Bennett David: Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill — Second ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeBennett David: Organised Crime and Anti-corruption Legislation Bill — Second Reading[Sitting date: 27 May 2015. Volume:705;Page:4072. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East): Following on from that great speech by a great new member of this House who I think has added a lot to the political dynamics of this House this is an important bill. I just want to take a different tack and look at the bill with regard to money-laundering and international wire transfers and physical cash transfers from the perspective of part of my community.In my community we have a very big population from the Middle East predominantly a Somali population. A lot of the people who have come from Somalia to the Hamilton community over the years have been refugees. As refugees they have settled here with little or nothing and have made their own lives and their own futures in this country. They are a very strong and supportive group in our community and I enjoy immensely their hospitality and sense of humour. They are very good on the football field as well which is good to see. One of the issues that that community faces is the ability to get money back to their friends and family back home. It is very difficult in a country like Somalia where there is no banking system. For example a New Zealand - Somali family may well have cousins back in Somalia whom they wish to assist in some way and that is fair. We have so many people from many other communities who do that and also many previous generations in this House would have done that as well. The problem that members of the Somali community have got is that there is no registered bank in Somalia and no ability for them to transfer their money.The modern money-laundering rules are very strict and very much follow an international format and they have been through the Finance and Expenditure Committee over the last couple of years. Under those rules there is not a lot of room for movement. We need to be very cognisant of those communities when we progress legislation like this because—Phil Twyford: How do they deal with the “Cabinet Club”?DAVID BENNETT: No Mr Twyford we are talking about real people and their real issues and we are talking about how people want to be able to get ahead. I know that you do not care about those parts of our community but they are something that we do care about and we do work in their best interests. I am saying that in this bill we need to be aware of those issues as well because this is a large segment of our community who feel distressed under money-laundering legislation because they feel that it compromises their position to be able to have active and successful lives.Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.DAVID BENNETT: Thank you Mr Assistant Speaker.Hon Annette King: Too much.DAVID BENNETT: Annette have you got a problem?Hon Annette King: Too much.DAVID BENNETT: Too much. That is Annette’s problem.The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Trevor Mallard): Order! [Interruption] Order! [Interruption] No we will not do that. The member knows how to address other members in the House. He has been here quite a long time and I am just assuming that he is acting in a deliberate manner.DAVID BENNETT: Mrs Annette King said that it was too much before the speech had even started. That was a shame. Before I left the House at dinner time I was talking about my Somali community in Hamilton which is a fine community of people and has delivered a lot to our city. That community often wants to transfer money back home to brothers sisters cousins and other members of their extended families who may be at home. We just need to be mindful of that when we are progressing legislation like this because in countries like Somalia there is no banking system. When my constituents wish to transfer money they often have to transfer it through a third destination like Dubai. Often that money is actually transferred to third parties who then buy goods and services to transfer to the Somali community in Somalia itself. I know that Mr Assistant Speaker is also aware of this issue in his community where it is a big issue as well.I just want people to be mindful of this when they look at legislation like this so that we take into account those communities that have a genuine need to transfer funds outside of the normal process of going through inter-bank transfers—through two major banks in two developed countries. Often those transfers are seen as money laundering in a wider sense because there are not two recognised banks doing the transfer although they do have quite a legitimate reason for doing it the way they do and that is simply because the country does not have that ability to accommodate that system. I just want people to take that into account when this bill goes further. Thank you.Bill read a second time.