Shirley Ken: Legislation (Incorporation by Reference) Bill — In Committee 
Shirley Ken: Legislation (Incorporation by Reference) Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:625;Page:19826] 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY (ACT) 
: 
 I think the Committee and the country should be deeply alarmed by the comments we have just heard from the Minister. He is trying to sweep this major problem this very complex legislation under the carpet by saying that this is just about little wee things such as numerical problems and grammatical errors. I tell the Minister that that is why legislation should go to a select committee. That is why this Parliament before it rushes in to pass laws calls for public submissions to hear what people out in the community with experience such as he has not got might think about it. But no he is captured by his officials. He rushes to the Parliament with this legislation under urgency and rams it through. All he is doing is putting a sticking-plaster on a weeping sore because the situation is this: this Building Act was passed some 8 months ago; part of it became operative on 30 November last year; another significant part became operative on 31 March this year. That is just 13 days ago! Yet here we have another amending piece of legislation 13 days later. 
But here is the real catch: a Supplementary Order Paper has been cobbled together and it is 10 times the size of the amending bill but none of it is going to a select committee. That is arrogantly bypassing the proper processes of passing legislation. This Minister knows it. It is a disgrace and he tries to sweep it under the carpet as error after error is exposed here in the Committee. He has entered into a sort of back-scratching exercise a mutual admiration society; with the doormat party United Future. 
I shall comment on the speech made by Murray Smith from United Future prior to the Minister’s speech. He was proudly claiming credit—it was sort of the great achievement of United Future yet he shot himself down with his own words. I do not know whether any members have picked up off the table his amendment in hastily scrawled handwriting. Here he is in the Committee talking about legislation that is not going to a select committee making further amendments to legislation that he is proudly claiming he has had all this great input into. In other words he is acknowledging he has not got it right and it is legislation on the hoof. 
It is a very bad process and we are seeing far too much of that practice under this Government. It is panic legislation. It is a knee-jerk reaction and the building laws of this country are far too important to be fiddling with and changing on the hoof in the way this is being done. 
This Government has made an absolute mess of the building laws. On the one hand it has totally removed the longstanding tradition of the Kiwi do-it-yourselfer who is totally driven out of the industry and Government members might well say that the building industry supports that. Well of course they do! Has the Government not heard of restrictive trade practice? All employment groups love banning the do-it-yourselfer because then they get more work. Instead we have this great layer of registration upon registration. I know a lot of Kiwis who are quite competent in this work. I actually built my first house. I lived in it before it was completed. There were no problems. It is still standing does not leak and that was over 30 years ago. 
Brent Catchpole 
: A good tent! 
Hon KEN SHIRLEY 
: A very good house it was I might add. That is the point. That has all ended now. No one can do any work within the structural envelope of the building. It is a nonsense. For the Minister to try to sweep under the carpet the fiasco we had in the clause that clearly stated—he might try to argue that it was ambiguous but it was very clear—that someone cannot occupy any part of a public building that is subject to works whether or not they are maintenance restorative or whatever is a nonsense. It was very clear and the Minister tries to say: “No no the city council was prepared to go along with that.” Well I say: “Shame on the city council!” That is the problem with so many of our laws. We are not properly enforcing the many laws that we have passed and at the same time we try to bring in layers and layers of more restrictive and prescriptive laws. This is bad legislation and I urge the Parliament not to pass it.