Williams Andrew: International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Williams Andrew: International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 08 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:2010. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
ANDREW WILLIAMS (NZ First) 
: 
 I rise on behalf of New Zealand First to support the International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill. This bill which amends the International Finance Agreements Act 1961 provides for New Zealand to become a member of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. That agency is one of the five agencies that make up the World Bank Group and its core mission is to enhance the flow of capital and technology to developing countries for productive purposes by providing investment insurance for member countries against both sovereign and political risk. This bill provides for New Zealand to recognise changes to the articles of agreement of the International Monetary Fund which are the governing documents of the IMF. These changes were agreed to by the IMF governors in 2008 and 2010 and they focus on improving the representation of fast-growing emerging markets in countries involved with the IMF. The IMF’s main source of lending resources the quota will also be doubled in so doing.  
The bill also creates a regulation-making power in the principal Act so that future updates of the articles can be made by regulation. This power will simplify the process by which New Zealand meets its international obligations taking into account the fact that once changes to the articles are agreed to by the requisite majority of IMF members New Zealand is bound by those amendments whether or not they have been incorporated into New Zealand legislation. This does have concerns for us in that we would also concur with other speakers that that should come back to this Parliament for ratification and not go solely to the executive or to the Minister of Finance. We do believe that the New Zealand Parliament should be ratifying any amendments that are put through the IMF.  
New Zealand depends on global trade. We depend on stable economies on all the continents where we trade to enable us to sell our goods and services on those world markets. The International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill is an additional tool in the armoury of the IMF to help ensure greater oversight of the global economy. New Zealand has an international obligation to play its part in maintaining economic stability. Even though we are a small economy and a small country we help to set a good example globally for other like-minded countries that similarly wish to see a level of control over the world economy.  
New Zealand First will support this bill’s referral to the select committee but we note that it will result in New Zealand’s contribution going from NZ$2.9 billion to NZ$3 billion an increase of $100 million. However we know that this Government is not concerned about a figure such as that because only last week the Hon Maurice Williamson said that $100 million was petty cash. Therefore if the Hon Maurice Williamson can call $100 million petty cash obviously this Government has no concerns about this contribution going up by $100 million. However we will be raising that particular issue in the select committee also.  
These are uncertain times globally in terms of many of our major markets and many of our major allies and trading partners. There are problems financially and politically in areas of Europe in the United States in parts of Asia and on other continents where we trade. It is important that we do have financial and political stability around the world and this particular bill and in terms of our working with the IMF will help assist with some of that stability in the global economy. The world economy needs the ability to provide stability so that the highs and lows on these economies are less of a risk. New Zealand First does have some concerns about the bill. We are concerned that it is giving perhaps too long a leash in some respects to the executive in dealing with the IMF. We would like to see some aspects of this brought back to this House for future clarification and ratification. This bill will go forward to the select committee and we do intend to discuss that. So New Zealand First in the meantime sees merit in this bill going forward and we will be supporting it.