O'Connor DamienHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Agriculture): Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. Look it's a pleasure to get up in the House and I guess as one of the perhaps longest serving MPs in the House to offer some views on the situation we have before us.The usual reference by an Opposition in such a situation would be constitutional outrage. The Opposition hasn't even got to that point because indeed it is not. This is a piece of legislation that was passed by the previous Government that put in place some deadlines that this Government now is moving to firstly fix to that is to adhere to the deadlines laid in the previous legislation to fix up some drafting errors from the previous Government's mistakes.Now the arguments put to this House are that we need a long period of time to ensure that we don't make mistakes. Well the previous Government had a long period of time and they made mistakes. What we are saying and the Minister's putting before the House is a move and a proposition to address these mistakes in the wisdom that we've gained from the mistakes from the previous Government and say We'll rectify these." move on offer protection for those people under 17 which I believe the current piece of legislation doesn't properly cover.Hon Tracey Martin: Under 18.Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Under 18 sorry. Those are 17-year-olds. So we're just moving to put in place what we kindly would say is the intent of the previous Government. Although in my view that would be too kind because I haven't seen much wisdom and never did for nine years. But understanding that perhaps they had good intent with the legislation but in fact got it wrong in a number of areas then we as a responsible Government have come in and are saying we will make the changes needed.Now the 1 July deadline means that we have to have this passed by the 27 May and so—Hon Michael Woodhouse: Why's it only come into the House today?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: They're very wise in Opposition. It's a shame they didn't have that wisdom in Government when they were managing the legislation because we wouldn't have had to come and fix it up.The reality is now that we are responsibly changing the legislation to what I say kindly is put in place the intent. If they didn't intend to do this maybe they should own up to it. It seems like they might have intended to do the things that we're intending to do they just mucked it up—they mucked it up. So we are making the changes necessary and the fast-track requirement is in fact to meet the 27 May deadline that enables us to put in place the legislative requirements of it by 1 July. It's quite simple really. And the difference between their Opposition which is leaderless and us who are showing leadership is that we will get on and do what is necessary in the timelines required.We've shown that earlier on today that we're prepared to do that where clearly the collective wisdom of most of New Zealand and most of Parliament—except for the Opposition of course—is that these are changes that are necessary. So the filibustering that we see—not a constitutional outrage at all; just the filibustering—which is the Opposition's jumping up and down on the same spot saying that we should take longer to do this—well the previous Government the National Government had all the time in the world to do this and get it right and they didn't. They stuffed it up. So we are now working through—and I acknowledge the Minister the Hon Tracey Martin who's working through all these areas of her responsibility to tidy up things that the previous Government had ignored. So the Oranga Tamariki Legislation Bill is something that we believe is absolutely essential to protect I guess the rights of those under 18 to ensure they have a fair go at justice in particular. We're going to do what we've got to do because the previous Government mucked it up. So I suggest that they sit down stop filibustering stop wasting the time of Parliament and allow us to get on and put in place the changes to legislation that are required. That's what we're here for and that's what we will do and as soon as the Opposition sits down and shuts up then we'll get on and do it more quickly."