King Annette: New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeKing Annette: New Zealand Flag Referendums Amendment Bill — First Reading Second Reading In Committee[Sitting date: 23 September 2015. Volume:709;Page:6968. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon ANNETTE KING (Deputy Leader—Labour): I have to say today that I am ashamed of the way that this Government and this House are going about making a change to the flag of New Zealand. This is the worst example of political posturing that I have seen in this House in many many years. We are told that we are responding to the wants and needs of New Zealanders. What hogwash—what hogwash. New Zealanders have not said that they want to change the flag and that is the fundamental question that should have been asked first. Do New Zealanders want to change the flag? That is where you start from in any argument. So when we are told that we are responding to what New Zealanders want I do not believe it. When Kennedy Graham said that Parliament has been forced to intervene in the process he is right because the process has been an unprecedented shambles. It has been poorly thought through. It has been poll-driven fruitcakes over there thinking that they need to make changes—just like they do on everything—based not on principles or ideals but on what the polls tell them.The polls if they had been listening were telling them two things but one more strongly than the other. Yes people wanted more choice. They wanted another option—one that arose out of the fact that they did not like the four that had been put up. So they then looked around at the 40 or so designs and said “We like that one better.” and then a groundswell of over 50000 people signed a petition. But what Government members have not listened to are the more than 50000 people who have said: “We don’t want change at all. We haven’t been asked if we want change but actually we don’t.” What was interesting to me was that in question time today the Prime Minister went on about how wonderful National riding high in the TV3 poll was. He quoted the TV3 poll did henot? But did he then quote the part of the poll that asked New Zealanders whether they wanted to change the flag? Did he believe that part of the poll? In that part 70 percent said no they did not—70 percent said no they did not.Tim Macindoe: The vote was 70-plus percent who voted for it last year.Hon ANNETTE KING: I say to the member for Hamilton West: they did not want to change the flag. So I think that Denis O’Rourke was actually right when he said that this is a backside-saving bill. But I do not think it will because the Prime Minister’s arrogant high-handed way of handling this has been seen by many New Zealanders as bullying dismissive arrogant and dressed up as what New Zealanders want. Well I see it as shabby shonky and a shambles. We have seen U-turns we have seen twists we have seen deceit and we have seen political conniving from the panel that was set up right through to the legislation that has been brought here.So Labour will vote for the Greens-inspired bill but I say to the Greens that if they are listening to what New Zealanders want they will vote for Labour’s Supplementary Order Paper because that also says: “Ask the question whether people want to change the flag.” I say to all parties—we will not get support from the National Party members; they have already turned it down but every other party: Peter Dunne the ACT Party the Māori Party and every other party—if you really want to give New Zealanders choice you will vote for the Supplementary Order Paper that we have put up. It is very simple. It says: “Should New Zealand keep its current flag or should New Zealand change to another flag.” You could not get more simple than that.So I say to members: let us give New Zealanders choice. We want choice and they want choice but they want the choice of that question as well. If the National Party members do not want to vote for it there are enough votes in this Parliament with every other party to pass this bill. Then we will be giving New Zealanders a real choice—what they are saying to us. Some of us have listened to our constituents but I suspect that many members over there have been hoodwinked by the man who walks on water in their eyes—their Prime Minister. If they listened to their constituents more of them—and certainly Mr Young in your electorate I bet you have not been near the RSA lately because if you went there they would say: “Give us the choice of whether we change it or not.” I urge members to vote for this bill and also to vote for Labour’s Supplementary Order Paper.