Connell Brian: Legislation (Incorporation by Reference) Bill — First Reading 
Connell Brian: Legislation (Incorporation by Reference) Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:624;Page:19376] 
BRIAN CONNELL (National—Rakaia) 
: 
 After that very brief speech from the soon-to-be-disposed Darren Hughes from Otaki I will get to the heart of the issue. My colleague Mr Carter was very right to address the issue. Five working days ago—that is all it has been—this legislation was introduced to the House without any warning or justification and we were told it would be reported back by 31 March. That is 12 working days—that is all—for the first reading and the select committee process. 
We were asked to buy into that. Well the Opposition parties did not buy into it and when it became apparent that the junior Government whip had made a complete balls-up of the process he wandered over to the Opposition benches and said: “Look guys why don’t we lift the House so we can all go home early for Easter?” which would have ended the debate. We did not come down in the last shower like that junior member did. We said: “Go away sunshine you are making a noise. We are not buying into this. No way.” We would not allow that member and the Government to abuse the democratic process of this House in that way. We said: “No thanks.” to him—actually the response was a little more curt than that but he got the gist of what we were saying. 
When things are done in a hurry one gets an absolute mess. That is what this Government is trying to extricate itself from now and it is asking all the Opposition parties to be complicit in trying to help it get out of this mess. We are trying to fix up the Building Act because the Government is a slow learner. Not only is it rushing this piece of legislation through the House but it did exactly the same thing with the Building Bill and now here we are 2 days before it is due to become law and Government members have egg all over their faces. 
The other issue that I want to address now that Minister Horomia has brought it to my attention is the fact that there were nine Ministers who had this responsibility and now two of them—and Mr Hughes when he was on his feet did not acknowledge this or why it happened—do not have their jobs any more. 
Two of them have been fired by the Prime Minister for telling porkies. They got caught out. I tell the House that that is why he did not mention it—two of the Ministers have been fired for telling porkies and they were caught out. 
Hon David Carter 
: Pinocchio tales. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: That is too kind—she was a liar. She got caught in a lie and she has acknowledged it herself. 
The other matter I want to raise is the sycophantic press release that the Minister put out thanking the United Future party for helping the Government pass this legislation. Is it not a pity that the United Future party was not just a little bit more discerning when it helped the Government pass the legislation in the first place? The great irony of the press release was that it stated that United Future wanted to ensure that builders had ready access to the standards for design and construction in a way that did not impose additional costs on the building industry—and the answer to that is that these designs cannot be put on a website any more but the chief executive of the Department of Building and Housing says that they will be available in Wellington. Those members do not want to make it difficult for builders and they do not want additional compliance costs—but the designs are available only in Wellington. 
Builders in Whakatane or Leeston or Southbridge which is down my way have been told that they have to drop their tools jump in their trucks drive to the airport take out a $500 or $600 airfare go to Wellington forget about their clients and have a look at the design systems on the noticeboard at the Wellington head office of the Department of Building and Housing or whatever that department is called. I always thought it was a pretty strange name. 
National warned the Government at the time that if the legislation was rushed through the House compliance costs on compliance costs would be the result. This issue is now becoming so significant that compliance costs are starting to spiral out of control right across New Zealand. What do we get as a consequence? We have a 400-page piece of legislation with 380 knee-jerk clauses in reaction to what was essentially a leaky-home problem in a few houses in Auckland. It was a design problem. It was never a timber-treatment issue. But true to its colours this Government with the assistance of United Future in this instance is dumping on the timber industry and the industry is paying for it big time. 
Essentially by rushing this legislation through the House in the first instance the Government has ignored private property rights. It is making a science of ignoring private property rights. Probably the best example I can quote—and I know Mr Carter will identify with this—is the land access issue that it is trying to bully through the House and on to every farmer across New Zealand right at the moment. This is just another example of how this Government ignores private property rights. The Government completely ignored copyright law when it drafted this legislation. What is happening is that overseas builders are able to access the designs—the intellectual property—of some of our best and brightest builders and claim them as their own. 
I wonder whether the Minister would be prepared to take a call and tell the House whether there are any legal actions pending against this Government. I would not be surprised to hear that some builders have essentially said: “You are responsible for our intellectual property being used or stolen overseas and you should be held responsible.” The Government is now between a rock and a hard place. The legislation is about to become law in 2 days’ time but the very component of publishing this material on the Government’s website means that it simply cannot do that legally so it now has engaged in what is essentially smoke and mirrors. This industry has a turnover of $18 billion and the Government does not have a clue. It has searched around for Minister after Minister—are we sure there are only nine? I lost count after seven. 
Hon David Carter 
: Nine was last Thursday. 
BRIAN CONNELL 
: There were nine at that point. Another one has probably been appointed since then. The Government is searching desperately to try to find a Minister who has some understanding of the building industry—but the trouble is that it does not have any Minister who has ever been in business so it cannot satisfy the concerns of the building industry. 
Members will remember the legislation which was a forerunner of this legislation that saw the end of the home handyman; the man who could build a house or fix his own house or build a shed in his own backyard. This Government has essentially put that icon of the New Zealand landscape behind us forever. What is more—and the United Future party can take some responsibility for this—the average cost of building a new house in New Zealand under the Building Act is approximately $7000. That is a disgrace in anyone’s language and it makes a real nonsense of the claim that United Future does not want to see any additional costs or compliance costs built into this type of legislation. 
I conclude by repeating that if we do things in a rush we end up in a mess. Here is a second piece of legislation which is essentially an amendment to the principal Act because the Government would not listen. It rushed legislation through the House in the first instance and now here we are trying to fix it. We are doing it in such a way that we are making an abuse of the democratic process. How can we put legislation before a select committee for 3 hours only expect to have widespread and public consultation and have quality legislation as a consequence? It will not flow. This bill is a disgrace. It is legislation that the Government has got itself in a mess over. The National Party simply will not help it extricate itself from this mess and accordingly our members do not support it.