Peachey Allan: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Peachey Allan: Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:672;Page:18843] 
ALLAN PEACHEY (National—Tamaki) 
: 
 In speaking to clause 4 of the Royal Society of New Zealand Amendment Bill I will reflect for a moment on the comments of the previous speaker David Shearer. The only bit of merit in his speech was the way he opened his second call when he said in effect that he should not have taken it. It is time that this nonsense stopped. There is support across the Committee for this bill. As chairman of the Education and Science Committee that conducted the hearings into the bill I think it is time that I at least on behalf of members on this side of the Chamber apologised to the Royal Society for the way in which this legislation which is very very important to the society is being made into a farce by the tactics of the Opposition. The Opposition is trying to delay debate on— 
Dr Rajen Prasad 
: I raise a point of order Mr Chairperson. I fail to see how the member is addressing clause 4 of the bill in anything he has said so far. 
The CHAIRPERSON (H V Ross Robertson) 
: No the member has a few minutes in which to respond to any debate from the other side. But the member should come to the point. 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: I am indeed trying to respond to the comments that have been made by the Opposition on clause 4. The difficulty is of course that there is actually very little to respond to. So on behalf of the Royal Society and members on this side of the Chamber I appeal to the Opposition to stop this nonsense. It is costing the taxpayer $31000 an hour— 
Colin King 
: How much? 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: —$31000 an hour—while the Opposition unnecessarily delays the progress of this bill. It is a bill on which there is agreement across the Committee. It should be passed the Royal Society has asked for it to be passed and it is incumbent on this House to do that in a timely and diligent manner. But all the Opposition is doing in prolonging the debate on clause 4 and in prolonging the debate generally on this bill is avoiding confronting the issues of the Education (Freedom of Association) Amendment Bill. 
I think that approach brings no credit to that party at all. I say to the member in the chair Grant Robertson who has spoken on clause 4 endlessly that he should live up to his responsibilities as the sponsor of the bill. He has that responsibility and that honour as the member for Wellington Central and it will not be lost on his constituents that he is disabusing that responsibility with a smirk on his face because of a greater agenda on the part of the Labour Party. That brings no credit at all to that member. I appeal to that member to take a moment to reflect on the comments he made on clause 4 to reflect on the strategy that is being used and to question whether he is meeting his responsibilities to his constituents as the member sponsoring this bill. 
Hon Steve Chadwick 
: This isn’t the classroom or the schoolhouse; this is the House of Parliament. 
ALLAN PEACHEY 
: I heard the junior Opposition whip shouting at me a moment ago and I say to that whip that she should exercise some responsibility some leadership and some control over her team. The behaviour of the Opposition in the debate on clause 4 as in other aspects of this debate brings no credit to this Chamber and even less credit to the Labour Party.