zealand are committed to it, and I really look forward, albeit at a bigger select committee, to hearing the submissions. I really look forward to the legislation coming before our committee. I commend this bill to the House.

SIMON POWER (National—Rangitikei) : One thing that the motion Mark Burton will seek the leave of the House for later today does not deal with is replacing the chairperson of the committee that will hear submissions on the Electoral Finance Bill. After listening to that speech, I say that one thing is for sure: the current chairperson of the Justice and Electoral Committee, Lynne Pillay, will be completely out of her depth when it comes to dealing with those complex and technical issues. National will be making sure that I and Tony Ryall are on that committee for the hearing of submissions on the bill.

National has some major concerns about the way that this particular bill has been put together. Many of those concerns have been outlined by the Hon Bill English. I have spent some time over the last 24 hours on thinking about why Labour would take such a partisan approach to what has historically been a bipartisan topic—that of electoral reform. Yesterday, when we were in the general debate, I was thinking to myself, as a former chief National Party whip and as someone who has been on some of the more bipartisan committees that exist in this Parliament, that, generally speaking, senior Labour members who have been on those committees have been thoughtful about the way legislation is enacted and about the way the rules and conventions about Parliament are developed. They have been careful about that, because they realise that at some point Labour will be in the Opposition, and will have to deal with the convention, rule, or legislation that has been put in place on that basis. So I got to thinking about why Michael Cullen and Helen Clark would want to pass legislation that would, in future, limit and restrict Opposition parties as blatantly as this bill does.

Then the answer came to me. Actually, Helen Clark and Michael Cullen do not care about the Labour Party after they have finished with it; they are not in the slightest bit interested in the rules, regulations, and legislation that future Labour caucuses will have to work under. They are not in the slightest bit concerned about what will happen to the Labour Party in future if Labour members are sitting on the Opposition benches. All that Helen Clark and Michael Cullen are worried about is creating a legislative environment that regulates opinion that could in any way disagree with their programme, leading into this election. Those senior Labour politicians who have historically seen rule making and convention setting as being enduring and going beyond the next two or three Parliaments, because of the fact that those that fill the Treasury benches move back and forward, would have looked at this legislation and said it would disadvantage any Opposition party, no matter who was in Opposition.

But Helen Clark and Michael Cullen do not care about the Cunliffe-Cosgrove years to come. They do not care about whether Shane Jones will cope with this issue when he is in Opposition. Helen Clark and Michael Cullen do not care about Maryan Street and other MPs of the same intake having to deal, from the Opposition, with what this legislation does. They are regulating and legislating for one election, and for themselves. That is what makes this legislation not only partisan but incredibly short-sighted in respect of the enduring life of Parliament. It should not be about just the political careers of Michael Cullen and Helen Clark. That should concern those members of the Labour Party who will inevitably end up in Opposition, at some point.

I am deeply concerned about the partisan approach that this legislation has taken, when, historically, electoral reform has been negotiated and shared between the major political parties and the other parties in Parliament, and has operated in an enduring way. The curious thing about this legislation is that on the substantive issue there has been no consultation and no discussion with the major political parties, but when it comes to the procedural matter of the make-up of the select committee, that is a different kettle of fish altogether. All of a sudden the Minister of Justice is very interested in having conversations about how those matters can be expedited.

What this bill will do, apart from the matters pointed out by my colleague Bill English, is to have Greenpeace, the anti-whaling lobby, the battery hen lobby, Amnesty International, the Post Primary Teachers Association, the New Zealand Educational Institute, the Council of Trade Unions, and the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union all limited, in any one calendar year, in terms of what they can say, what they can print, and the message they can convey, even to the Labour Party. Expression of the political opinions of those organisations will be severely restricted and regulated. Do those groups understand that? This legislation is not just about shutting out Opposition criticism of Government policy; it is also about saying to third-party interest groups who seek to influence Government policy that they will be limited in the way they put out those opinions, as well.

Hon David Cunliffe: Hear, hear!

SIMON POWER: Well, I am sure that those parties that seek to influence Government policy would be very interested in that approach. This bill says to those parties and to Opposition parties that from 1 January there are limits, and that they will be regulated in what they say or do.

But, in the meantime, Government departments and ministries will continue to spew out so-called education campaigns about Government policy over which this legislation, funnily enough, does not have any authority whatsoever. We know that for the last 12 months or so, with regard to the issue of KiwiSaver, for example, across the areas of TV, press, and online advertising the advertising campaigns in respect of that Government initiative have cost just under $1.3 million. We know that there will be no problem in advertising, for just under $500,000, the issues relating to the educative aspects of the so-called 20 free hours of early childhood education. We know that the $16,000 spent in recent months on advertising and promoting Working for Families will not be caught by this legislation. What do we know? We know that a Government has an unlimited capacity, through ministries and departments, to promote and advertise Government policy, but that when it comes to Opposition parties, or for that matter to any interest groups that want to convey a position on a particular issue, their opinions will be regulated. Their opinions will be regulated, but as far as Government initiatives go there will be no such limitations, at all. The New Zealand public should be deeply concerned and worried about that.

I would ask the next Labour speaker one simple question: what happened to the tub-thumping around anonymous donations? Let us hear from the Labour members who stood in this House for 6 months in general debates, banging the table and saying they would deal to anonymous donations and expose the funders who are supposedly behind other political parties—except, allegedly, the Labour Party. What happened to that tough rhetoric? Perhaps the next Labour Minister or member to speak could let the public know where that particular point is contained in this bill. I am just a simple boy from the provinces, but I could not find any reference in this bill to the hard-line rhetoric we have heard from Labour members on that issue.

If the Government thinks it will refer this bill to the select committee and get away with the Opposition parties rolling over on those technical and thematic issues, then I say that that will not happen. The playing field in every democracy should be level, and this Government is trying to tilt it in a way that excludes not only political parties but also interest groups with genuine policy concerns and issues that they want to put before the public. We must remember that this bill is not for the benefit of the Labour Party; it is for the benefit of Michael Cullen and Helen Clark.

R DOUG WOOLERTON (NZ First) : I have listened to previous speakers with a lot of interest. I have listened particularly to Mr Bill English and Mr Simon Power. They should be ashamed of themselves, and I have listened for that reason.

Mr English described this Electoral Funding Bill—which New Zealand First will support being sent to a select committee—as like something that would come out of Zimbabwe, because he believes that it stifles free speech. I will tell members, in case they have forgotten, about something that was very Zimbabwe-like. It happened when New Zealand First was formed. In the very first election we fought, we were not only barred from getting a share of public broadcasting money, but also barred from using our own money. That is what happens in Zimbabwe, and that is what the party of Mr Bill English and Mr Simon Power did to us. It was aided and abetted by the Labour Party, whose members should be ashamed to hear that. We were barred in those years from going on public radio to send out our message. That is what Zimbabwean policies are all about, and National is guilty of doing that.

The other thing that those two speakers in particular talked about was 1 January being the date in an election year that the countdown of election spending clicks in. National members should be reminded that that is critical, because after the 2005 election they were the ones who called the cops, to use my colloquial language. I still have contacts in the National Party, and we know that its members spent more public money on the election than any other party in this House. [Interruption] Yes, they did. They spent more public money on the 2005 election than any other party in this House, by a considerable margin.

Members of the public who are listening to this debate will be hearing Mr David Bennett saying “Pay it back.”, and they will be wondering what I am talking about. I am talking about the 3-month rule. Nobody knows when the clock starts ticking, because nobody knows when the election will be called. National did not know, either, in 2005. Does anybody know why I say that? Because I have absolutely cast-iron evidence that National members believed that the election would be in July 2005. They started spending 3 months prior to July, because they believed that the election would be then. Mr David Bennett is quiet now; he knows that that is correct. National members started spending 3 months before July, and they poured it out. They poured it out. The ACT party was so confident that National was correct that the local ACT candidate in Hamilton went on holiday. He booked his holiday for October, because he thought the election would be in July. He had been reliably told that by the National Party, and the National Party tipped the dough out 3 months before July.

But we never know when that 3-month clock will start ticking, when that 3-month period prior to the election will start. In the case of the National Party, it had spent the bulk of its money before the 3-month period, and that is why that party got away with a seemingly correctly funded election. But it was exactly the opposite.

John Carter: That was so bad! It was naughty!

R DOUG WOOLERTON: Mr John Carter is saying it was naughty, and he is tapping his hand. And he is right: it was naughty. But what was really naughty was for those members to say that National was the only honest party in this House, and that they did not spend public funds. They spent more than anybody else, and that is able to be proved. They spent it before the 3-month period, by mistake.

I want to mention another reason—

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson): I am sorry to interrupt the member, but there is far too much interjection. It is almost getting to the stage of being barracking, which is not permitted. I refer members to Speakers’ ruling 57/3 and remind them that politics is the art of the possible, and the possible we will explore today is good order.

R DOUG WOOLERTON: Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker, for your fairness. I draw the attention of the public to another reason why New Zealand First is supporting this Electoral Finance Bill. It concerns an election campaign in Tauranga. This is the first time that I have seen people’s names mentioned in a Bills Digest, and it is the first time that I have seen an issue mentioned in a Bills Digest: “The Peters v Clarkson election petition”—I am reading this directly—“although not upheld in court, raised questions about the interpretation of current law, for example, the treatment of dual-purpose advertisements.” It was argued—successfully, as it happens—that a billboard and, in some cases, a whole wall of advertising in Tauranga were meant for another purpose. They were not meant for election advertising. Because the advertising had been done skilfully by Mr Clarkson’s team—it had not been done by Mr Clarkson personally—the court could not get enough evidence to rule it out.

We cannot have those sorts of things happening, because that is not working to the intent of the law. It is using every damn trick in the book to get round the law, and that is what the National Party did. Its members themselves are responsible for this bill coming into the House. New Zealand First members say that it is about time, because we need clarity around these things. We need some honesty to come into electoral law, and we need to go forward being able to sell our messages without the threat of big money winning every time. Thank heavens it did not win in the last election, and we hope it will not win in the next!

New Zealand First also applauds the removal of political representatives from the Electoral Commission when it comes to radio broadcasting. We think that should have happened a long time ago. That situation is an overhang from the first-past-the post system. In fact, New Zealand First members have for a number of years tried to get ourselves on to that commission, to even it up, but our first preference was always to get rid of political appointees, so we are pleased to see that that will happen.

I have not spoken a lot about third-party advertising and what has become known as the Exclusive Brethren contributions to political campaigns. Clearly, that is something that must be attended to. It is relatively new. Everybody understands—and it is fair cop—that business will give to National, will give to Labour, and will give a very small bit, I must say, to New Zealand First. We understand that that is offset on the other side by the contribution from the unions, which in the main back the Labour Party, but some unionists vote for National, New Zealand First, the Māori Party, United Future, or whatever. But it is clearly wrong for a group to come in with a completely full-on campaign, with the knowledge, as we have found, of the party that is to be the beneficiary of its largesse. It is completely wrong for a group to come in in that way, and this bill attends to that, as well, and we applaud it.

JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) : It is fundamental to our democracy that it is one person, one vote—not one dollar, one vote. It is fundamental to our democracy that the election should not be bought by the biggest spender, which is the way it has always been accepted it should be in the United States. The pre-election debate needs to be a contest of policies, but in that country, which has no caps on spending, it is a contest of who can attract the most campaign donations.

Already, the United States presidential contenders are being ranked in the media by how much campaign funding they have been able to attract. Under that system, no party representing ordinary people could ever win an election over a party representing the very rich and the big corporates. So it has proved to be, in that country.

The 2005 election brought those concerns to the fore in New Zealand and highlighted a number of very undemocratic practices. The Exclusive Brethren conducted an initially secret campaign to discredit Labour and the Greens on behalf of the National Party—and we know from the emails that National knew about it—spending over $1 million that did not count towards National’s campaign spending cap. Other non-party organisations, such as unions, spent significant money advertising on behalf of other parties, although they did so quite transparently, not clandestinely, and it did not involve anything like as much money.

As the book The made clear, National received $1.7 million of anonymous donations from trusts that were designed to disguise the origin of those donations—because if they had not been, they would have been given directly to the party. But senior officials in the party knew of the source of that money and, therefore, knew whom the party was beholden to.

Labour received $300,000 of anonymous donations, which may be why it is not keen to curb the practice. A great deal of money was spent on campaigning, including electioneering billboards, before the 3-month period before the election. Therefore, it did not count towards the spending cap.

The Green Party is deeply concerned that those practices should not happen again. So what is needed to ensure that? We believe that there are five areas that need immediate change, and that others should be considered in the longer term.

First, there must be limits on what parties can spend, so that policies and credibility, not budgets, determine the outcome, and that must be the case not just for the 3 months before the election. Second, there must be limits to spending by proxy organisations, so that they do not just become a way for parties to get around the spending cap.

Third, anonymous donations over a small amount—we propose $1,000—must be outlawed. It is fundamentally important that voters know who is funding parties and to whom they are beholden. People and particularly corporations give large donations to political parties not out of altruism but in order to influence or reward policy. That information must be before the voters when they look at the policies the parties are offering.

Fourth, there must be limits, we believe, on the size of donations. It is fundamentally undemocratic if parties representing big business or very rich individuals can raise their entire campaign budget from a few very large donations and have no need for broad-based, grassroots support.

Fifth, we must end the practice of having representatives of the two old parties on the Electoral Commission when it allocates broadcasting funding under the pretence that the largest Opposition party can represent all the smaller parties. The Tui billboard has a good expression for that.

The Greens are voting for this bill because it goes halfway. It deals with Nos 1, 2, and 5 of the concerns I have expressed, but we are very disappointed that the Government has backed away from dealing with the other two.

We are supporting the bill because it implements Green Party policy on extending the pre-election period back to 1 January in an election year. That will ensure that an election campaign like the National Party billboards in 2005 can still happen, but it will be part of the capped election spending. We support the rolling disclosure of donations above $20,000 during a campaign, because it is not much help to voters to find out in April of the year following an election who has bankrolled the new Government.

We support the bill because it removes all political appointments from the Electoral Commission when it is determining broadcasting funding, leaving that to independent analysis rather than horse-trading on the commission. We have been arguing about that for many years, so it is good to see that in the bill.

We support the bill because it attempts to control the practice of re-routeing election spending via third parties. I was appalled to hear the National Party this afternoon defending the campaign by the Exclusive Brethren. [Interruption] Oh, yes. They did not mention the Exclusive Brethren. They talked about the unions, the Post Primary Teachers Association, and the environmental movement—and we know they have always been strong supporters of those organisations! But we know who they really meant.

Numerous authorities here and overseas, including the New Zealand royal commission and many commissions on electoral campaign funding reform overseas, have supported controls on non-party participation in elections. This is not a new idea; it is New Zealand catching up with what many others in the world have proposed.

I think that the National Party has gall to base its opposition to the bill around defending its mates in the Exclusive Brethren and their right to do what they did at the last election. However, we do believe that the way this legislation attempts to control third parties needs another look, and we will be very involved in the select committee scrutiny of the bill.

There is a fine line to tread between controlling ways of bypassing parties’ spending caps and completely muzzling freedom of speech by many citizens’ organisations, and this bill goes a bit too far. Does it mean, for example, that any organisation that expresses any views in an advertisement in an election year, even if it does not mention parties, voting, or the election, is breaching the rules? Organisations have an absolute right to influence public opinion if they identify themselves and if they do not do it in support of a political party.

The Kyoto Forestry Association has already said it will breach these rules in its attempt to change policy on the allocation of Kyoto Protocol forest credits. I do not agree with Roger Dickie that credits are a property right belonging to forestry investors, but I will stand up for their right to put forward that view publicly, as long as they do not use the opportunity to say: “Vote for X and do not vote for Y.” And I hold that view even though they are, in fact, likely to tell people to vote for the Greens, because they said we have the best policy on forest credits, even though it is not the same as their policy. It is in this case a matter of principle for us.

Would the Environment and Conservation Organisations of New Zealand’s Vote for the Environment 2005 campaign, which invited parties to complete a questionnaire about their policies and published the results, be illegal now if it cost more than $60,000? We have to find a better way of doing this, and I look forward to the select committee debate.

But we in the Green Party are very disappointed that the bill goes barely halfway to giving us a fair campaign finance system. It still does not address the serious issues of anonymous donations, and it does not address caps on individual donations. There are no controls on secret donation laundering trusts, there is no cap on what a large corporation can give, and there are no restrictions on overseas donations, including donations from foreign Governments.

I wonder whether members have ever reflected on the extent to which foreign Governments would have the capacity to influence the New Zealand elections by funding some of the participants. I refer here to Raymond Miller’s book published in early 2005, Party Politics in New Zealand, where he quoted Peter Dunne as saying that United Future drew on the expertise offered gratis by an American political consultant who was put in touch with the party by the US embassy in Wellington. So the US Government’s representatives in Wellington provided a US consultant’s services free to the party that was trying to give the Government a way out on genetic engineering—and it succeeded in giving the Government that way out. I do not think that overseas organisations should be able to participate in our elections.

Finally, I will comment on the question of the select committee, because there was some discussion of that matter at the beginning of the debate today. The Green Party has been calling for months for this bill—ever since the beginning of its development—to be considered by a select committee that represents all parties. Therefore, we were keen to support the proposal that it go to a select committee that has that representation. However, at the same time, there is logic to having it go to a committee that has the background in the issues and has discussed them before, and that also has the start-up intellectual capital to deal with them.

So when we told the Government that we were minded to support a proposal where this bill would go to a committee representing all members, and the Government offered the way out of extending the Justice and Electoral Committee to represent all parties, we thought that was an ideal solution, and we will be supporting that. I hope that no member will be churlish enough to prevent those members from being added to the Justice and Electoral Committee.

Dr PITA SHARPLES (Co-Leader—Māori Party) :Tēna koe, e te Kaihautu. I ngā marama 18, i heke te ngākau tapatahi o te Pāremata nā te whakapono o te iwi tērā pea me kore rātau e whakapono, ko tātau o tēnei Whare he tāngata tōtika. Nā te aha? Nā ngā mahi o ngā pāti tawhito e rua, i ngā mahi utu pāpāho a Nāhinara me te kāri kī taurangi a Reipa. E hika mā! Ko te mutunga mai o te hē, ko te wā i uru mai tētahi pire i rō Whare nei hei whakatika i ngā mahi, i mahia i waho i te ture, arā, te whakapaunga hē o te $1.17 miriona. Ka taea e tātau te kite ka pēhea tō tātau tū i te rangahau a te Readers Digest i tā rātau rangahautanga i waenganui i te 600 tāngata i Aotearoa nei. Ko te pātai, “Ko wai o ēnei momo tāngata ka whakapono koe?”. E 26 ngā momo tāngata i whakarārangihia, ā, ko tātau kei raro noa atu i ngā kaihoko whenua, ngā kaituhi niu pepa, ngā kaihoko motokā hoki.

He maha noa atu ngā take kāre te tangata e whakapono ana ki a tātau ngā kaiwhakaara ture, pēnei i ēnei: ngā kaupapa Mahi mō ngā Whānau, e whakaparahako ana i ngā tamariki ko ō rātau mātua kei runga penihana; te Hanganga Ture Ika, i puta mai ahakoa kāre i hui i te taha o rātau kei te hī, kei te hoko ika rānei; ngā mahi whakaiti i a tātau anō i rō i tēneki Whare; te takahi i ngā ingoa pai o ngā kaimahi ā-Kāwanatanga ahakoa, ko ngā Minita kē kei te hē; he mahi ngāwari noa iho te whakaae kia haina tētahi o tātau i te Tikanga Whanonga.

Nā tēnei āhuatanga o te noho, ka hiahia te Kāwanatanga kia whakapono te iwi, ka mārama ake te titiro, whakatau tika i ngā nekeneketanga a ngā kaitono, ngā pāti, me ērā atu kei te kimi pōti. Ko tāku, kare pea e ea ēnei wawata.

Ko ngā tikanga whakatau tika kia mahi pono, ā, kia kite mārama, kia huraina ngā mahi, koi nei ngā tohu e hiahia ana e te Māori hei kaupapa whai. Ko ngā kaupapa e pā ana ki te pire, ko ngā kaupapa e kī ana, kāre e taea e ērā nā te nuinga i whakatau hei kaiwhakahaere mēnā he mahi hē ā-ture, he mahi tūkino, he mahi pirau rānei. Ko te kaupapa o te kaitiakitanga, he kaupapa kia mōhio mārama tātau me mahi ngā mahi i runga i te whakaaro pai ki te ao me te whenua, ā, me manaaki hoki i te iwi. Me manaaki i ngā rawa a te iwi. Nā te āhua o te kaitiakitanga ka tono mātau kia kaua te moni e whakaritea, ko wai ka wikitoria i ngā wā pōti.

Koi nei te ahua o te New York City i whakatauirahia e Michael Bloomberg. Nāna i toha te $140 miriona o āna ake moni kia wikitōria a ia i ngā pōti e rua mō te tūnga, koro matua o Te Āporo Nui. Ā, kāti, ka taea pea te kī, ko te $140,000 i riro i a Nāhinara mai i ngā rōpū tiaki moni, he koha kore noa iho te iti hoki mēnā ka whakatakotohia i te taha o tērā a Bloomberg engari, ko te kaupapa kē te kōrero. Ko te kaupapa “kōrero ai te moni”, ngā kaupapa rānei kia mārama ake te titiro whakatau tika, kia mahi tika i raro i te ture, koi rā kē ngā kaupapa. Ko tā te Pāti Māori kia kore ngā tōrangapū e nanakia ki te hanga āhuatanga ā-rōia nei kia kore e mōhiotia ko wai ngā kaituku moni ki a rātau.

Nā te pire nei ka taea kia riro e ngā tōrangapū ngā koha piki atu ki te $10,000 te rahi, ā, ka taea hoki te huna ko wai te kaikoha. I te mutunga, ka riro e ngā tōrangapū ētahi koha kaitā mai i ērā, he nui ō rātau rawa, ā, ko te waka hei kawe mai, he waka kāre tātau i te mōhio nō hea, ā, ko ngā kaikoha, kāre tātau e mōhio ana, ko wai. E hāngai pū ana ngā tikanga a te koha ki tēnei take, kia mōhiotia whānuitia, ko wai kei te koha tōrangapū. I mua o te taenga mai o te “tikanga puhera moni”, ka whakatakotohia ngā koha i runga marae kia kite te katoa, tino mārama rawa ana hoki.

He pērā tonu te āhua o ō tātau whanaunga o Te Puku o Te Wheke me ā rātau takapau rauiti, hākaru tapa hoki ka whakatakotohia hei koha i ā rātau hui whakahirahira. Ka taea pea e tātau te whakarite, mēnā kāre te kaikoha e hiahia ana kia mōhiotia ko wai ia, tērā pea me kore ia e whakatakoto koha.

Kei te mōhio mātau o te Pāti Māori ehara mā te moni anake ka wikitōria. Ko tā ngā kaipōti he kaingākau i ngā mahi a te kaikimi pōti, ā, mēnā ka tū motuhake taua tangata mō ngā kaupapa i whakaritea e ngā kaipōti. Ahakoa he āwhina tā te moni kāre e taea e ia mēnā he koretake te kaitono. Engari, ka hoki anō ki te waiwai o tēnei, arā, te traumata paparua. Mehemea ko te whakaaro kei muri i te pire nei kia nui ake a ngāi tātau, kia whai wāhi te uru ki ngā āhuatanga pōti.

Nā te mea, kāre he aukatinga i ngā koha huna, ngā koha rānei kei te haramai i ngā ara, kāre tātau i te mōhio nō hea, ka puta te kōrero o te Rōpū Huaki Mahi Kāwanatanga, kāre i ea te kī taurangi a te Kāwanatanga kia whakatuwheratia, kia kore ai e uru mai te pirau ki ngā tikanga pōti.

Ko tētahi ake o ō mātau tino take ka pā ki ngā tikanga whakamōhio, whakapiri atu ki te katoa. Ka tautoko rawa mātau i te tono kia tirohia ngā kaupapa pōti e tētahi rōpū wehe kē, ā, ka tirohia anō te āhua o ngā pūtea mō tēnā, mō tēnā o ngā tōrangapū. Engari, ko tā mātau he whakatū rōpū ā-iwi whānui, wehe kē hei titiro i te āhua o ngā pūtea ka riro e ngā rōpū tōrangapū. Ko tā mātau whakapono, ehara mā tātau ngā mema Pāremata e hanga i ēnei ture i runga i te āhua kua wehe atu tātau i te iwi. Ko te kōrero a te kotahitanga, me kimi tātau i ngā whakaaro whānui ā-iwi, kia taea e rātau te kī, āe, nā mātau ka mana te kāwanatanga ā-iwi.

Mēnā he mana kei ngā kōrero a tēnei Pāremata kia pūmau te iwi ki ngā mahi o rō Pāremata, me tīmata mai i ō tātau rangatahi. I kitea e ngā rangahau i tērā tau, e 51 paihēneti o te Māori kāre i te pōti i taka i waenganui i te tau 20 ki te 30. He ōrite te āhua o te pōti a te Māori ahakoa he pōti whānui o Aotearoa, he pōti whāiti o te rohe. Nā, i a tātau e kimi huarahi ana kia ngākau pai te iwi whānui i te kāwanatanga ā-iwi, me ako tātau me pēwhea te mirimiri i te rangatahi i te tuatahi.

Mēnā kei te pono tātau me te āhua mō āpōpō me uru pono ki ngā kōrero whakawhitiwhiti whakaaro, kāre mātau e whai i ngā tikanga whakamōhio a Reipa. Kāre mātau i te kī me hui hei wānanga whakaaro ahakoa i tū te hui i ngā hāoro e rua i muri mai o te pānuitanga o te kaupapa mō te hui i rō nūpepa, arā, te Dominion Post i taua ata.

He mana rangatira kei muri i ngā kaupapa o tēnei pire, he kōrero mō te tika, te pono mō te kore huna. Ko te raruraru, “Kei runga te kōrero, kei raro te rahurahu.” Ka hunaia tonu nō hea ngā koha, kāre e rere kē ki ērā tikanga kei te mau i tēnei wā. Mēnā ka noho tonu ngā mahi huna, ka taea e ētahi te whakapirau i te tangata. Kei te pā pōuri mātau kāre i te tū tētahi hui i waenganui i te iwi nā te mea ko tā mātau wawata, kia whai wāhi te iwi whānui ki te whakatakoto i ō rātau whakaaro. Kia taea hoki e rātau te kī, ā, nā mātau tēnei kāwanatanga ā-iwi.

Kāre mātau mō te pōti mō tēnei pire. Kāre hoki he kiko i roto, ā, ko ngā kōrero kei ngā ngutu noa iho e titi ana. Ahakoa te kōrero, kāre te korukoru e pōti mō te Kirihimete, ko ngā korukoru kei roto i tēnei Whare, kei te pōti mō tō rātau Kirihimete nā te mea, ko te mea pōuri ki a mātau, kei rātau te mana i tēnei wā. Tēnā koe.

• [An interpretation in English was given to the House.]

[Greetings, Mr Assistant Speaker. Over the last 18 months, the integrity of Parliament has been thrown into disrepute to such an extent that people’s belief that politicians can be trusted has been badly eroded. The degenerating political environment arose out of the actions of both of the older parties, with their interpretation of rules over broadcasting spending, and the pledge-card fiasco. Gracious me! Events sank to an all-time low when a bill was pushed through the House to validate unlawful spending—$1.17 million of misspending, to be precise. How low, can be gauged by the Reader’s Digest annual “Who do you trust?” survey of 600 New Zealanders, in which politicians ranked at the bottom of 26 professions, scooping the barrel below real-estate agents, journalists, and car salesmen.

Of course, declining trust in politicians is also caused by things such as Working for Families proposals, which fail to highlight their discriminatory impacts on the children of beneficiary parents; Fisheries Act legislation, which emerged without the key industry sector groups having been first consulted; personal character assassinations of members across the House; besmirching the reputation of public servants for the faults of Ministers; or even as simple a thing as failing to grant leave for an MP to sign up to a code of conduct.

It is against this sort of setting that the Government seriously wants the New Zealand public to believe that this bill will bring about greater transparency and accountability on the part of candidates, parties, and others engaged in election activities.

For the people of the land, the concepts of accountability, transparency, and integrity are central to the trust that iwi Māori place in others.

That is the New York City factor—epitomised by Michael Bloomberg, who spent more than $140 million of his own money to win his two mayoral elections in New York.

The Electoral Finance Bill enables political parties to accept donations of up to $10,000 without the donor revealing his or her identity. In essence, parties are able to receive huge donations from wealthy donors funnelled through secret trusts and anonymous donors with no one being the wiser. The concept of koha is, I think, relevant to this issue, of declaring the identity of the source in political donations. Prior to the invention of the “money in the envelope” ritual, gifts were often laid on marae for all to see—and it was indeed extremely transparent.

We see amongst our Pasifika whanaunga, too, the very public nature of the gifting process—finely woven mats or tapa cloth being laid down as a contribution to a significant ceremony. One could perhaps conclude that if the sources did not want to be identified, then perhaps they should not gift.

We in the Māori Party recognise, of course, that money does not guarantee victory. What attracts the voters is the experience of candidates, and whether they are prepared to stand up for the issues the constituency expects of them. While money helps, it cannot rescue a poor candidate. But it does get back to this essential double standard, if the aim of the bill is to restore confidence and increase public participation in the electoral process.

The fact that there is no specific ban on donations from trusts, or ones made anonymously, prompted the Coalition for Open Government to say that it falls far short of the Government’s promise to create a more open and incorruptible election system.

The other major issue the Māori Party has with this bill is around the process of consultation, and public engagement. We absolutely support the proposal for an independent review of the structure and organisation of electoralagencies, which will also address how political parties are funded.

We believe that if this Parliament is really serious about creating public and political confidence and participation in parliamentary democracy, then the place to start is with the hope of our future—young people. Research released last year by the Electoral Commission found that 51 percent of Māori non-voters were in the 20 to 30-year-old age-group.

If we are really committed to tomorrow, we need to be committed to engaging and truly involving ourselves in the debate. We do not mean consultation as Labour sees it—which in our case was a briefing a couple of hours after the Dominion Post had already told us everything we needed to know.

The intentions of this bill are honourable, mouthing commitments to democracy, transparency, and integrity. The problem is that the fine print does not match the platitudes; the fact that donations are still anonymous in effect endorses the status quo, wherein political influence and corruption can occur through secret means. We are also greatly disappointed that consultation amounted to nothing. That is a particular concern, because we do have such a huge interest in ensuring that the Parliament is connected, responsive, and accountable to the people of the land; being able to have discussions together around that is what we would think could happen in a democracy.

We cannot vote for a bill that has so much rhetoric attached to it and lacks real substance. While it is said that turkeys never vote for Christmas, it appears that the turkeys in this House will be voting for their Christmas, as they have the numbers at this time. Thank you.]

Hon PETER DUNNE (Leader—United Future) : United Future will support the introduction of the Electoral Finance Bill and its reference to a select committee, because it thinks there are, at the moment, issues relating to the way in which the financial treatment of elections occurs that need to be updated. I am one of those who think that laws relating to electoral finance and spending ought to be changed rarely, that changes should occur only when circumstances permit, and that they should occur on the basis of the widest possible consensus about what those changes might be. I am always wary of members of Parliament being seen to set out our own rules in this respect. I must say that as this debate has unfolded over the last few months United Future has been concerned that it is being conducted in an excessively partisan manner.

The trick to electoral change and laws relating to electoral change is to get buy-in from the earliest stage. We have been advocating for some time that prior to the presentation of this legislation to the House it would have been prudent for the Government to involve at least the major Opposition party in the work it was doing, and we consider it to be a matter of some regret that we have proceeded to this stage without that occurring. In that regard the proposal for an enhanced select committee, albeit through some adjustments to the membership of the Justice and Electoral Committee, is a useful and positive step. It will mean, at least, that all the parties in this Parliament will have the opportunity of hearing the evidence on the bill and, hopefully, then reaching some measured conclusions about the way forward. But I repeat the concern that it would have been better, in retrospect, for that to have been the case from the time the bill was being crafted, because, in many respects, the issues that this bill deals with are not deeply contentious between the parties.

There are some issues where people have strong views but, in reality, I think most of us are aware of the fact that there needs to be some tidying-up of the law in this regard. It is not acceptable in a free and open society, where free expression of opinion is paramount, that some people’s opinions account for more, not because of the merit or otherwise of the opinion, but because of the financial support that lies behind it. The rules in New Zealand have generally been interpreted pretty fairly by all the players in the electoral scene. But it is fair to say that the instance of the Brethren church campaign at the last election did go beyond that element of fairness that most of us have traditionally understood to be the case.

I am not saying that the Brethren Church campaign is the only instance of its type over the years, because clearly it is not, but it is certainly the most blatant. Equally, I am not saying that outside groups have no role in the electoral process, or have no right to express an opinion or seek to influence other people’s opinions on that process. After all, that is what political parties, which we are all about, do routinely. But where that practice occurs, just as there are constraints on the ways in which political parties must operate, and the accountabilities that apply to them, so too should there be similar constraints and accountabilities on those seeking to influence the voting choices of others. I see the changes proposed in this regard being addressed, really, to that particular point.

There will be issues—and I am happy for the select committee to give a lot of consideration to these—about whether, for instance, the $60,000 figure that has been included in the bill is the appropriate one. If it is not appropriate, then let us devise a figure that is more appropriate but that also reflects the fundamental point of ensuring a free and fair competitive election process. I think that the changes that the bill proposes with regard to the electoral clock starting to tick from 1 January each year make some sense in an environment where we do not know until comparatively late in the piece precisely when the election will occur.

I do have some concern about whether the amount set in the legislation is, in fact, a fair and adequate one, noting always, because of the ways in which electoral law is interpreted, and the ways in which we as members of this House do our job, that, whatever limit is set, there will always be an inbuilt advantage to the incumbent. It is one of those matters that simply goes with the territory, because we are out there in our respective guises, day in and day out, being members of Parliament. Those seeking to be members of Parliament are simply always competing against that incumbency. So, again, if a different figure is to be set, let there be no illusion that this somehow will resolve the difficulty, because it will not. It will, perhaps, make it a little fairer in some senses, but essentially the point will remain.

I also note with approval the bill’s provisions regarding the way in which electoral broadcast time is to be allocated, and the removal of political representatives from that process. It used to be easy in the days of a bipartisan system to have one representative from each side making that choice, or being involved in the making of that choice. It becomes more difficult in a multi-party environment, and I think it actually places grave strain on both the representative of the Opposition and the representative of the Government to have to take on other representational roles as well. Clearly, to have a broadcasting authority with eight representatives from all of the different parties would be impractical, so I think in an environment where the formula is fairly clear-cut, the understandings are clear, and people have a chance to make their submissions and to be heard before the authority, the best option is the removal altogether of political representation from that body.

A number of other measures set out in this bill are much more technical in nature—for instance, relating to the way in which donated time is to be calculated, and how services performed that do not have a distinct financial value are to be interpreted, as well. But there are some issues that are beyond the scope of this bill. I suspect that they come into the category of still being too hard. They relate to all of the electronic communications that are now becoming far more paramount. For instance, how could we, if we ever tried, value a text messaging campaign that some parties may well choose to adopt as part of their election expenditure?

The point behind this is that whatever law we put in place, and however well meaning and earnest we are about it, we will quickly find that the political parties, and the human beings who populate them, being the creatures they are, will find ways of getting around those provisions. So to that extent our electoral law is always a catch-up law. It is always taking a situation that has been found to be obviously failing and seeking to correct that. We cannot write the perfect law in this regard, and that is why I have some suspicion about the academics and the theoreticians who say: “This process should be handled by us. Set up an independent commission to run these things and make these decisions.” With all due respect to their well-meaning intent, I do not think that would work, because ultimately this is a political process. It is about the way in which our political system works. Our political system comes with a lot of nuances and subtleties that the well-meaning theoretician standing on the outside simply would not understand.

I conclude as I began. I think this bill has some useful measures in it. United Future members will certainly be supporting its going to the select committee. We are looking forward to participating in that committee and hearing the submissions, but it is a matter of regret that will taint the passage of this bill that it has been put together in a way that has seen a bare majority involved in its construction, and a significant minority excluded. The one lesson to emerge from this process is that for robust, credible law in the future, it is best to have as many people as possible involved in its drafting, or its evolution, at the start, to get the buy-in, to get the support, and to remove the suspicion that it is being done at the behest of one group to advantage it at the expense of another. I hope that is not the case with this legislation when it comes back to the House and is eventually passed. It will be a test of the select committee, and the participation of members in that, to ensure that that is not so.

Hon TONY RYALL (National—Bay of Plenty) : The previous speaker talked about his suspicions about this seedy Electoral Finance Bill and how he hopes that it is not all about giving one group an advantage over all others. Well, I have to tell the member that this bill is all about giving the Labour Party an advantage over all others. The party that stole the last election now wants to buy the next one! It wants to buy the next election by having restrictions on everybody except the Government. Every New Zealander who wants to express his or her view will be restricted in how much money he or she can spend, except the members of the Labour Government.

This is a Government that has spent tens of millions of dollars in the last 12 months promoting itself—Working for Families, police recruitment, and KiwiSaver. It has spent millions and millions of taxpayers’ dollars promoting itself, and what has it brought to Parliament this week? It is a seedy, Louisiana, Huey Long - type bill that will suppress free speech in this country. I repeat what I told the House earlier on: the party that stole the last election intends to buy the next, through using millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.

But I will tell members one thing: good will overcome evil, time and time again. The evil of this legislation will not be allowed to stand. When New Zealanders find out that the Labour Party is going to restrict all public advertising and how much can be spent, for the whole year of election year, they will ask: “What’s gone wrong here?”.

We take our democracy for granted in this country. Free elections and a free press help to protect our democratic rights—our rights of free speech and our rights to criticise the policies of the Government. But these rights are not automatic. We have to stand up for them, and we have to stand up against those who want to undermine our rights to have a say. This bill does not apply just to political parties. This bill applies to any New Zealander who wants to speak out against the Labour Party. If people oppose a political party’s policy and wish to publicise their opposition, they will have to register. If people want to put out an ad that says: “Let’s be hard-working and get ahead”, and the ad does not mention a party, it does not say to vote for National or not to vote for Labour, it just says they want people to work hard and get ahead—and that is associated with the National Party, and certainly not with the left—they will have to register their views. If people oppose a political party’s policy and wish to publicise their opposition to it, wherever their organisation spends over $100 a week they must register with the Government to exercise their right to free speech. If their organisation is going to spend over $100 a week in an advertising campaign, over a year, then they will have to go to the Government and register so that they can say what they want.

Under this bill it will be illegal for any third-party organisation to spend over $60,000. Well, actually, I do not think the lefties in the Council of Trade Unions, the Post Primary Teachers Association, and the New Zealand Educational Institute have worked that out yet. If we look at the advertising in most election campaigns, who do we see are the big third-party spenders? They are the unions—the very same organisations who are clicking the ticket with the bargaining fee that they are cleaning up out of everybody. For instance, in the case of the Spotless Services workers, of the $16 million for low-paid workers the unions got $1 million. That is the sort of stuff that is going to fund the Labour Party at the next election.

Labour wants to restrict New Zealanders from criticising its policies. Labour will have unlimited Government funds. It is spending $15 million to promote Working for Families, $7.5 million for KiwiSaver, and $5 million for the Accident Compensation Corporation’s Covered campaign. Imagine what it will do in election year.

Imagine that there are huge restrictions on political parties. Do members realise that if a candidate is selected in February next year, and the election is in October, all that the candidate will be able to spend is the $20,000. Do members realise that that is all they will be able to spend? We will have this situation where New Zealand First will start doing what happens in England. People there are not selected as the party candidate; they are selected as the prospective party candidate. If someone is a prospective party candidate, he or she is not a party candidate. That is why they have that phrase over there—so they can avoid all the campaigning rules. That is what will happen here.

I say to Labour that these policies simply cannot last. The unions, which will now find they are restricted, will ask Helen Clark to measure this bill against all her rhetoric about anonymous donations. I ask members to remember that this is the woman who got over $800,000 of anonymous donations when she first became Prime Minister. It was the biggest lot of anonymous donations in the history of New Zealand, and it was received by the Labour Party when it came to power.

What did Helen Clark say about this issue? She said in December 2006: “I think the public wants to know who is funding political parties. They want to know who is pulling the strings, if they are pulling the strings through funding.” That is what Helen Clark said. Then she said: “I look forward to the National Party support for clamping down on anonymous donations.” Helen Clark said, on 6 September 2006: “I understand that in Australia everything over $250 has to be declared. That sounds like a good idea to me.” But what did she say yesterday? Ms Clark said: “Banning anonymous donations in their current form without providing additional State funding would have led to parties across the spectrum struggling for funding.” So this is the party that said: “Let’s get rid of anonymous donations.”, but now she says we are not going to do that, because it would lead to parties struggling for funding.

What does that mean? Banning anonymous donations would mean no money for Labour, therefore what does Labour do? There will be no money for anybody! Well, that is not what Labour is doing. There will be no money for Labour, so it will not let anybody else spend anything. That is what Labour is proposing. Helen Clark said: “No money for Labour, so we won’t let anybody else spend anything else.” Every member of that Labour Party should have been hanging his or her head in shame as I read that this morning. For over a year it was reported that Labour spent every day moaning about these secret donations, and, as has been noted in a publication today: “The National Party agreed that these donations should end. Helen Clark and Labour have decided unilaterally to leave it out, because Labour would have struggled for funding without such money.”—that is according to www.kiwiblog.co.nz. Is that not inconsistent?

Hon Bill English: It’s completely normal for Helen Clark.

Hon TONY RYALL: That is right. On the one hand she was saying to get rid of these anonymous donations, but when that was going to affect Labour’s funding, it was: “Oh no, we don’t think we can do that.” That is completely deceitful. That is what this bill is about—it is deceitful. This bill means that the Labour Government can spend whatever it likes, but no one else can.

I have to say that the best thing about this bill going to a select committee is that all the parties will have an option to have a say. All the parties will be able to decide whether this bill is democratic. I think it is undemocratic. If anybody had stood up in this House and said that in Zimbabwe Mugabe had just passed a bill that said parties could not advertise or promote over the whole year of the election, third parties could not spend more than $60,000, but Mugabe could spend whatever he liked, Phil Goff would have frothed and his veins would have popped in outrage. The veins would have popped in outrage that Mugabe was limiting the free speech period, putting restrictions on what third parties could advertise, and making critics register with the Government. Phil Goff’s veins would have popped like nothing we have ever seen before.

But that is what the Government in New Zealand is doing today. In New Zealand Helen Clark now wants the critics to register their conflicts of interest—she did yesterday; maybe she does not today—and that is the sort of Government that New Zealanders will turf out in less than 12 months’ time. New Zealanders will get a Government that will respect the views of the people, one that has not become tired, arrogant, and out of touch like that aging front bench opposite.

CHARLES CHAUVEL (Labour) : I rise to take a call on the first reading of this very good bill, the Electoral Finance Bill. What a shame it was to hear and see the contributions from National members in this debate, on the radio, and in the print media over the last couple of days since this bill was tabled. The reality of this legislation is that no group will get special treatment. The new rules will limit the campaigning done by everyone, including unions, business groups, and religious organisations.

At this point we have not had State funding introduced. I personally think that is a matter for regret, but, clearly, the group that will be set up to review future directions will be able to consider that matter.

I would like to deal with some of the worst examples of propaganda and misinformation that we have heard in the House today and in the media since this bill was tabled. First, I will address this shibboleth, this nonsense, that this legislation is an attack on free speech. It is not rocket science to know that where money and politics mix—as they do on the other side of the House—one had better have rules in place to safeguard the system from abuse.

Members know that political parties have had limits on their spending in this country since 1895. It was not until the last election, though, that New Zealanders realised that groups could pretend to be independent and then pour millions of dollars into backing a party—and we know which party that was. The very people who are rallying around their hollow cries in the defence of free speech are some of the very people who were at the centre of those abuses at the last election, and it is a disgrace to hear them try to defend those practices in the House today.

Then there is the misinformation being put out that Labour is trying to silence its critics and is putting in self-serving rules ahead of the next election. Well, this bill delivers a level playing field. All parties will be treated fairly, and all third-party groups like unions, business groups, and religious organisations will be covered by the same rules. That is an excellent advance and it is beyond time that we should see it. Again, the people who gained most from the abuses in the 2005 election are trying to spread misinformation and propaganda in order to block what they know are fair-minded reforms that will prevent these rorts in the future. One just needs to follow the money to realise what is going on here in this debate.

Then there is this misinformation that claims Labour is giving special treatment to the unions. Of course, we are not; unions will have to abide by the same rules as everyone else. People who claim that unions are being treated differently are not being truthful. Corporates will be able to communicate directly with their shareholders, employers and manufacturers associations and unions will be able to communicate directly with their memberships, and Churches can provide information to their congregations. None of this means that they are able to put ads in the paper without playing by the rules that everyone else has to play by.

Then there is the propaganda being put out that National will lose the most out of this situation. This bill will not disadvantage National; it will simply take away the disadvantages faced by all other parties that did not have access to the secret, third-party ad campaigns that helped National at the last election. This is especially true for the smaller parties, which would never have been able to compete with the millionaire financing that National had access to.

I would just say that one of the notable aspects of this first reading debate has been the contributions made by the third parties. I enjoyed listening to the speeches made by the leaders and representatives of those parties, and I think their contributions bode very well for our making this an even better bill in the select committee.

Then there is the misinformation that claims Labour is still trying to get State funding through at the next election. As I said, this bill will not provide for State funding. It is true that the independent review foreshadowed by the Minister of Justice will look at State funding, amongst other things such as stronger watchdogs, donations, and thresholds, and that it will report back after the election. But the review will not have anything to do with what Labour prefers one way or another.

It is true that in many other countries State funding has been shown to be the best way to keep abuse out of the system and to avoid a plutocracy, where one well-funded party can simply get its way and try to snow the public. Personally I am a supporter of State funding, and I think it is important that independent people look at what it might mean for New Zealand, which is what successive reviews of general elections by the Justice and Electoral Committee have called for.

In conclusion, I say that I welcome the independent review that the Minister has foreshadowed. Clearly, it will be good to have a three-member panel—with one member to act as the chairperson—to publish a discussion document, invite submissions, consult with political parties, and provide a final report to the Minister of Justice with recommendations for consideration by Cabinet. It is good to see that the review will cover issues as broad as the structure of the electoral agencies, State funding, and the wider question of political party funding, including the sources of donations and relevant thresholds.

I think this bill is a good start. As has been signalled, hopefully, the House will be generous-spirited and will grant leave for the select committee to contain a decent representation from across the parties in the House. I think that mechanism will be able to improve the bill even further. I hope the public are not snowed by the propaganda and the misinformation that I have mentioned in my speech, and I hope there is full participation in the deliberations of the select committee, which I greatly look forward to.

Hon MARK BURTON (Minister of Justice) : I seek leave for the membership of the Justice and Electoral Committee, for the purpose of its consideration of the Electoral Finance Bill, to be increased to 13 members, through the addition of one further member from each of New Zealand Labour, New Zealand National, New Zealand First, ACT New Zealand, and United Future, with those members to be appointed by the leaders or whips of each respective party; and for Hone Harawira to have the right to vote on any question put to the committee in relation to this bill.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER: Leave has been sought for that course to be followed. Is there any objection? There is not.

Hon DAVID PARKER (Minister of Energy) : I move, That the Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill be now read a first time. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be referred to the Commerce Committee.

This bill responds to recent concerns about the disconnection practices of electricity retailers, particularly in relation to vulnerable consumers. It is designed to ensure that the Government can, if necessary, regulate the content of the disconnection guidelines that have been recently developed. This bill amends the Electricity Act 1992, as the Act does not currently contain sufficient powers to regulate disconnection processes, or to regulate the full content of the guidelines. The bill also amends the regulation-making power in the Act relating to consumer contract terms, because at present the Act requires retailers to include only the regulated matters in their contract. Once retailers have done this, they have complied with the regulation. If they breach their own contract, they are not breaching the regulations, so they are not subject to the penalty provisions in the Act.

The Electricity Commission has been working with electricity retailers, Government ministries, and social agencies to develop new guidelines for dealing with disconnections. Retailers have been given the opportunity to follow the guidelines, and this bill will allow for the content of the guidelines to be regulated if retailers fail to adhere to the guidelines voluntarily. The new guidelines will ensure that consumers having difficulty paying their bills are advised of the assistance available from community service providers and Government agencies. The guidelines will also protect vulnerable consumers, and those reliant on electricity for medical equipment that maintains life.

In summary, this part of the bill improves the ability to regulate for arrangements regarding the process for disconnection following non-payment of accounts, for reconnection, for billing information and processes, and for alternative payment options such as smooth payments, redirection of income, and debt recovery. The bill also regulates for the process of identifying consumers who would be at risk if their electricity were disconnected, and includes proposals relating to mandatory terms and conditions for the supply of electricity and line function services by electricity retailers and distributors.

The bill consists only of regulation-making powers. It does not alter any of the existing processes or requirements in the Electricity Act relating to the making of regulations. Under the Electricity Act 1992, regulations or rules can be made only if they implement a recommendation from the Electricity Commission. The Electricity Act requires the commission to satisfy itself that other options, such as voluntary arrangements, are unlikely to achieve the Government’s objectives. Nothing in the bill overrides the Privacy Act, either.

I have been encouraged by the attitude of retailers, who have dedicated time and resources in recent weeks, both internally and with the Electricity Commission, to ensure that their processes are adapted to prevent any repeat of the events in May. I am confident that they are willing to follow the guidelines. The regulation-making powers that the bill will create are important as a measure of last resort, to enable regulations to be made to ensure that Government objectives are met.

The bill also addresses specific concerns around the regulations for the low fixed-charge tariff options for domestic consumers. The low fixed-charge regulations were introduced in 2004, with the purpose of assisting low-use domestic consumers and encouraging energy efficiency. Prior to the introduction of those regulations, low-use consumers in many areas faced unreasonably high fixed daily charges for their limited or low electricity usage. The introduction of regulations provided these low-use consumers with a tariff option that was more equitable for low-energy users, and compatible with the Government’s energy efficiency objectives.

At present, these regulations require networks and retailers to make available a low fixed-charge tariff option to all domestic consumers whom they service, who have consumption at their primary dwellings of less than 8,000 kilowatt hours per annum. That same 8,000-kilowatt-hour threshold is used across the entire country, despite the reality that in colder parts of the South Island the average power use is higher, in large part because the climate is colder and there is little reticulated gas. Analysis of average consumption data shows that an adjustment to the low fixed-charge eligibility threshold of 8,000 kilowatt hours per year is warranted, because far fewer consumers are on a low fixed-charge tariff in the lower South Island than in other parts of the country. For example, in Auckland and the north, currently over 52 percent of domestic consumers are covered by the low fixed-charge tariff, whereas in the lower South Island, being Christchurch south and excluding Westland, that figure is only 9.2 percent.

The bill alters the definition of a low fixed-charge consumer from being a consumer with a fixed threshold of 8,000 kilowatt hours, as currently defined in the Act, to being a consumer under a definition to be provided in regulations, so that different regional locations and averages can be used. Subsequently, the regulations will be changed to set that threshold in the lower South Island, from Christchurch south and excluding Westland, at 9,000 kilowatt hours, which is the average domestic consumption level for that region. This will enable a greater number of lower South Island consumers to benefit from having a low fixed-charge tariff option. I do not want to overstate the benefits here. The differences between the tariffs are not huge, but they are material for some low-income consumers.

Another change in the bill is the extension of the Minister’s powers to grant an exemption from the application of the regulations to electricity distributors or retailers. The change is directed at small, isolated networks that are not connected to the national grid. In these small, isolated networks the cost of servicing customers can be far higher than is the norm for grid-connected networks, and in such circumstances the compliance requirements and business costs of administering the low fixed-charge tariff can be excessive. This has the potential to affect the economic viability of these small, isolated networks. In this circumstance it may be more equitable to exempt the entire network from having that low fixed-charge tariff requirement, so that the proposed amendment enables such networks to apply for an exemption. The amendment is required because the existing wording in the Act allows for only a subset of customers within the network to be exempted, not the entire network. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

GERRY BROWNLEE (National—Ilam) : The National Party will support the Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill going to a select committee, because it does not hurt to have these sorts of matters discussed. But we cannot be overly enthusiastic about what the bill actually does, because it is clear that this is the Government’s response to everything that Helen Clark had to say at the time of the tragedy that beset the Muliaga family in South Auckland. Essentially, this bill appears to give the Minister the power to regulate as to how disconnections might be carried out if the industry itself does not come up with a satisfactory arrangement and put it in place in a way that means that that sort of event could not occur again. That is all fine; that is just what one would expect in a country like this. I doubt whether the Minister will ever have to use those regulations, because I think it is in the interests of the power companies—which are, in the main, Government-owned anyway—to make sure they have good protocols in place.

The issue of the low fixed charge is an interesting one, because there is no doubt that in the South Island the opportunities to heat homes are pretty much limited to either solid fossil fuel burning or the use of electricity. We do not have a large gas market down there. People do not have reticulated gas anywhere, and certainly do not have natural gas in the way that people have it in the North Island. A number of people use bottled gas, etc., but, by and large, the growing need for heating is being met from electrical energy. It is just a simple fact that it is colder in the South Island than it is in the North Island, and we still do not have, in my opinion, adequate incentives in place to encourage people to retrofit their homes with the proper insulation they would need in order for the greatest efficiency to be achieved by the use of that electrical energy. I think we also have some funny views in that regard about the use of solid fuel, but that issue is not up for comment in the debate on this bill.

The Minister, quite rightly, says that the threshold at which the low-user charge applies is to be moved out by 1,000 kilowatt hours a year. On the face of it, that measure looks reasonably good. But we have to remember that people are using that 1,000 kilowatt hours, so it is only an extra 1,000 kilowatt hours at the low tariff, whatever that might be, and we are hearing evidence that that may be as little as $18 a year. So here we have legislation to give low end-users as little as $18 a year. It would be many, many years before they could possibly save enough to pay for the cost of putting this bill through Parliament in the first place.

The big problem in New Zealand with regard to electricity prices is that we have a scarcity of supply. Everyone says that that is not right, because the lights have not gone out and we are meeting demand, etc. But it is a fact that we are reasonably well balanced. If anyone chose to look at the retail portfolios of the generators, then they would find that the demand from their retail portfolio is pretty much balanced with their capacity to generate. We know that each year there is a further demand for another 2 percent or so on top of the electricity that is currently generated. So the market is growing and the industry is only just keeping pace with the demand that it has to supply.

That is not a recipe in which to see power prices fall. I know that in some parts of the South Island, at least one power company has sent out a letter in the last couple of weeks stating that on 1 October electricity prices will rise by about 4.5 percent. Even with the passing of this legislation, one can guarantee that it will mean that people at the low end of the scale, who take advantage of the low fixed-charge rate now, will in fact pay more for their electrical energy, simply because the price will go up. Until the Government does something about increasing the amount of available electrical energy and encouraging power companies to invest more in generation, then we will not make much progress as far as prices are concerned.

I think that one of the things that is holding up decisions on where our generating industry goes is the whole issue around climate change and what it will cost, in climate change terms, to generate electricity in the future. We know, for instance, that without the Huntly power station, the lights would be out right now. This year, when we get into peak-load situations, without the E3P gas plant at Huntly we would be in dire straits. So we are heavily reliant on a sector of the industry that is likely to face significant climate change costs. We have a dual-edged sword, if you like, where we know that demand is just being met, so therefore prices can rise, but we have those other added costs about to go into the industry, which will further force prices up. With all due respect, I tell the Minister, I think this bill is a nice idea, but it is not quite enough for those people who need some help. The only way that prices will go down, in my opinion, is if we have a considerable amount more in generation.

I understand that this bill is to be referred to the Commerce Committee. It is my privilege to chair that committee, and I look forward to the submissions that we will receive on this bill. If we do not get very many, we will require various organisations to come along and talk to us about it.

I do not see in the bill any suggestion that there is a time line for electricity retailers to comply voluntarily with the disconnection arrangements. I think that without that, the general power given to the Minister means very little. It would be nice to think that there was a window of, say, 6 months where power companies themselves could come up with their proposals, and then if they did not meet those, they would know that the Minister at a fixed date would regulate on what was to happen. As I have said before, most of those power companies are State-owned, so one would think it would be pretty easy for the Minister to get voluntary compliance on that from a large sector of the industry.

I am sorry; I have not finished, but I am just—

Darren Hughes: Wrong bill.

GERRY BROWNLEE: —no—taking a moment to consider whether we could widen this debate a little, because the issue of transmission costs is one that needs to be looked at here, as well. I do not see in this bill any particular reference to Transpower or to what its particular proposals are. The Minister, Mr Parker, is shaking his head, which leaves me wondering why he has not mentioned Transpower in the bill. A lot of the charges do come from transmission; we have to be realistic about it. A good deal of our power is generated in the South Island, and a great deal of our power is used at the other end of the country. So there is an issue, running through there, of getting the stuff out of the South Island. We know that the full capacity of South Island generation is not being fully utilised because of the constraints on the transmission lines. So although we have this bill about disconnections and low fixed charges, it might have been interesting, I would think, to have had some comment in the bill about the expectations that the Minister has of Transpower, which is the major delivery agent for electricity throughout the country.

National members will consider these matters appropriately at the select committee, and I welcome the opportunity to discuss this bill with all those whom I know will be interested in making submissions to the committee.

MARYAN STREET (Labour) : In May of this year, New Zealand witnessed a tragic event when the Muliaga family had the power disconnected at their home. That brought out some glaring gaps in the operation of our State-owned enterprises. State-owned enterprises originally came out of public services, which were previously wholly operated by the Government through the Public Service. In corporatising them in the 1980s and later, commercial imperatives, which had previously been absent, were introduced so that the Crown’s investment in these services could be rewarded. In some measure this bill represents a righting of the balance, if you like, a restoration of some social imperatives to services that are no longer luxuries but essentials.

In the first instance, the Minister of Energy talked about the new guidelines that will apply to electricity retailers. These retailers must advise consumers who may have difficulty paying their bills of the assistance that is available from Government agencies and community service providers. They must also take steps to identify vulnerable consumers who are having difficulty paying their bills, and consult with the Ministry of Social Development and Employment before disconnecting vulnerable consumers. At no time during this process can a retailer disconnect vulnerable consumers. Retailers must also identify those consumers reliant on electricity for medical equipment to maintain life, and not disconnect those consumers.

We are confident that electricity retailers will follow the guidelines to prevent a repeat of the May tragedy, but the regulating power contained in this legislation is an important last resort to ensure that the Government’s objectives are met. These objectives are both commercial and social.

I commend the electricity industry for the steps it has already taken, as witnessed by the television advertising campaign with the inspired choice of Jonah Lomu fronting the campaign. The use of an icon such as Jonah Lomu will bring the message home very quickly and very clearly. I commend the industry for that. Clearly, that is an example of the industry responding proactively. However, as I say, the regulating power is an important last resort to ensure the Government’s objectives are met.

In respect of the second purpose of this bill, it is clear that as many as 70,000 households from Christchurch south could face smaller bills under the proposed changes to electricity tariff charges. The Minister was careful not to overstate that benefit, but in fact any assistance to households, particularly low-income households in respect of the provision of adequate heating during winter, is to be welcomed and not sneered at. It would appear that although 50,000 or so lower South Island households may have already benefited from the 8,000 kilowatt limit, another 20,000 should be eligible under the higher threshold, and that is helpful.

I trust that this bill—if it proceeds, as the Minister intends, to the Commerce Committee—will get an adequate and appropriate hearing. I have the privilege of sitting on that select committee, and I look forward to the discussion around the two essential items that this bill brings to the supply of electricity in this country. It should be registered that the social imperatives for the provision of electricity supply should not be overtaken again in the future. I look forward to the consideration of this bill at the committee.

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National) : I rise to speak to the Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill, and in keeping with the advice already given by Gerry Brownlee, I add that National supports this bill’s referral to the Commerce Committee. There are two aspects of this bill, the first being the disconnection of electricity and the second being the low fixed-charge tariff options for consumers.

The Minister has just told us that this bill does not really alter the Electricity Act 1992; it just introduces more regulations. Well, well, well! What a surprise; more regulations from a Labour Government! What a surprise! How do Labour members really imagine that this will make a difference?

Maryan Street: Don’t lose sight of the purpose.

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: Indeed, let us look at the purpose. The bill ensures that the Government can regulate the content of voluntary disconnection guidelines that the Electricity Commission has recently developed in response to the sad, tragic, and avoidable death of Mrs Muliaga. These guidelines include the requirement for the following: regular communication to all consumers on their payment options—is that not something that should already be built in to standard commercial treatment—arranging debt recovery in time frames that are suitable for the retailer and that minimise hardship to the consumer; ensuring that consumers enter into the most appropriate contracts for their needs; providing consumers with the opportunity to identify themselves as potentially vulnerable; consultation with the Ministry of Social Development to assist vulnerable consumers who are unable to pay; a visit to a consumer’s home before the final disconnection takes place; and the fact that consumers who require electricity for critical medical support will not be disconnected for non-payment.

One would be forgiven for saying that they look like sensible points, and that surely they are built into current practice. But do they really need to be put into legislation? Are electricity companies so far removed from reality that they have to be told every minutiae of detail? Are we simply trying to impose liability? Is this not a little like so many of the other regulations this Government loves to make?

Darren Hughes: Sit down and vote against it, then.

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: No, no—let us look at it. It is like microchipping dogs. How will that stop a dog from biting someone? It is like so many of the regulations that Labour members live by and stand by to give the appearance of doing something.

Darren Hughes: Vote it down if it’s so hopeless.

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: Voting it down is not quite the point. I guess the member would prefer that. He would much prefer that, because that is his style: vote it down, do not discuss it, and do not debate it; this is it, take it or leave it. I think that that is what will happen now with the proposed legislation on changing the electoral law. We have already had an example of that. It will be rammed through. It will be a case of: “Let’s not discuss it, and let’s not criticise it.” Well, that is not my experience of working on the consumer—

Darren Hughes: Experience!

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: No, no, on the Commerce Committee. It has a remarkably good record for picking up Labour’s legislation and turning it into something meaningful. I could illustrate that point with the bill about the drainlayers, plumbers, and electricians—

Darren Hughes: Gasfitters, I think you’ll find.

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: Gasfitters—that is the one. I think we have even had a Minister say the Commerce Committee changed that bill into something meaningful, and that was done mostly at the instigation of National members. So I say that the member should stand by, because we might be able to do something with this one, as well.

But what background are we operating against? Can we have confidence in this Minister’s administration? I really do not know. [Interruption] Did someone say no? Oh, Bob Clarkson did, and I think he is quite right.

Let us look at it. The energy policy is tied up with the shambolic climate change policy, resulting in uncertainty and investment delays. Why can people not pay their bills? I speak as someone who was brought up by a widow. Paying electricity bills was a big problem. We have seen the difficulty that can occur in a domestic situation. But—here we go—residential power prices have gone up by 48 percent in 5 years, from 2003 to 2007, compared with an increase of only 25 percent for industrial and commercial users. A further rise of 2.5c or 3c a kilowatt hour is required in order to deliver the steeply falling emissions profile that Labour’s Energy Strategy outlined, as a trade-off between security of supply and reduced emissions. That is stark.

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has had $110 million in funding since its inception in 2001, yet the 2006 review of its energy efficiency strategy of 2001 concluded that a 0.4 percent gain in efficiency was less than the gain of 0.7 percent when there was no strategy. This is the background we are looking at in terms of this legislation being introduced, and it is not a very satisfactory background.

Will the regulations work? The power, in this case, is being given to the Minister. In other words, it is something at the bottom of the cliff, because how will he know he should enact these regulations until it is too jolly late? Surely, the State-owned enterprises can be expected to provide monitoring and acceptance of these regulatory provisions on a voluntary basis and have it as part of their commercial practice. But that would not suit the profile of the present Government.

Let us look at the eligibility threshold for the domestic low-fixed charge. I would have to say, coming from the West Coast of the South Island, that the telephones have been running hot in my little blue office, with questions about why the West Coast has not been included in this strategy. Well, having had a look at it—having put the ruler across it—I guess that the West Coast should be delighted that it has not been included, because the strategy will not work, at the present rate. Indeed, I think the Minister is on record as saying he would speak to power companies and others to explain how it should work.

It would appear from the Minister’s spin that the scheme will address inequality, but let us remember that it does not talk about discounts or amounts; it talks about margins. Yet although lower-use consumers who have not yet signed up to the low-fixed charge scheme might get a slightly lower power bill—perhaps $20 a year—everyone else, including people who are already on the scheme, will probably pay more as the power companies simply raise tariffs across the board to make up the lost revenue. I understand that economists call this the “waterbed effect”. Meanwhile, residential power prices are up compared with the industrial ones, which have risen by only half as much. So people should be entitled to wonder what the hang is going on. Increasing the threshold for the lower South Island may not actually be needed, given this Government’s inaction over climate change, its mismanagement of deforestation, and the amount of carbon dioxide the State-owned enterprises power stations keep pumping out.

The industry is in a bad shape. It was interesting to attend, as one of its members, the Commerce Committee when questions were raised about Roy Hemmingway’s suitability. Roy Hemmingway addressed the committee. He talked about our limited reservoirs for electricity, about our limited capacity, and about the perilous state of the transmission lines. I understand that 75 percent of power transmitted to the upper half of the South Island, including the West Coast, is generated outside of the region and has to be pumped into the region, and that there is a 30 percent loss in transmission. That is frightful. Yet does this Government permit localisation of generation? Does it hang!

Darren Hughes: Where did the member get that 30 percent figure from?

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: The 30 percent?

Darren Hughes: Where did he get that figure from?

CHRIS AUCHINVOLE: I got it from the power companies I deal with. They brought it to me as a complaint over the loss of transmission that occurs in the lines. If that figure is not correct, then I would like to hear from members opposite what the figure really is and just how good the transmission supply lines are. I think they will find that they are living, again, in a state of denial. Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) : Let me make it clear from the outset that New Zealand First supports the Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill. The sad thing about it is that we have to have this bill at all. That is a sad indictment on this country.

Let me talk a little bit about the disconnection regulation. It is to underpin and ensure that the electricity companies actually do the job that is required of them. What happened in May with the Muliaga family was a disgrace—an absolute disgrace. I listened to the Labour speaker Maryan Street who said that she commended the companies for having the Jonah Lomu advertisement. Every time I see that ad I think of sadness and ask myself why we have to pay out this money to do something that is really just decent common sense: people who are on a life-support system do not get their power turned off. Everyone has a great love for Jonah and a great respect for him, not only for what he did on the rugby field but for what he has gone through in his private life.

Hon Mita Ririnui: He was on life support.

PETER BROWN: Yes, he relied on it and he is a good man to use as an example, but we should not have had to use him. We should have contractors who, when they walk into a house and see someone on a life-support system, or even suspect that someone is on one, will say they will not turn off the power until they get the matter clear one way or another and check with their employers, or whoever gave them the contract. Now we are in the sad situation of having to produce legislation that will underpin the power companies to ensure they take a compassionate view and a compassionate attitude to this type of predicament. So New Zealand First has no hesitation in supporting this bill, for that reason alone.

The second area that the bill covers, the low fixed charge, also makes common sense. The threshold of 8,000 kilowatt-hours is not enough for the colder parts of New Zealand—people do not sign up to it. We need to increase the threshold, lower the line charge, and raise the charge per kilowatt-hour. At 9,000 kilowatt-hours it all balances even, and if people use less than that, they should make a saving. I do not know much that saving is—I think Gerry Brownlee alluded to it being $18—but the thing is, we have to deliver electricity to all people everywhere, particularly elderly people living in very cold areas, and we welcome this change. Whether it is enough, I do not know.

I have to say that I agree with Gerry Brownlee—and this is probably a little bit worrying—on his point that we do not generate enough electricity in this country. I think he is spot on. Something went wrong after the Bradford reforms. We were told at the time of the Bradford reforms that a competitive environment would get these generating companies competing, and that they would all have a surplus and the price would go down. But actually the reverse has happened; the generating companies produce just what they need—what they can sell, and at the price they can sell it—and the market price goes up as a result.

I have to say—and I know people will call me a heathen—that I would maximise our use of hydro power. They will not call me a heathen for that. I would maximise our use of wind power. I would maximise our use of tidal power. I would even look closely at wave power. The Minister of Energy will shudder now, but I would have a gas-fired power station in Ōtāhuhu tomorrow. Contact Energy would have a gas-fired power station in Ōtāhuhu tomorrow if it got the OK, and I would agree with it. I will go—I hope, if Genesis invites me—to the official opening of E3P, with glee.

I ask members to imagine the situation we would have if E3P had not occurred. This Government gave the go-ahead and underwrote the gas, and now “gas” is a dirty word. An even dirtier word is “coal”. It is an absolute dirty word. We have one coal-fired power station, and we have all the greenies kicking up here, there, and everywhere. China brings on stream three or four coal-fired power stations a month, and we say: “What about global warming? Close down Huntly!”. Or some people say that; I do not say it—I hope that the Huntly power station goes on forever.

I am moving into the subject of climate change and have digressed from the bill, but I know that the members opposite are learning and are finding this quite interesting. Let me say that if we want to solve climate change at a practical level—never mind that we introduce carbon tax or emissions trading schemes—we will have to address at a practical level the emissions that come from coal. Forty percent of the world’s energy is derived from coal. In Australia, 75 percent of energy is derived from coal. China, as I said, is producing a coal-fired power station every 10 or so days. If we want to change the climate, to change the carbon dioxide emissions or the carbon dioxide equivalents, we will have to address the coal problem on a global basis.

Hon David Parker: I agree.

PETER BROWN: The Minister agrees. So I am against chastising and slagging off New Zealanders—as my Green Party colleague will stand up and do immediately after me in all probability—because we have one coal-fired power station delivering 1,000 megawatts. That is all we have.

I have digressed quite a lot on this bill. I want to see it go to select committee. I have read the bill, fairly quickly, a couple of times and I cannot see that it is in need of a great deal of amending; it seems to set out pretty clearly what it intends to do. I have no doubt that the select committee will give the bill a thorough examination and possibly find that a few adjustments are needed. But I hope, at the end of the day, and in reasonably fast order, that this bill comes back to the House and we can do something a little bit positive—although, if we had done the right thing in terms of the disconnection policy, we would not need a bill like this, and it is sort of sad to think about it.

But we do need the bill, and we do need to address the low fixed-charge rate and make it fairer all round for New Zealanders, certainly for those who live in the cold, and certainly for the elderly people who are living on fixed incomes in the cold. I shudder from time to time to think how they exist. When I was in Dunedin a few years back I met a few elderly people who told me stories of sitting in their beds all day wrapped up in blankets. There is an obligation on us to show a little compassion on the two fronts here. New Zealand First will support this bill.

TE URUROA FLAVELL (Māori Party—Waiariki) :Kia ora tātou. Kia ora tātou i tēnei Wiki o te Reo Māori. Tērā tētahi kōrero: “Mā te mea mātāmuri ka wehe atu i Aotearoa, e tinei te raiti?”. I ēnei wā, tērā pea ka kite tātau kua wetohia kē te raiti!

Kei te mārama mātau o te Pāti Māori mō ngā take i tae mai ai tēnei pire ki runga i te Pepa Rārangi Kōrero o te Whare, arā, nā te āhuatanga pōuri nei i pā ki a Folole Muliaga. Ko tōna matenga, nā te wetonga o te hiko i tōna whare mo te aha? Mō tana nama $168.40. Ki tā mātou mōhio koi nei te āhuatanga mō ngā tāngata e hia kē nei i Aotearoa. Nā te ripoata a te Manatū Whakahiato Ora o te tau 2006 i kī mai, hau tekau o ngā Pākehā me te hauwhā o te Māori, kāore i utu i tētahi o ā rātau nama hiko, korohū, wai ranei i te tau 2004. Hei tā te pūrongo, he taumaha ake tēnei āhuatanga mō ngā whānau Pasifika.

I te wiki kua taha ake nei kua rongo te Pāti Māori i ngā karanga pakanga nei e kī ana, mō ngā kaute kē te āhuatanga mahi tōrangapū. Kāti, ka pēhea ēnei whika? E 26.7 ō-rau o ngā whānau Māori katoa kāore i utu wawe i ā rātau nama hiko, wai, korohū i te tau 2004. Ā, e 12.7 ō-rau o ngā whānau i Aotearoa, arā, tata pea ki te 266,700 mano, kāore i utu i ō rātau nama mō te wā kotahi i te tau i mua. Ka taea pea e ngā tākuta whatiwhati kōrero te hanga momo whakautu mō te āhuatanga o ēnei kaute. Kei te tangata tonu rānei te tikanga ki te utu i āna nama i te wā e tika ana, ā, me āta titiro ngā kaituku hiko i ō rātau raupapa mahi, ā, me āta titiro rānei te iwi ki te āhua o wā rātau whakapau moni. Kāre he paku raru ki ēnei kārero, ā, he tika hoki ētahi engari, kua tau te hē ki wāhi kē, ko te Karauna tēnā e noho pai ana.

Engari, anei mātau o te Pāti Māori, te reo Māori motuhake, kei te Pāremata e akiaki nei i te Kāwanatanga mō ōna kawenga ki ngā nohoanga tāngata, ki te hapori, ki tēnei whenua hoki. I aro ake mātau ki ngā kōrero a te rangatira o Mighty River Power, a Doug Heffernan, me tana kī mai i te 25 o Pipiri, arā, “Ko ngā take rawakore he raru ka pā ki te nohoanga tāngata, ā, kei a tātau katoa te whakautu. He akiaki tonu tērā ki tēnā, ki tēnā, kaua ko ngā kamupene hiko anake engari, ko ngā tari āwhina tāngata me te Kāwanatanga hoki.”

Nā, ko te pire nei he tīmatanga kia uru mai te Kāwanatanga. Māku tonu e kī i te tuatahi, ka tautoko te Pāti Māori i tēnei pire nā te mea, he take tēnei ka pā mai ki te katoa mō ngā mahi weweto kaihoko hiko. Ki tā te Hāhi Salvation Army, nā te kaha o te mana o nga koporeihana, kāore ngā kaimahi i te tino ngākau nui i te hapori i runga i te ngākau atawhai. Ko tā Child Poverty Action Group, ko te pūtake o te raru, ko tērā e kī ana, “Kāore e taea e ngā kaupapa o te mākete te whakarite huarahi hei manaaki i ngā whānau.” He kaha ake te kupu o ngā Uniana me tā rātou kōrero i kī nei: “Kua kitea anō, ko te kaupapa nui o ngā koporeihana ā-Kāwanatanga, arā, ko te moni i mua noa atu i te tangata i Aotearoa nei.”

Nā te kaha takariri, koi nei tā rātou pānui i te 31 o Haratua ki a Mercury Energy: “He momo kaiwhakaweti tērā hunga, ko tā rātau kai ko te hunga rawakore, te hunga pōhara o Tāmaki ki te Tonga. He ōrite rātau ki ērā tāngata tuku moni, rātau he pirau te ngākau, ā, kei roto i ō tātau rohe e noho ana. Ka whakawhirinaki rātau ki te hunga mokemoke, ki te hunga noho manene.”

Ko te pire e wānangahia nei e tātou i tēnei rangi he whakaaro kotahi anake, ehara ko te titiro whānui ki te hiahia kia rere kē tonu ngā mea whai hua. Ko ngā whakatikatikatanga e whakaarohia nei mō te mahi tope hiko, mō te kore utu nama, arā, ngā momo huarahi hei utu i ngā nama i ngā wā ka kā anō te hiko, ā, mā te hunga raruraru, ka tautoko katoa mātau i aua kaupapa. Engari, kāore tēnei pire e muru i ngā taumahatanga whai hua o tēnei wā. Ko tōna tikanga, arā, ko te mahi a te Kāwanatanga he tiaki i ngā whānau kia taea ai e rātou nga whānau, te utu i ngā nama pēnei i ō rātau ake nama hiko.

Kei te mōhio tonu mātau kua whakaritea kē e te Komihana Hiko i te tau 2005 he kaupapa hei āwhina i ērā, arā, te hunga pōhara. Kua titiro mātau ki aua kaupapa, ā, he mea whakamīharo ērā hiahia hei āwhina i ērā e noho raruraru nei nā te kore mōhio. me pēhea e taea ai te utu i ō rātau nama hiko. Engari, ko te tino raruraru i whakatakotohia e te Perehitini o Grey Power, arā, e Graham Stairmand, nāna te Kāwanatanga i wero kia ngākaunui mai ki ērā kua piki atu te utu mō te hiko i te 60 ō-rau i ngā tau e whā ki muri.

Ka whakaatu a Child Poverty Action Group i te raru ki “ngā whānau he noho rawakore te noho”, i runga i te pātai: “Meinā ka aukatihia te hiko, ka pēhea ngā tamariki i ō rātau mahi ako i te kura, kia whāngaihia i ngā kai mahana, ki te mahi i wō rātau rorohiko, ki te horoi hoki i a rātau anō kia kore ai e mate i ngā mate tahumaero, me pēhea hoki?”. Ka hoki mai anō ki aua take anō kua piki te utu o te hiko, o te wai, o ngā waka, i runga ake i te ekenga o te wāriu, ā, i runga ake hoki i ngā utu mahi; kāre e ōrite te ngahoro o ngā painga ki ngā whānau katoa i raro i ngā painga o te kaupapa Mahi mō Ngā Whānau, ka riro i ētahi, ka noho pōhara tonu ētahi; he whānau tonu kāre i te whiwhi i ngā painga o te kaupapa Mahi mō ngā Whānau nā te kore mōhio kei reira tonu taua āwhina.

He whakaaro arorau ērā i roto i te pire e kī ana. me rere kē ngā utu mō ia rohe, mō ia rohe. Kua rongo nei mātau he tino whānui tonu te rere kētanga o te take mai i tētahi rohe o Aotearoa ki tētahi, ā, ko ngā take iti nei he moemoeā noa iho mō rātau e noho nei i ngā wāhi kaha mātao, kaha māku rānei nā reira, e whakaae ana mātau ki ngā rere kētanga kei te whakaarohia mō tēnā rohe, mō tēnā rohe. He whakaaro pai ērā.

Tērā pea ko te kaha o te riri, otirā, o te aroha ngā mea nui kua ngau nei i te ngākau o te motu. Ko tā mātau, arā noa atu ngā tino pātai hei tuku mō te āhua o te mana o ērā, arā, ko ngā kaiwhakarato nei mō te hiko ki te kore mahi i āna mahi nā te kore utu nama ahakoa, he mea waiwai tonu. Ko te ture e akiaki nei i ngā kaiwhakarato katoa, kia noho tika te mahi, ki tau te mahi, kia ora te mahi i a rātou e kimi nei i ngā nama, he ture tau ake kia waihangatia e tēnei Pāremata.

Kei te koa ki te kite e maumahara ana ngā tōrangapū tawhito ki ngā tino kaupapa, arā, kia haere te tangata i mua o te ture, ā, ka hangai taua kaupapa mō te painga mō tātau katoa o Aotearoa. Ko tā mātau wawata anō, ka titiro anō rātou ki ō rātou ake pōti, ā, me te kimi i te tika me te pono o te ngākau kia taea ai e rātou te kī tūturu nei, ko te ara ki ngā mahi tika, he tino kaupapa nui mō tēnei Pāremata. Nō reira huri noa, tēnā koutou, kia ora tātou katoa.

• [An interpretation in English was given to the House.]

[Greetings to us all, in this Māori Language Week. There used to be a saying, "Would the last person to leave New Zealand switch off the light?”. In these times, we might instead find that the light was disconnected!

The Māori Party comes to the Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill acutely aware of the dire circumstances that prompted this bill on to the Order Paper—the circumstances given focus through the tragic situation of Folole Muliaga and the fatal disconnection of power to her house because of an outstanding bill for $168.40, circumstances that we now know to be a common fact of life for far too many New Zealanders. The Ministry of Social Development’s Economic Standard of Living report, released in 2006, found that one-tenth of European families, and one-quarter of Māori families, fell behind on at least one bill for power, gas, or water in 2004. The situation was, and continues to be, worse for Pacific families.

The

But we of the Māori Party—a proud and independent Māori advocate in Parliament—are always happy to remind the Government of the responsibilities it has to consumers, to the community, and to the country. We were interested in a statement that Mighty River Power boss, Doug Heffernan, made on 25 June, when he said: “Financial hardship is a social problem and it requires a co

This bill, then, is the Government starting to play its part. From the outset, I say that the Māori Party will support this bill on the basis of shared concerns from across the nation about the disconnection practices of electricity retailers. The Salvation Army has suggested that the corporate environment is so influential that staff are discouraged from making decisions on humanitarian grounds. The Child Poverty Action Group

The bill we are considering today is but one part of a greater picture that reflects the need for economic changes to occur. The arrangements that are being mooted about disconnection following non-payment of accounts, about alternative payment options, about reconnection, and about identifying vulnerable consumers, are honourable proposals, and proposals we will support. But this bill does not take away the responsibility of addressing current economic realities. It is surely the duty of a responsible Government to ensure all whānau are able to meet basic costs such as electricity in the first place.

We know that there have been guidelines in place prepared by the Electricity Commission in 2005 to assist low-income domestic consumers. We have looked through those guidelines, and their intention to assist consumers whose income makes it genuinely difficult for them to pay their electricity bill is admirable. But the central problem lies in the facts outlined by Grey Power National President, Graham Stairmand, who challenged the Government to have some sympathy for consumers who have experienced a 60 percent increase in the cost of electricity over the last 4 years.

The Child Poverty Action Group also highlighted the “parlous existence of many low-income families”, asking the simple question: “How can children do their homework, get fed a hot nutritious meal, use the computer, or wash themselves adequately to prevent infections, when the power is cut off; how, indeed?”. Yet again, it comes back to the perennial problems that electricity, water, and transport price rises are well above the rate of inflation, and certainly well above most wage increases;

The other set of changes in this bill around the Low Fixed Charge tariff options seem to be logical, with the emphasis on being region-specific. We are told that there is wide disparity in the Low Fixed Charge tariff coverage in New Zealand; that the low-use threshold is unrealistic for many living in colder, wetter places; so the changes to recognise the different climates of New Zealand's different regions in the setting of tariffs seem sensible.

The moral and ethical outrage that has captured the compassion of the nation has focused perhaps too heavily on blame and shame. We believe there are very serious questions to be asked about how any utility provider has the power to withhold services on the basis of debts incurred—services that we would classify as essential. Legislation that reminds all utility providers of the need for consistent, safe processes in recovering overdue amounts is thus a very positive thing for this Parliament to bring in.

It is pleasing to see that the two older parties, in particular, are remembering the essential values of access to law and justice and to the application of the law for the benefit of all New Zealanders. We hope, too, that they may look further at their own voting record, and search their souls for the truth as to whether they can say, with all honesty, that they believe that access to justice is an essential principle of this Parliament. .]

JEANETTE FITZSIMONS (Co-Leader—Green) : The Greens will not be opposing this bill, because we see it as essentially harmless. I have to say, though, that we cannot muster a huge amount of enthusiasm for it, either.

Everyone, of course, was shocked at what happened to the Muliaga family and wants to make absolutely sure that a disconnection can never again cause the degree of distress experienced by that family. The matter is being dealt with largely through the guidelines of the Electricity Commission, which the companies are signing up to, and of course we support a back-up power to regulate if the companies ignore those guidelines. But I think the retailers have pretty much learnt their lesson by now from the huge public outcry at what happened. I cannot imagine that that incident is going to be repeated. Nevertheless we do support a power to regulate, just in case.

Clause 4, however, is a very minor tweaking of a largely ineffective existing law. I think we ought to be bolder and start asking why just one industry out of the very many that have high fixed costs is able to charge fixed prices before it charges for use. If I drive on to a petrol station forecourt, I do not have to go through a barrier and put in $20 before I get to the pump and buy my petrol at 50c a litre. A petrol station has very high fixed costs, including storage of fuel, the checkout counter, the building, and the bowsers, and it would be in serious trouble if everybody who came in bought only 50c worth of petrol and went out again. But petrol stations do not have the right to charge a fixed entry cost. A supermarket has very high fixed costs too, but when we get to the checkout it does not say: “OK, that’s $20 for coming in the supermarket door and now you get a discount off all your groceries.” So why is the electricity industry any different?

In the electricity industry we pay a substantial part of our power bill just to be connected to the lines. A lot of people mistakenly call it a line charge. They think it is the lines companies that charge the fixed bit of the tariff, and the retail companies that charge the variable bit. But that is not true. The lines companies charge quite a lot of their return on a variable basis, and the retail companies charge a fixed charge for metering and billing. When did we ever have to pay a fixed cost for having our meters read before we bought any electricity?

The Green Party has always had a policy that there should be no fixed charges, and that fixed costs for companies should be recovered out of the unit charges. That would mean that unit charges would be higher, and the price of electricity at the margin would higher, but it would mean that using less would become cheaper. For example, it would mean that the return people got on insulating their houses, or on installing a solar water heater, or by just turning off dripping taps would be very much higher than it is now. Most people who save half of their electricity use, save only about one-quarter of their bill, and that is not a very good incentive. Getting rid of fixed charges used to be Labour’s policy, as well, but that somehow went by the board.

In 2001 I spent a lot of time discussing with the then Minister of Energy, the Hon Pete Hodgson, the 2001 electricity legislation where Labour sought our support. I argued very hard for zero fixed charges. The best the Minister would offer as a compromise was the low fixed charge for those consumers who used less than half the average amount of electricity, because their bills would then go down without the bills of higher consumers going up. That compromise has not been particularly effective. Power companies have all kinds of ways of disguising the fact that optional low fixed-charge tariffs exist, and because it applies only to some consumers, the benefits of it are actually pretty small for most people.

This bill tweaks this situation a little bit further, and it is the only legislative outcome of the 2006 Ministry of Economic Development study called Pricing in the New Zealand Electricity Market and its Economic Impact. That study found that electricity needed to be priced at marginal cost to prevent shortages and subsidies, and to encourage efficiency, but if all electricity was priced at this level—as it is now—it would be unaffordable for some, and it would make huge windfall profits for generators, which it currently does.

The report concluded that there were three ways of addressing this problem, but it recommended against all of them. The most sensible way to address the problem is through progressive pricing, where all households have a basic block of power at a low price per unit, and the price per unit rises with each block of power used above that. The power company receives the same total revenue, but basic needs are affordable. People do not get into the situation in which the Muliaga family found itself in respect to their power bill, but everybody has an incentive to conserve, because the last unit that people are using always costs more than the average that they are paying. However, this report advised against that because it was not consistent with the ideology of competitive market arrangements.

Instead, the Minister proposed to Cabinet that it tweak the optional low fixed charge in the South Island to recognise that the average use in the South Island is higher. That is not a bad thing to do; it will do no harm, and it might do a tiny amount of good, but it is actually hardly worth the legislative time that it is taking. It is a huge missed opportunity to price electricity in a way that would ensure that everyone could afford to meet his or her basic needs, but would face a higher cost at the margin and have an incentive to use electricity wisely.

JO GOODHEW (National—Aoraki) : I rise to take a call on the Electricity (Disconnection and Low Fixed Charges) Amendment Bill. The National Party supports this bill going to the select committee. The previous speaker, Jeanette Fitzsimons, mentioned that this bill is perhaps harmless. I have to say, straight up, that if one reads the Timaru Herald, one would think that some parts of it are not only harmless but also useless. But I digress.

I will start by saying that there are, of course, two parts to this bill: the disconnection of electricity for domestic consumers and the regulation-making powers relating to that, and the low fixed-charge tariff options for domestic consumers. I want to start by talking about the first part, the disconnection of electricity for domestic consumers. In this day and age we have become very, very reliant on our electricity. We do not like being cold.

• Debate interrupted.