Robertson Grant: Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill — Procedure Second Reading Third Reading 
Robertson Grant: Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill — Procedure Second Reading Third Reading 
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GRANT ROBERTSON (Labour—Wellington Central) 
: 
 It is a pleasure to rise and make a brief contribution to the debate on the Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill. It makes me feel primarily very proud to be a New Zealander today. New Zealand’s leadership in the cause of peace and disarmament in the world is well known to everybody in the House and this is another significant step. When we stand up on the world stage and say how proud we are of our nuclear-free status and how important it is to our sense of nationhood we can also add to that the Convention on Cluster Munitions and this legislation. 
I pay particular tribute to the officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade some of whom are in the gallery today. Don MacKay’s leadership in this area has already been noted by John Hayes. Don was my boss at one point when I was working at the United Nations in New York. 
John Hayes 
: Pity he didn’t teach you something. 
GRANT ROBERTSON 
: I tell Mr Hayes that even he could not pull me into line. He played a significant leadership role in this area and I think New Zealanders can be very proud of him in the role he played as well as of the other officials. I particularly mention Jillian Dempster who I know had many sleepless nights trying to pull together the meeting in 2008. That was obviously a critical point in the process of finalising the convention and we can all be very proud of that work. I also pay tribute to the Ministers who have overseen our work on this particularly Phil Goff; my predecessor in Wellington Central Marian Hobbs—who I know should she be awake in the UK now will be watching and listening to this debate and will be very proud—and also Minister te Heuheu who has lead us through to this stage today. 
My colleague Phil Twyford has already mentioned that this bill really represents another stage in terms of international law and a comprehensive set of arrangements that start to deal to some of the humanitarian crises we see around the world. New Zealand’s role in de-mining in places like Mozambique Cambodia and so on is very well known. I hope that as we move through we can continue to play that role in terms of cluster munitions. As has been noted 24 countries have ratified this convention. Timing is everything in comedy and politics and it will be interesting to see whether we are close to being the 30th nation that will allow this convention to enter into force. It would be a great thing for New Zealand if that were the case given the leadership role that New Zealand has played in this issue. 
Other speakers have spoken about the horror that is cluster munitions. I think it is important to note that their use goes as far back as 1965 in Viet Nam and has continued through the decades. That is a great tragedy for the world. It is an enormous tragedy for the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost and the many thousands of people who have been maimed as a result of cluster munitions. Cluster munitions are indiscriminate weapons. They largely affect civilians. Research has shown that 98 percent of the victims of cluster munitions are in fact civilians. So these are insidious weapons that have made enormous impacts on the lives of innocent people. They create de facto minefields that people often have to move through simply to go about their daily business. Again research has shown that the victims are often people simply trying to make sure that they can continue their livelihoods and that they can go to places where they need to go in order to support their economic lives. So it is vitally important that we are able to address this problem. As has already been mentioned—my colleague David Shearer will speak shortly and I am sure he will refer to Lebanon—in 2006 there were a million unexploded bomblets from cluster munitions in Lebanon. Thousands of hectares of land are covered with these dangerous weapons which ordinary everyday citizens were unfortunately encountering in their lives. That is why a convention such as the one we are debating today is so important. 
It will be clear when people look at the countries that have signed this convention and the countries that have ratified this convention that some big names are missing. The United States and Russia are two of the biggest names of all. But that does not diminish the importance of this convention because through acting together in this way the international community can apply pressure on those large nations to acknowledge that they should not continue with the use of cluster munitions. It is important to remember that this is why New Zealand should involve itself in multilateral action. This is where a small country like New Zealand can make a huge difference to the world by involving ourselves at the multilateral level taking a leadership role and changing the world for the better. That is why I believe that even though those large countries have not signed this convention it is still an incredibly important instrument. 
I acknowledge too the role of non-governmental organisations internationally and here in New Zealand in terms of how this convention has come about. Along with my colleague Phil Twyford I congratulate Mary Wareham and the group in New Zealand who have led the charge in terms of this issue. It is a great example of Governments and non-governmental organisations working together. It is a great example of how international action can lead us forward. 
I close my brief contribution to this debate by talking about the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade Committee and acknowledging the excellent work that was done there under John Hayes’ and Jacqui Dean’s leadership. I also acknowledge my colleague Maryan Street who is not here today who really led the way in terms of the divestment provisions that have now been included within the bill. I think that is very important. Maryan Street also led the way in the previous Parliament in terms of helping New Zealand to move towards more ethical investment of the funds we invest. I think it is important to note that as part of this process the New Zealand Superannuation Fund has divested itself of the assets involved in the manufacture of cluster munitions. That is a great start and in fact there may be some other areas where we can look towards more ethical investment. It is another example of the practical way in which New Zealand can take a leadership role on these issues. 
I commend this bill to the House. This is a very proud day for New Zealand. I am pleased that we are able to get it through in the cooperative way we have today and that New Zealand once again can stand up on the world stage and say that we have played our role in making this world a safer place.