Watts SimonSIMON WATTS (National—North Shore): I rise on behalf of National and as the member of Parliament for North Shore on the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill third reading. National opposes this bill. I want to recognise Chris Bishop the Hon Scott Simpson and Simeon Brown and all the members on this side of the House for their valiant effort I think in terms of articulating to this Government what a shambles of a process this has been in terms of that. I think we will get into a little bit of the detail in terms of the process that we have been through to get to this point but I say if it's worth doing it's worth doing right and today and last night are examples that are completely against that principle.This is a bill that has been rushed through without due or proper consultation. Constitutional disgrace" is how it's being described from commentators outside of this party. Multiple and major issues are within this legislation and this is being passed through with that sense of urgency without the right level of consultation and engagement from the many stakeholders around this country that could have inputted could have added value and could have made this better.This bill is being described as complex by the Minister but also in the same breath articulated that it provides greater clarity. Well I'm sorry those two things don't go in the same. The reality is that a bill that is being seen by many New Zealanders at the moment as something that is very complex is exactly the wrong thing that we need right at this critical point. Auckland has been in lockdown for 99 days and as an Auckland MP representing my community—and I recognise the other MPs here around the country—it has been a significant burden on them. This bill will introduce a traffic light system which will bring further pain to those people because of a lack of certainty and lack of direction.This bill impacts every single Kiwi in this country. It has implications on their rights and we have been through a process that does not allow them due consideration to input into that process and that is a disgrace. We have heard that there has been no regulatory impact statement no impact analysis undertaken in terms of costs and benefits and implications around that. We've discussed the implications around the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act this morning and we heard some feedback during the committee stage in terms of that but I don't think it went at all far enough in terms of providing any comfort around the issues and the complexities that this bill has. And I want to point out Christopher Penk who raised some significant issues around the court system through that committee stage. I think that as a small example highlights the multitude of issues in what is a bucket with multiple holes that is leaking across the place.The human rights commissioner was quoted and it has been raised multiple times in terms of having grave concerns. I mean those are not light words. They are not sort of you know "It's OK. I have a few issues." Grave concerns. And that is because of the urgency with which this bill is being pushed through and the implications most importantly on the rights of New Zealanders—rights that this House should do everything in our power to protect. We have failed New Zealanders in terms of protecting their rights because this bill has been rushed through this House without due consultation.The second aspect of this bill that I want to cover is the fact that this is unnecessary legislation. I covered this in terms of the words that we spoke through in the second reading and during the committee stage but it sets a framework for a traffic light system that is not necessary. I referred to National's plan that we articulated a couple of months ago—detailed plan and considerations around the actions that this country should have taken in order to avoid being in the positions that we are faced with today. A system that is not necessary—we have articulated that at 85 percent vaccination level or 1 December New Zealand should be in a position to begin to open up but what we've seen from the other side of the House is a flip-flopping in terms of where we are around that position. This bill does nothing in order to provide any level of confidence that they have a plan that they have any idea in terms of what is coming forward.That is the single-biggest issue that businesses within my electorate of the North Shore are crying out for—they're crying out for certainty. It is not a complex thing to do—providing guidance providing an indication of what that future looks like. They are asking for something very simple; they are asking for certainty in terms of what their future looks like. Why are they asking for that in terms of that certainty? Because they are running out of cash and for many of the businesses in my community they have run out of cash. This bill impacts on all of those business owners. I want to just put a little reflection in terms of that.I also want to acknowledge some of the comments made by my colleague and year group member Nicola Grigg in terms of the contribution around other places outside of Auckland. She referred to the impacts in Christchurch and her home electorate of Selwyn. I think that just again reinforced the fact of the wide level of implication of this specific bill on the members of our communities across this country. It is not just Auckland that is impacted by this Government's lack of plan and lack of certainty; it is everyone across this country. The real disappointment is that while COVID-19 is a complex area to manage it's difficult to predict and difficult to control—I acknowledge that. We all acknowledge that. No one is arguing. But this bill fails to deal with those complexities. It tries to be specific in areas where we should be able to stand back and say "Actually you know what? Businesses have the capability experience foresight and attitude to make their own way in terms of the future and be able to cut their own path." We are not trusting Kiwis and that's why this bill again has failed.We are in this position with this legislation because this Government has been complacent. They have failed to take the action at the time in which it was required—months ago. I've articulated we were planning around two months ago nearly that we had articulated recommendations. We are still waiting for actions. We seem to be myopically focused on vaccination but we're not even getting moving around the treatment aspects that are there and the other public health considerations. There are three elements of managing COVID and we are still focused squarely on vaccination. Well I can give you a prediction in terms of this bill. In the beginning part of next year we won't be talking about vaccination anymore. We'll be talking about why we have not ordered those COVID treatment drugs and why they are not in the country now and why they're not being prescribed to those 2000 to 3000 Aucklanders who are in self-isolation right now with COVID-19. Why have they not got access to that medication to treat their illnesses? That is a failure by this Government and it is a failure that we will reflect on in the early part of next year and say "That was another example of where this Government was asleep at the wheel." They are taking a long lunch every single day and they are failing to take the action required and that is another disappointment from this bill.The implications of what I've outlined in my short amount of time this morning and this afternoon were really about who will pay the price for this. Who feels the implications of the failure to deliver and the failure of accountability by this Government? Well I can tell you who feels that. It is the businesses within our electorate. It is the hospitality sector. Earlier this week or actually as of today it is still all those hair salons and barbers across this country. It is the multitude of businesses that are trying to get across that Auckland border to trade and to do that. And outside of Auckland obviously it is the many people across this country that are just trying to get on with their lives. This Government is set on introducing complexity in regards to a traffic light system that isn't even required and that is such a waste.National will seek via the Health Committee to put a motion in front to undertake an immediate post-enactment review of the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill including a full public submission inquiry. Listening to the Speaker's comments in terms of the dissatisfaction that he noted before he left the Chair around this bill I expect that all parties across the House will support those movements. This bill has real-world consequences and for people they will suffer because the planning has not been done and the planning has been done on the fly. National opposes this bill."