Roy Heather: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
Roy Heather: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:634;Page:5928] 
HEATHER ROY (Deputy Leader—ACT) 
: 
 I stand to speak on the third reading of the Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill. Few things have generated as much media coverage as this issue. We should not lose track of the principle that lies behind it. We should be aware of the perversion of democracy that is taking place here today. A good Government is one that can win a battle of ideas. A bad Government forces through its dictates at all cost. Kiwis should have no doubt what kind of Government is facing us today. Societies become less democratic when their Governments become less transparent less accountable to the public they are supposed to serve and make laws for their own preservation. 
Today this Parliament is passing without any public consultation retrospective law to validate Parliament’s own spending. There will be no sending this bill to a select committee and no chance for the public to submit their opinions. As we opened our newspapers or turned on our televisions this morning we saw the crisis of confidence that is developing for Parliament and the Government in this country. This bill might pass a confidence and supply vote in this House but Kiwi communities have no confidence in the politicians who pass it. No individual citizen and no company is in a position to change a law to suit itself. The Labour Party can and is. Smaller parties frequently find themselves excluded from decisions and often from parliamentary debates. Some MPs have hardly said a word in this House since their maiden speech. Government departments pay off whistleblowers to keep them quiet. Public servants are fired or suspended for asking questions that are unpopular or for speaking out. 
Since last year’s election we have seen heavy-handed select committee chairmen tear up letters from committee members who raise serious concerns. For the first time in 103 years a Crown-owned company has been fined for contempt of Parliament. In 2003 the Government suspended an electoral law so that a Labour MP who had sworn allegiance to another country did not lose his seat or his salary. Again this was done under urgency. 
Hon Harry Duynhoven 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I assume the member speaking is referring to the difficulty I had when I wrote to the then Privileges Committee chair in relation to an issue that arose over citizenship. She is quite incorrect in saying that I had sworn allegiance to another country. I take that to be greatly offensive and ask her to withdraw that comment. 
The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (H V Ross Robertson) 
: The member has taken offence. 
HEATHER ROY 
: I withdraw that comment. In 2003 the Government introduced legislation for a particular Labour MP. Again this was done under urgency so that the public were denied the chance to comment and again the legislation was retrospective—Parliament moving back in time to cover the butt of a Government member of Parliament. Now this bill excuses parties from misspending public money. 
How can we expect other New Zealanders to follow the rules made in this House when our Government refuses to live by the rules then changes the law to suit itself? How can we expect our Parliament and our democracy to be respected when we push through self-serving bills under urgency to protect ourselves? I admit that ACT did not escape scrutiny in the Auditor-General’s report. Rodney Hide and I have paid our personal cheques to right the wrong that the Auditor-General found. We thought we had done everything correctly. We did what we thought we had to to work within the rules. It hurts that despite our best efforts we were found to have spent money wrongly. We have repaid the Parliamentary Service from our own pockets not those of our members. 
It is true that without this bill politicians would have to be much more careful about how we spend public money. But that would be much better than using our special privilege to stand here today and ram through a bill that the public have not had the chance to read have not been able to comment on and do not want. They have made that very clear. The Auditor-General’s report has demonstrated why we need limits on the power of politicians: because otherwise they will use their power for political advantage at the expense of taxpayers. 
People are saying that the Government’s response to this bill takes New Zealand closer to a banana republic and it raises serious questions of credibility for the parties supporting it here today. How can any party come to this House and talk about strengthening core institutions when its members vote for a bill that undermines the rule of law? How can they discuss the behaviour of politicians when they are willing to push through a bill that validates the wrongful acts of their own MPs? How can they talk about the breakdown of law when they are terrified at the very idea of a transparent democracy? 
ACT members stand against this big powerful privileged Government. We are opposed to politicians who change the law to suit themselves. We want a Government that people can trust and that trusts the people. We have never fought to defend privilege or take what belongs to others. We will not be turning on that record today here in this House. Democracy requires more than the relentless pursuit of power. A genuinely democratic Government consults its people and governs in an open and accountable way. This bill defies the rule of law. It has not been subject to public submissions and it is out of place in any liberal democracy. That is why ACT stands here today and opposes this bill.