Twyford PhilHon PHIL TWYFORD (Labour—Te Atatū): Thank you Madam Speaker. Notwithstanding the need that we agree exists to have a framework in place so that in the unlikely event of a mass arrival there are arrangements in place that allow the orderly processing of asylum seekers and a process that fairly respects their rights we do recognise the concerns raised by the refugee and human rights advocates at select committee which were overwhelmingly critical of the bill and we do recognise that they made arguments that need to be taken seriously. As a result of that Labour is supporting this bill to the committee of the whole House stage on the condition that four additional safeguards that officials drew up and that were presented to Cabinet after the select committee process under the former Labour Government are incorporated in the bill as amendments at the committee stage and I want to touch on those. The first is that there must be an amendment that establishes that prior to a warrant of commitment being issued a member of a mass arrival group may be detained in premises approved by the chief executive of the department except in a prison or police station and that's very important. It was our Government that commissioned Victoria Casey KC to investigate the practice of detaining asylum seekers in criminal justice facilities and in corrections facilities and found that to be contrary to New Zealand's international obligations under international law for the treatment of asylum seekers. It's a very very important principle that they are not held in prisons or police stations. Secondly the legislation must require an immigration officer to establish in making an application for a group warrant of commitment the following: why the proposed detention is necessary that the detention sought is for the least amount of time and is the least restrictive necessary to achieve the outcomes of detention how the proposed location of detention meets the Government's obligations under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and how the proposed location of detention meets New Zealand's obligations under the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees which is the piece of international law that governs the rights of asylum seekers. In addition to that the law must require an immigration officer to report to the court weekly—unless varied by a judge—during a period of warrantless detention of a mass arrival group. So that is in the period from the arrival through to the warrant of commitment. Finally a judge may order that the location specified in an application for a group warrant of commitment may be varied on his or her own motion. We believe that those additional safeguards are necessary and we are exploring other possible amendments that will meet the concerns that have been raised by the human rights community about this legislation. One of them which I think is worth considering and which I hope the Government will consider is the idea of this legislation specifying that in the event of a mass arrival the Government will undertake with an independent organisation—that could be the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); it could be the Ombudsman—to put in place a memorandum of understanding that would deploy someone from one of those independent organisations to regularly inspect the conditions and the treatment of the detainees. It is something that the ICRC do internationally. It's part of the role that they play and we believe that it would be a valuable addition to this legislation. I think there are other things that I hope we'll have the chance at the committee stage to explore that would put some limits around the time that asylum seekers who come here as part of a mass arrival can be held and reduce the amount of time that they are in detention. I think the House would agree that it is a very low-probability scenario of a mass arrival to this country but it is not a no-probability scenario. There are precedents in Canada of steel-hulled ships being used to transport by people smugglers a mass group of would-be asylum seekers across the ocean that landed in Canada. There has been a case that was believed to be on its way to New Zealand. It's not entirely improbable that this country could have to face up and deal with a mass arrival and it's very important that we have arrangements in place that allow those people to be looked after and processed but their right not to have their liberty taken away unnecessarily and without due cause must be protected. That is essential and I believe that if we make the amendments that I've set out and put those safeguards in place we can achieve that. Thank you.