Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
Williamson Maurice: General Debate 
[Volume:643;Page:13095] 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON (National—Pakuranga) 
: 
 I move  
That the House take note of miscellaneous business 
. Today I want to use some visual aids as I am entitled to do under Standing Order 108. The first of them is the most amazing front page of the  
New Zealand Herald  
that I think anyone will have ever read. An entire front page of the  
New Zealand Herald  
is dedicated to an issue called “Democracy under attack”. I want members to know that this is the only time in my time in politics I have seen a newspaper such as the  
New Zealand Herald  
use its front page for its editorial. It is the only time I have ever seen the  
New Zealand Herald  
reserve the entire front page for one entire story. 
The  
New Zealand Herald 
 has been very critical of Governments in the past. I remember that when we were in office it gave the National Government a smack around for various things but never for anything to the extent of a headline stating “Democracy under attack”. If we started to read this article as many Auckland people who subscribe to this newspaper have done and then heard it discussed on talkback as it kicked in during the day— 
Jill Pettis 
: It’s a Tory rag. My grandmother would never have it in the house. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: Jill Pettis the Labour Party star who is heading towards oblivion says that the  
New Zealand Herald  
is a “Tory rag”. Well I am afraid that it reports some things in this article that are bloodcurdling and I want to share with members what it says: “Practically every other participant in New Zealand politics—not only parties but other interested organisations and especially guardians of political rights—has voiced concern at the implications of the Electoral Finance Bill introduced to Parliament …” and asked for it to be scrapped. 
If it concerned the National Party only I could understand why Labour would say “Oh that’s just a Tory rag.” but here is a group that I would not have been the greatest advocate for over the years: the Human Rights Commission. I said some pretty dreadful things about Ros Noonan when she was involved in the report of the Royal Commission on Social Policy which Trevor de Cleene said was the biggest doorstop that had ever been produced in the world; I did not think she was that great. But the “Tory rag” reports the Human Rights Commission as saying that the bill is “a ‘dramatic assault’ on fundamental rights which ‘undermines the legitimacy of political processes’.” That is what the commission said—the Human Rights Commission in what is supposed to be the “Tory rag”—and it gets worse because all sorts of other organisations have been going on about it. People might choose to read the front page of the  
New Zealand Herald  
which a lot of New Zealanders are now doing. 
I have a message for the Labour Party and it is this: “When you are in a hole stop digging; even when it’s really deep and you think you might get away with it stop digging.” because accompanying that bill is another bill on the Order Paper of this Parliament called the Appropriation (Continuation of Interim Meaning of Funding for Parliamentary Purposes) Bill. Most people out there in television land will not know what that means but I want to tell them because my second visual aid is a cracker. It is a Labour Party propaganda brochure with a picture of Angelina Jolie in the middle—I think it is Angelina Jolie; that is what it looks like to me does it not? No I have the wrong person. 
Judith Collins 
: It is Helen Clark. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: No if it were Helen Clark or supposed to be then under the Fair Trading Act there would be a case of breach for portraying a product that was not real. I believe it is Angelina Jolie or it might be Morticia Addams but it is not Helen Clark. 
On this brochure are seven pledges about what Labour would do and then on the back some ghastly photos of people like Parekura Horomia and Trevor Mallard stating “Labour will …”; “Labour will …”. It is just covered with pledges. What would we say of this a 2005 release? Well it certainly has to be electioneering and it must certainly have been paid for from the Labour Party coffers. Then what do we find down the front here? Oh it is the parliamentary crest. 
Jill Pettis 
: Yes. 
Hon MAURICE WILLIAMSON 
: Jill Pettis says “Yes.” It is the parliamentary crest so that the poor old hard-serving taxpayer is the one who has paid for this picture of Angelina Jolie—I hope Labour got the rights to use it—to be put on Labour’s page of seven pledges. 
The Labour Party has used public money to get itself elected. And now as the  
New Zealand Herald  
says it is taking two specific courses of action: firstly to ban anybody else from having the right to have a say and secondly to make everything the Labour Party does legal and legitimate. It is a disgrace.