SpeechANDREW FALLOON (National—Rangitata): Thank you very much Madam Speaker for the opportunity to speak tonight on the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill (No 2). Now usually at this stage of the debate we would be discussing and debating some of the issues that were raised at the select committee and some of the views that were expressed but unfortunately of course we've been denied that opportunity in this Parliament because of course this bill isn't going to a select committee. We are debating the bill through all stages in urgency with no select committee and I'm sure a very truncated committee of the whole House stage as well. And that's a real shame I think because as the Minister expressed earlier in the debate there were quite a number of submitters on the original bill—I suppose which we call the No. 1 bill" that was progressed through the House last week—but unfortunately no opportunity for scrutiny by a select committee on this particular bill.I say that with a real sense of disappointment I suppose because it should be enormously obvious to all members in this House that a mistake was made in this legislation that amendments were put forward by the Green Party some of which were supported by this Parliament and that has created an inconsistency in this bill. In fact the amendment bill that was passed last week has only been in law for a matter of hours; it was I think given Royal assent yesterday. And yet here we are debating under urgency a bill that would amend it yet again. But unfortunately the very inconsistencies that this bill seeks to address were created—well they were created by way of a Supplementary Order Paper (SOP) which is referred to in the bill and that is SOP 518.In the bill it refers to as referenced in the bill the fact that the amendment was agreed to by the Parliament at its committee of the whole House stage. As is detailed in the bill SOP 518 proposed to repeal section 80(1)(d) of the Electoral Act 1993 which would have given all prisoners the right to vote. As I've said a number of occasions that is a very consistent view to hold and it's certainly one that the Green Party hold but not one that is held on this side of the House. Part of that SOP wasn't passed of course that would've been the amendment which would have extended the right to vote to all prisoners. But what this Parliament did vote for was an amendment which does require corrections to assist all prisoners received in to prison to enrol to vote and the bill describes that to be quote "internally inconsistent" and of course it is. So the law as it currently stands—as I say it's been on the books for a matter of hours—requires corrections to assist all prisoners to enrol to vote and yet the Act that was given Royal assent still makes it illegal for prisoners who are given a sentence of greater than three years to enrol to vote.It is what my colleague Chris Bishop would probably describe as an absolute shemozzle. This bill canvasses that point. It says quote "The passage of the Electoral (Registration of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill … now places unworkable obligations on the Department of Corrections … and the Electoral Commission."—it goes on to say "Those obligations are not in line with the intended policy that only prisoners serving sentences of less than 3 years should be able to enrol to vote." And so my question for the Minister which I do hope he will address in a later contribution later on tonight is in respect of other inconsistencies in the bill because as much as this bill tries to remedy the inconsistencies that were created last week it also creates other ones. So for example why is it that the example that was being given by the Government of their position is that prisoners should be allowed to vote on the Government that will be in power when they are released? And yet this bill doesn't actually do that and nor does the bill that was passed last week. Because all this bill does is extends the right to vote to prisoners—or both bills in fact extend the right to vote to prisoners who are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of less than three years. What it doesn't do is what the Minister has described which is give all prisoners the right to vote in their last three years as in those prisoners who are going to—Andrew Bayly: This is a very good speech.ANDREW FALLOON: —thank you Mr Bayly—in the Minister's words vote for the Government that that will be in power when they are released.Now I do briefly want to come back to the Supplementary Order Paper that is referred to in the bill that's Supplementary Order Paper 518 that this bill essentially repeals. That amendment was put forward by the Green Party so I hope that a Green MP—and we've heard some contributions earlier from Golriz Ghahraman and Chlöe Swarbrick. I do want to hear from them if they plan to put up a similar SOP to SOP 518. Because that would be useful information for members on this side of the House to know. If they're going to hold that consistent view that all prisoners should be allowed to vote will they in the committee of the whole House stage put up another SOP similar to one they put up last week for the House to consider perhaps vote on? I'm sure National colleagues on this side of the House would be very very interested to hear it. I'm sure the Minister on the other side of the House frankly would be very very interested to hear that because it does go to a pretty fundamental point on this bill.We do have concerns about the process and I'll cover that in later contributions. Thank you."