Bennett David: Westpac New Zealand Bill — First Reading 
Bennett David: Westpac New Zealand Bill — First Reading 
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DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) 
: 
 I will take just a short call on the Westpac New Zealand Bill. I congratulate Craig Foss on bringing it forward for its first reading and we look forward to its going to the Finance and Expenditure Committee. I am sure that his leadership of the select committee will be invaluable as the bill is taken through it. 
We look forward to all parties supporting the bill as it goes through the committee process. [ 
Interruption 
] Why? Well I think it is important that we recognise that the banking sector has been crucial to New Zealand as it traverses this very difficult economic time. It may be opportune for some of the political parties on the Opposition side to whack the banking sector around a bit for the sake of scoring easy political points but effectively one of the few differences between New Zealand and those Western countries that have found these times difficult has been our strong banking sector. That banking sector is dominated by the four big Australian banks and those banks have been invaluable in providing New Zealand with economic safety during these very troubled times. 
I think that if we can engage in something that will assist that banking sector then that is important and is in the best interests of New Zealanders and of the economy as a whole. That is why it is important that all parties support this bill. The focus is not purely on just one of the banks; this bill is about Westpac of course but we want to make sure we also look after the other three big banks which have also provided a lot of security to this country over the last couple of years. It is unfortunate that members of the Opposition have used this bill to talk about management policies within Westpac rather than actually looking at the bill which has nothing to do with the chief executive’s employment. 
Iain Lees-Galloway 
: You would never do that would you David? 
DAVID BENNETT 
: No we would never do that because we would stick to the nature of the bill unlike parties over there which are there just for political point-scoring and not for genuinely attempting to make this country better. That is something that that new member will learn—that Labour is not here to give genuine help to New Zealanders. He has been here about 5 minutes and thinks he can tell us what Labour actually would do. We have seen Labour members operate in good and bad times and they do not care about New Zealand. They never have and never will. It is all about themselves and this debate is just another example. They have gone after the chief executive rather than supporting a bill that would promote a company that has been invaluable in helping us getting through the recession. 
It is very important that all parties support the bill and I think that as it goes through the select committee process we will see that they do support it. It is interesting that the Green Party is represented on the select committee and I am sure that Russel will take an active interest in this bill and be constructive in the way that the issue is dealt with. Labour members on the committee may focus on the wording of reports rather than the actual nature of the bill but that is the nature of how they operate. 
In essence this bill is important for the Westpac bank to retain its ability to operate and function in a way that supports the New Zealand economy. We look forward to it going through this House in a very successful manner. It will be in the best interests of New Zealand and that is something Labour members are yet to work out. They will take some time to do so because they are not thinking along those lines. Thank you.