Brown Peter: Customs and Excise Amendment Bill Immigration Amendment Bill (No 3) — Third Readings 
Brown Peter: Customs and Excise Amendment Bill Immigration Amendment Bill (No 3) — Third Readings 
[Volume:618;Page:13829] 
PETER BROWN (Deputy Leader—NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First supports the Immigration Amendment Bill (No 3) which came out of the border security legislation. We do so for the obvious reason that our party is very strict on matters of immigration. We have been calling for controls on immigration for quite some time. We have made that clear—certainly since the last election. [ 
Interruption 
] There is the former Minister of Immigration. 
Lianne Dalziel 
: You got in the country and you want to close the door on everyone else. 
PETER BROWN 
: Minister do not give me credit for that! I reinforce New Zealand First’s view that immigrants should have a job to come to. I came here to take up a job. We say that immigrants should have good health. I say to the former Minister because she shows an interest in this that I had good health. In fact I still do. That will upset members opposite quite no end. 
Hon David Carter 
: Despite the Government. 
PETER BROWN 
: Yes despite the Government. New Zealand First is concerned that immigrants coming here are all living in Auckland. We are concerned about those immigrants with a criminal background or evil intent. We want checks on them and we make no apology for saying that. We will support the Immigration Amendment Bill (No 3). Indeed we would have been pleased to support the entire border security legislation but as my National colleagues have said earlier it is not fair or proper to impose the additional costs $16 million on exporters importers and people who tranship their cargo. The full $20 million was going to be put on to those people but the Government in its wisdom has seen the light somewhat and reduced the cost to exporters. But that is not good enough particularly when in 1999—[ 
Interruption 
] Now the Minister of Customs is taking an interest. I have the document in front of me. I do not know whether the Minister is familiar with it but in 1999 the then Leader of the Opposition—the current Prime Minister—gave a speech to the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association conference— 
Hon Rick Barker 
: He’s got that wrong. 
PETER BROWN 
: I want the Minister to listen The then Leader of the Opposition said: “A coalition of tourism industry interests was instrumental in forcing the Government to postpone its plans to introduce the user-pays regime for border control services which was announced in the Budget last year.” 
PETER BROWN 
: She was talking about the National Government. 
Hon David Carter 
: Those were the days! 
PETER BROWN 
: The member says: “Those were the days.” When the Prime Minister was Leader of the Opposition she went on to say: “I can announce formally today that that regime will not be established by the incoming Labour Government.” 
Hon David Carter 
: Who said that? 
PETER BROWN 
: That was said by the Rt Hon Helen Clark when she was Leader of the Opposition. 
Hon David Carter 
: No that can’t be right. 
PETER BROWN 
: Yes I have the letter in front of me. She says: “We will continue to fund those border control activities which the State presently funds.” That is a categoric statement that the Government will fund border control costs. 
Hon Rick Barker 
: We’ve done that—$5 million more in the Budget. 
PETER BROWN 
: The Minister is shouting out. I am not exactly sure of the detail he is shouting out but he knows that border control is exceptionally important to this country. He knows that. He more or less alluded to that—that it was important to this country—in his own contribution in the House. [ 
Interruption 
] I say to the Minister that if it is important to the country it is important to all the people of the country not just the exporters and the importers—the people who earn our wealth; the productive sector. We all should pay for border security. We all have an interest in having our shores made very very safe. The Minister knows that and to pass those additional costs $16 million of them on to exporters importers and trans-shippers whoever they are—who are they? They are not readily identifiable. 
I listened to the Minister in the House when he tried to explain what a trans-shipper was. He did not have a clue. If this bill had been addressed properly—and I do not want to say that the content of what will happen in this bill is not correct—from the point of view of cost I think every member in this House would have supported it willingly. Every member and every party would have supported this bill had the costs fallen where they should and that is on the country as a whole under general taxation. [ 
Interruption 
] Let me tell that member over there that he is only going to get this bill through with the Greens. I do not think United Future will vote for it. Is United Future going to vote for it? 
Paul Adams 
: No. 
PETER BROWN 
: They are not. Yesterday in the Transport and Industrial Relations Committee—I was staggered and I know that Maurice Williamson was staggered—the Greens actually said how delighted they were that the price of petrol and the price of oil was going up and that it could not go up high enough. 
Hon David Carter 
: Is that right? 
PETER BROWN 
: That is absolutely right. Maurice Williamson fell off the chair. He was sitting on the chair next to me and I had to pick him up. I have to say that I was staggered. The former Minister over there knew. She heard them say that. 
Lianne Dalziel 
: It was not yesterday. What are you talking about? 
PETER BROWN 
: What I am pointing out to the House and to that member is that those people do not understand the importance of travel roading shipping and border control to this country. If the Government wants to go along with people who have such a frivolous idea of the importance of transport border control and all that then the Government will pay the price. Everybody in this country knows that border control is important to us. It is very very important. Anybody with one iota of sense brain or whatever one wants to say would recognise it as a responsibility we should all front up to. The taxpayers should pay for border control. 
Jill Pettis 
: What do you call $20 million—chicken feed? 
PETER BROWN 
: I am not sure what $20 million the member is alluding to but I can tell her that there is a $16 shortfall. If the member calls $20 million chicken feed then the Government should be paying the extra $16 million. That is what the Government should be paying. That is why we are paying our taxes. It is a disgrace that the Government sits on such a surplus and lets— 
Hon Rick Barker 
: So the surplus is a disgrace now? 
PETER BROWN 
: No no. The member is very confused. It is a disgrace that the Government is not funding this out of taxpayers’ money. This should have been funded from the general account the Government account the Crown account—whatever one likes to call it. That is the promise that the Labour Party made when it was in Opposition. Further to that when Helen Clark was Prime Minister elect she endorsed a letter to an aviation industry executive and she stated in own handwriting: “PS. Yes there is a Minister of Civil Aviation”—they obviously asked for that—“and we will be honouring the commitment we gave re border control.” That referred to the cost and that is all it refers to and the letter is signed “HC”. 
Earlier on in the imprest supply debate member after member stood up and said that when they make a promise they keep it. In a question from us about education and the policy statement and how long it lasted for I think it was Lynne Pillay who said— 
Hon David Carter 
: Who? 
PETER BROWN 
: That little lady over there. She said that when they make a statement it is forever. 
Hon David Carter 
: There are not many little ladies over there! 
PETER BROWN 
: Well there are a few! This is a serious issue and it should have been funded from taxation. If it had been funded correctly then everybody in the House would have supported this and it is a sad day that we cannot support it unanimously.