Smith Lockwood: Regulatory Reform Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Smith Lockwood: Regulatory Reform Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Sitting date: 22 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4687. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Mr SPEAKER 
: Honourable members I appreciate your restraint in this difficult situation. I must say—if I could be a little bit facetious for a moment myself—I was watching this while chairing another meeting and when I saw my colleague here the Hon Clayton Cosgrove with a microphone in his hand I wondered whether he was actually singing to the Committee. I was most impressed. I thought this was a new talent that one of my parliamentary colleagues was demonstrating to the Committee. Little did I realise the reality of the difficulties being confronted by members. 
I think some of the points being raised by members are very important. Were the situation to result in some parties’ contributions to this debate being heard in public and other parties’ contributions not being heard that would be a pretty unacceptable situation. That would result in the views of one party getting through to the public and another party’s views not getting through and I think it would be hard to argue that that was not an unacceptable situation. Some members have asked why this technically cannot be fixed up right away. Apparently one of the problems is that the system is highly computerised. Work is going on at this moment to try to rectify the problem. The first job was to find out exactly what was going wrong. Now work is going on to rectify it but it will not be done immediately. 
My advice is that sound is getting through on Radio New Zealand television and web streaming—members raised that issue earlier. But what would be needed from members is a preparedness to be a little helpful in this situation. Where the microphones are working—which seems to be more on the Government side of the House—that is fine but what I would ask the Chair of the Committee to do is to allow a little more time for one of these handheld mikes to be made available to all other members because where they are being used the sound is being transmitted I am advised and is being received over radio television and web streaming. 
So if members could just be a little more—well not more cooperative; you have been very cooperative so far. I ask members to be prepared to be that little bit cooperative during these difficult times and perhaps Mr Chairman you could make sure that the time on a member’s contribution during the Committee stage is set from the time the member has a microphone in their hand. I think under those circumstances as long as the public is getting equal feed from all sides of the Chamber—and that is I am advised what will happen if these handheld mikes are used where the desk mikes are not working—and if we just make sure time is allowed no member will be disadvantaged through waiting for a handheld mike to be delivered. And I ask the support staff here in the House to assist with making sure these microphones are delivered to members as quickly as possible. I really appreciate members’ preparedness to be constructive during a difficult time.