Bishop Chris: Returning Offenders (Management and Information) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBishop Chris: Returning Offenders (Management and Information) Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 17 November 2015. Volume:710;Page:8059. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]CHRIS BISHOP (National): Look I am very pleased to take a call on the second reading of this important bill. I just want to make a couple of remarks briefly—firstly just to respond to some of the criticism that has come from members opposite. I think it was David Shearer in the first reading of this bill who posed the somewhat provocative question or statement that the Government was not standing up for New Zealanders or for Kiwis.I actually think the record will show the opposite. When looked at in the light of day in the cold reality of the situation the record will show the opposite. The Government has stood up for Kiwis. The Prime Minister has stood up for New Zealanders. Minister Woodhouse who is sitting here in front of me and other Ministers have expressed their concern at some of the Australian policies that have come to light in the last 18 months or so. But Australia is a sovereign country that makes its own laws and makes its own rules and at the end of the day there is little that New Zealand can do about that. But what we can do is manage our own affairs and put in place a regime which this legislation does to make sure that we manage those who are returning to New Zealand.The second thing I want to briefly touch on is whether or not this law should have come before Parliament sooner. Members opposite particularly Jacinda Ardern and Kelvin Davis have suggested that this should have happened way back in February or March. Jacinda Ardern said that the Government had known about this situation since April 2014. Actually as the Minister of Justice said in her second reading contribution this was not in the briefing to the incoming Minister that gets provided. This was a law change made by amendments to the Migration Act in Australia in December 2014. The Minister was adverted to this in February 2015.Imagine what would have happened if the Government had turned up in Parliament and one of the first things we had done for the year at the start of this year was to immediately legislate to deal with that situation. Members opposite would have been up in arms. They would have cried that it was an outrage. They would have said the Government was moving too quickly. They would have said that the Government is legislating in haste. It will make mistakes. You can write your script yourself Mr Assistant Speaker. That is exactly what members would have done. Actually that would not have been the right thing to do. The Government has taken a deliberate process over the last few months working with the Australians to set up a register and get that information out of them that will allow this legislation to be effective. And now we come before the House today to legislate to put it into place.There has been a lot of hot air from members opposite. There has been a lot of huffing and puffing as my colleague Alfred Ngaro says.Denis O’Rourke: A lot of very good arguments too.CHRIS BISHOP: There has been a lot of huffing and puffing from Denis O’Rourke but that is typical of that member. But actually when looked at in the cold hard light of day this is a necessary bill. It is necessary to legislate under urgency. The Government can hold its head up high when it comes to this issue. Thank you.