Maharey Steve: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
Maharey Steve: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:634;Page:5918] 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY (Minister of Education) 
: 
 I do not know whether I am the only one in the House who noticed that this is a third reading debate. The third reading is when Opposition members who have fought their way through the dark of night and are now on their last lap come down to the House. It is when they have done themselves proud and are pumped up. Their leader comes down from his or her office and strides into the House. He or she leads the Opposition into the trenches. The leader gets up and makes a rousing address in the third reading debate and usually what happens is that the Opposition members feel a little pumped by all that. They feel a little bit like they have done a good job. But I do not know whether I am the only one here who noticed that during that speech by Dr Don Brash it was almost like the life was being sucked out of everybody in the Chamber. 
As we tried to listen to a speech made by someone who looked a little like a constipated meerkat as he bobbed up and down and tried to get some energy into his speech we could see the leaders-in-waiting working quietly on their own. Bill English had his head down quietly working bathing in the praise from Michael Cullen. Mr English was the only one to make an impact during this debate. He did his bit he led the way so he could quietly sit and do his work and wait for the day. 
Next to Bill English with his body turned slightly away from Bill English was John Key who has not done a great job in his audition over the last day and a half. He has not passed the audition. He is slightly worried at the success of Bill English in the last day and a half. On the other side of Dr Brash we have beaming Gerry Brownlee who knows in a way that it does not actually matter who is leader because he will end up OK. Gerry is acquitting himself well as a person who does points of order and jumps up and down. He knows he will come through when Don goes. 
I tell members on the Opposition side of the House—and I challenge members of the National Party to get up and deny this—that that was a life-sucking performance from the National Party’s current leader. Maurice Williamson is like a picture of what goes on in the mind of the National Party. He was sitting there thinking: “Oh my God this man has to go.” 
The reason National members really needed a good speech from Don Brash was that they have been desperate to run this issue in the last day and a half. I have sat here and wondered why they are so desperate. What is the desperation and hatred for? Why is Gerry so angry? Why has Bill taken extra lessons in being “Mr Angry”? What has been driving those members for the last day and a half? Then I thought to myself: “I know why.” [ 
Interruption 
] I say to Mr Clarkson that I know why. The reason is that the last time National Party members went through this situation they were trying to character assassinate a number of people in the House. They put extraordinary energy into it. They worked for months on it. They tried so hard to bring people down. But the tactic did not work so that behaviour stopped. They turned round like some sort of drunk after a party and realised that all that effort had come to nothing. They had put in everything to try to assassinate people’s characters they had made no impact on the polls at all they still had the wrong leader they still had no policy they were in a position— 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I refer you to Standing Order 107(1) which states: “All debate must be relevant to the question before the House.” I know that the third reading is a very wide-ranging debate but we are actually supposed to be talking about the validation legislation. Not once in the last 5 or 6 minutes have I heard that member mention anything about the bill whatsoever. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I remind members that points of order are to be heard in absolute silence. That means there will be no noise. Members have been warned. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: I know that it is a wide-ranging debate so I seek some guidance from you Mr Assistant Speaker. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: I thank the member for raising that point of order and I will listen intently. I am sure Mr Maharey will come to the point. 
Hon STEVE MAHAREY 
: As I was saying about the bill the reason National members have fought it so hard is just fear. They are now left with no issue. As a newspaper said today now that it is clear what the Auditor-General has said and now that it is clear that Labour will be refunding money the air has simply gone out of the issue. No one cares. The National Party has put so much energy into this issue but the vision has now gone. That is what we are seeing. We are seeing a National Party that knows it has to go back to arguing about the issues. It has to go back to arguing about the leadership of its own party and that is what is causing the fear. 
I will mention three things the National Party might like to do as it considers the Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill. It might like to think about three things it could tell the country now that this issue has gone. Firstly it could go back to saying what is in the trust fund. Can we know what is in that trust fund? Who put money in there how much was put in there and what do the donators want for it? Secondly can we finally have some truth about the Exclusive Brethren? Can we finally have that story? One man alone in this nation can tell us the full story of the Exclusive Brethren and he needs to tell us. He needs to say on what days he met with the Brethren and what was talked about. He is sitting smiling now. He could tell us if he wants to. 
Thirdly in contrast to the issues in the validation bill that we are discussing now Mr Brash might like to tell us about the GST. Is the cheque for $115000 written out and ready to be passed over? There is no legal impediment whatsoever to paying that $115000. I can tell—because I am reading Mr Maurice Williamson’s face again; as I said he provides a picture of the thoughts in the National Party—that the National Party knows it could pay back that GST this afternoon with a little stroke of the pen so it could validate its own behaviour over the last little while. National broke the law and it knows that it broke the law. National members are now saying they want to pay that money back. Now that this validation bill is going through and the issues around it have sunk away to nothing we are looking at what is like a large rock stranded on the beach. I tell Dr Brash to pay the money back. 
The other thing members of the National Party might like to do is to simply be grateful. They should be grateful today to the Labour Party and other smaller parties that have worked through this issue. It helps to clear the decks for people like Katherine Rich whom we admire on this side of the House for her straightforward talking and for the way she has dealt with Dr Brash over the last little while. We admire that kind of behaviour. The National Party should be grateful that we have stuck by the issue. 
Members should forget about all the months of leaked reports debates posturing and all the things that have gone on. This is the actual story. We had the election; we had the Auditor-General’s report which was tabled last week; we have had a response from the Minister responsible Dr Michael Cullen; and we have learnt that the Auditor-General has changed the definition of parliamentary purpose—what money can be spent for. We have learnt that even if we pay the money back—as National members like to tell us to do—that would not clean up the legal situation. We would still be acting outside the law. Therefore the Minister responsible has indicated that we should pass validating legislation. National Party members should be grateful that that is exactly what we are doing because that helps them and everybody else by making legal the spending back to 1989. It also means that Mr Williamson can carry on doing his duties as an MP until the other suggestion of the Minister responsible is put into place. That suggestion is for an external review group to look at how the issue will be dealt with by the end of next year so we can then move through the next election campaign smoothly as we all need to. 
That is why I tell National members to forget all the bluster—this issue is all over it is done with and we are going to settle it. I ask them to please show a little bit of gratitude that this has been done on their behalf. I know that it has been hard work for them but I ask them to be a little grateful that we have hung in there and dealt with the issue for them. 
I leave the National benches with this parting thought. After all this is over and the dust has settled can National members please pay back the GST? It makes them look dishonest. It makes them look dishonourable. It makes them look as though they cannot be in Government because they do not tell the truth. I tell them to pay the GST back.