Curran ClareBROADCASTING (ELECTION PROGRAMMES AND ELECTION ADVERTISING) AMENDMENT BILLIn CommitteeParts 1 and 2 and clauses 1 and 2CLARE CURRAN (Labour—Dunedin South): Thank you Mr Chair for your helpfulness to the members. I take a call in the Committee stage of the Broadcasting (Election Programmes and Election Advertising) Amendment Bill. I also have some questions for the Minister in the chair Mark Mitchell—and can I congratulate the Minister in the chair on his delegation as Minister in charge of these bills. I am assuming that he is well across the detail and will be happy to answer all questions.My first question relates to some confusion during the first reading of this bill around the fact that it was as if there was a parallel process occurring on election advertising and opening and closing statements. There were submissions being held at the Justice and Electoral Committee on this matter at the same time as there was a process being undertaken by the then Minister of Broadcasting about digital convergence. There was a report titled Content Regulation in a Converged World which contained a section called Election programmes—Part 6 of the Broadcasting Act" which was seeking feedback from the sector or from whoever wanted to submit on these matters amongst others as well. There was confusion about how and why that parallel process was occurring and how it would be married up.I note that in the commentary on the Broadcasting (Election Programmes and Election Advertising) Amendment Bill which we are now debating there is a phrase on page 2 that says: "The Government response to the Inquiry noted that the Government would consider the other recommendations relating to Part 6 of the Broadcasting Act 1989 as part of the Government's intended Digital Convergence Bill." That is yet to be tabled in this House and as such is yet to be debated so we do not know what is in it.My question to the Minister this afternoon is how does he see the separate discussion that has been happening around this convergence paper under the auspices of the then Minister of Broadcasting—and I would note that there is no longer a Minister of Broadcasting because Bill English disestablished the position in December. As I understand it from Radio New Zealand representatives who appeared at a select committee today there is still no delegated function for that so there is no Minister. But what is the status of the discussion in that digital convergence paper alongside this bill that we have got here today?I think that it is a valid question because I have had people who submitted on the convergence bill tell me: "Well we submitted on that particular paper on this matter and yet there's another piece of legislation that's had a separate series of submissions before a different select committee." I think that is a valid question and an important question for the Minister to answer as his first question perhaps to the chair.Ultimately Labour supports this particular bill that is before us. I think my colleague Jacinda Ardern who took the lead in the select committee made a number of worthwhile points around the anachronism of the existing opening and closing statements on television which are essentially out of date and have dropping viewership. In terms of their value as election engagement tools it has been diminishing. Although this bill does not change the general rules around electoral advertising it is modernising and making more flexible this means of engagement with voters. My other colleague David Parker who spoke before me talked about the things that are not being done—and we will get to that when we get to that part of the bill—and the disenfranchisement of voters by other means which we do have a number of questions about.Here though is a sensible change that is allowing for engagement to take place. It is just making it more flexible given that viewers and potential voters out there are not necessarily tuned in to TVNZ to watch the opening and closing statements. As we saw at the last election many of them were watching a rugby game so this just gives more flexibility to the parties. It is fair; it operates across all political parties. It actually increases the quantum allocation as I understand it which again is in line with making a commitment to increasing voter engagement. We support that but I do have a question for the Minister in the chair and I hope he will answer it."