O'Connor Damien: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
O'Connor Damien: Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:634;Page:5902] 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Corrections) 
: 
 I have been in this House for a number of years but I do not think I have ever heard so much hypocrisy spoken in this House for so long. A few facts need to be laid on the table. The Appropriation (Parliamentary Expenditure Validation) Bill validates expenditure that the Auditor-General has deemed to be illegal. The question is which parties spent illegally according to the Auditor-General’s report. If we listened to the garbage coming from the National Party members we would think that they did not spend outside of the law. They did. If we listen to and accept the Auditor-General’s report as we have done we find that that report says the National Party spent money outside the law in the same way that every party other than the Progressives did. So this bill will validate money spent by the National Party by New Zealand First by the Greens and by the Labour Party—all the parties in this House except for the Progressive party. 
I have a couple of questions. It is not good enough for National Party members to say they did not sin; the Exclusive Brethren might tell them to say that but National like every party in the House other than the Progressives spent money illegally. The question is what did National members do. Well they were the first ones to admit guilt because after a leaked report they rushed to pay back money they had spent illegally. Labour Party members gave due consideration to the process and awaited the outcome of the Auditor-General’s final report. We got the report and we have committed to paying back the money in the same way that the National Party did. However the facts are that the money was spent illegally—according to the Auditor-General— because of confusion. We need to move to clarify the confusion because it might lead to further spending of this nature in the future. 
I need to ask a couple of questions. Why did the National Party spend so little when other parties were confused in the same way National was and Labour spent a lot more? Well National members will say that they knew the law better than Labour Party members did and that they were far more astute than we were. Well if they were more astute and if they did know the law better the question I have for Dr Don Brash is why he did not work out that GST was due on National’s broadcasting budget. Dr Don Brash probably provided tens if not hundreds of reports to Governments that related to GST and its effect in this economy. Yet Dr Don Brash says he knew the law better than the Labour Party did and that is why National spent so little. But I say to Dr Brash that National spent the money illegally though did it not? Yes he admits it. His party needs this bill as much as any party in the House does. The question is why the National Party spent so little when other parties spent so much. It is because National had money from the Exclusive Brethren—it did not rely on this money. 
I understand that National is expecting interest to be paid on the money parties are to pay back. Well the next question is whether National paid interest on the money that it paid back. The other question I have for Don Brash is whether National not only paid the interest on the $11305 but also paid the GST on it or did Don Brash forget about the GST in the same way he tried to kid us that he forgot about GST when it came to expenditure on the broadcasting budget? Let us see some consistency. 
Dr Don Brash 
: Get the facts right. 
Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR 
: The facts are that this bill validates expenditure by all parties in this House including that of the National Party and it will provide us with a clear way forward so that MPs spend money legally and so that we know the guidelines and the parameters for that expenditure.