Mallard Trevor: State Sector and Public Finance Reform Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Mallard Trevor: State Sector and Public Finance Reform Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 29 November 2012. Volume:686;Page:6952. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
: 
 There are really a couple of points I want to make and I will make the first point briefly. I think the Finance and Expenditure Committee will have to look really carefully at the question of whether powers delegated to chief executives by this Parliament should in fact be sub-delegated to persons outside the Public Service. I think there is a clear implication there is a clear understanding that where statute has given a chief executive a particular power that can be delegated within the department but not to someone outside. 
The second and more important point that I want to make and make it by warning to Jonathan Coleman the Minister of State Services and the Leader of the House is to ensure that the Government does not intend to ride roughshod over the Standing Orders Committee. It is the role of this Parliament to set some rules for the department and for executives but it is not the role of statute law to organise the running of this House. According to our Standing Orders we have arrangements whereby we have reviews and we have estimates procedures. No statute—no statute—that this Parliament passes can change those Standing Orders and the difference is in the processes that we have agreed to in the past that the House does legislation on a majority basis but the Standing Orders Committee does it on the basis of near consensus. So if a major party objects to a change then that change will not occur and I want to give notice at this point that it is not the intention of the Labour Party to support a change in the Standing Orders that would adversely affect the rights of this Parliament to examine the actions and the proposed actions of departments in the way that is being proposed by this Government. 
The right to scrutinise the executive the right to scrutinise departments is the main function of this Parliament. It is certainly the major role of Opposition parties and when there is a backbencher from the Government who is awake it is part of their role too and to suggest that we will take away from members of Parliament effectively half their rights to scrutinise the activities of the executive and the Government departments is something that is not acceptable. I see the Minister of State Services is now listening to the debate. I want to repeat the offer from Chris Hipkins last night and to indicate to him that it is our intention—it has always been our intention in these State sector matters—to get legislation that will work whoever is in Government. There is part of this bill that we think is really good there is part of it that we think is rotten and there is some stuff in the middle that we might be able to be convinced on. Although we will oppose this bill now what I am hoping for is a flexibility on the part of the Government so that we can work together to get legislation around which there is at least near unanimity. I think we will not always get the entire House to agree with it but what we have got to know is that whichever party is leading the Government it is relatively comfortable with the State sector legislation of the time because you could be dealing with it basically at a month’s notice. 
So I want to emphasise to Jonathan Coleman that it is not the intention of the Labour Party to assist him to change the Standing Orders to facilitate a reduction in the scrutiny of Government and he needs to take that into account when he considers whether or not he cooperates on this legislation.