Twyford Phil: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
Twyford Phil: Rugby World Cup 2011 (Empowering) Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee 
[Volume:668;Page:14887] 
PHIL TWYFORD (Labour) 
: 
 I want to respond to the comments made by the member for Auckland Central. I have never heard such self-righteous cant in the last 2 years in this House as we heard from Nikki Kaye in this debate. She did not so much wrap herself in the flag as in an All Black jersey in her enthusiasm to accuse Labour members in this Parliament of not supporting the Rugby World Cup of not even liking rugby and of being unpatriotic. How pathetic! Members on the Government benches are threatened by the fact that Opposition members would dare to criticise one part of this bill. I emphasise that it is one part of this bill. We have made it crystal clear at the Government Administration Committee in public statements and in the entirety of this debate so far that we are voting for every part of the bill bar one. We have made that clear in the first reading in the second reading and in the entirety of the Committee stage to date. We support this bill; we support the Rugby World Cup; and any attempt to make this an argument about patriotism and whether we support rugby and the Rugby World Cup is absolute nonsense. The member for Auckland Central should know better. 
The member for Auckland Central said that it was embarrassing to see Labour make all these criticisms of the Murray McCully provisions in this bill. She asked why Labour has not put up a minority report. Nikki Kaye should ask herself why any Opposition member would not put up a minority report. It is because members on the Government benches are making a habit of voting down and rejecting minority reports. 
Nikki Kaye 
: That’s not true. 
PHIL TWYFORD 
: It is absolutely true. We saw it at the Law and Order Committee and we are now seeing it at other committees too. The Government is so defensive and insecure that it cannot brook any dissent from the Opposition in the form of minority reports which after all are a mechanism that this House has developed over many years to allow the Opposition to have its say and to have a dissenting opinion. In this case we are talking about only one part out of—how many parts are in this bill? 
Sue Moroney 
: Seven I think. 
PHIL TWYFORD 
: There are seven parts. Labour has made it clear that we oppose only one part yet the member for Auckland Central cannot tolerate the slightest criticism of her bill without going into paroxysms of outrage and self-righteousness by suggesting that Labour does not support the Rugby World Cup. I say to members opposite that they should listen to what the Opposition is saying. We oppose the granting of unfettered powers to the Minister for the Rugby World Cup to override the recommendations of eminent specialists who have been recruited into roles to administer the Rugby World Cup Authority. We think that is undemocratic and we are saying so. That is a perfectly justified opinion. Members opposite should take a deep breath and recognise that this is a debating chamber. This is where we carry out the democracy of our country and we scrutinise legislation. That is what this debate is all about. I am glad to see that the outrage on the part of members opposite seems to have dissipated and we can get on with debating Part 2 of this bill. 
The select committee very usefully clarified some points in relation to the powers of the Rugby World Cup Authority. It made it absolutely explicit in the bill that in relation to any powers exercised by the relevant statutory body that will be granting liquor licences and considering and issuing consents the same powers would carry across to the Rugby World Cup. So there is absolutely no doubt about that in relation to the powers of the authority which are contained in Part 2; it is a very very useful amendment. 
Part 2 also deals with the role of the administrative secretariat. My colleagues have already made the point very clearly that we are entirely happy with the powers of the administrative secretariat. They have been thoughtfully and usefully put together.