Jones Dail: Public Records Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
Jones Dail: Public Records Bill — Second Reading Instruction to Committee In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:625;Page:19989] 
DAIL JONES (NZ First) 
: 
 New Zealand First was not represented on the Government Administration Committee for consideration of this bill. It is one of the bills for which we just do not have enough members. Of course that situation will be rectified after the next election and we look forward to a greater representation on all committees and elsewhere. The keeping of records is a sign of a civilised society. Our knowledge of what happened in ancient Greece in ancient Rome and throughout the history of Britain is all based on keeping records. The Domesday Book was known to many of us at school. It was kept by William the Conqueror mainly as a means of gathering tax—which is why people used to keep records in the old days—but it was part of the tradition of maintaining records. I am disappointed that the National Party will oppose this bill because New Zealand First intends to support it. It is clearly a means of bringing the public records of New Zealand up to date and of bringing them into the 21st century. 
We do not expect the National Party to come into the 21st century; we have seen that from its education policy. I tell Mr Mallard that I was waiting to get that in first as I saw the member sitting there! I ask him please to let me do my own lines; I do not need any support. But on reading that education policy I thought gosh we are going back once again into the past and that seems to be the role of the National Party—even on something as simple as maintaining public records. That party cannot get into the 21st century. 
We need this legislation so that new technology new legislation and new record-keeping practices can be reflected in the way in which archives are maintained. But here we go National opposes that. When will National get into the 21st century? When will it realise that things have changed? 
I am really disappointed that Georgina te Heuheu was the spokesperson for the National Party to oppose this legislation because it has really been a feature of this Parliament that the records of the Maori people of New Zealand have been brought up to date and maintained so that future generations can know what happened in the past. But here we have a Maori member of Parliament who should be supporting that sort of record-keeping opposing something that would ensure that future records will indicate how the Maori people of New Zealand developed. It is very very disappointing to see Georgina te Heuheu wanting to keep us back in the past in this legislation. 
Hon Dover Samuels 
: The births and deaths column. 
DAIL JONES 
: Well that might be of interest to that member. I was interested in clause 3 which talks about the purposes of the Act. Paragraph (f) states that its purpose is: “to encourage the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi … as provided for by section 7;” and Georgina re Heuheu opposes that. It is hard to believe but then one knows that one just cannot understand what the National Party is all about today. 
I was really interested that the words “the spirit of partnership and goodwill” were used and not the “principles of” the Treaty of Waitangi. I think that even the Government is now starting to learn a lesson or two from New Zealand First. We do not accept that words like “principles of” should be inserted. We can talk about “the spirit of partnership and goodwill envisaged by the Treaty of Waitangi” and understand what the legislator is getting at because those ideas are set out in greater clarity. But just to use the phrase “the principles of” well that makes it anybody’s guess. In this particular case the courts and anyone interested in this legislation will have to look— 
Hon Trevor Mallard 
: Is this a bid to be a coalition partner? 
DAIL JONES 
: Well if the Labour Party wants to be a coalition partner in a New Zealand First Government we will consider that depending on the will of the people of New Zealand after the next election. But it is good to see that the Labour Party is getting up to date as well. We cannot expect the National Party to get up to date but Labour is at least getting up to date with the views expressed by New Zealand First because if the words “principles of” had been inserted in this bill in clause 3(f) we could not have supported it. Obviously Labour is getting up to date as well so New Zealand First is giving consideration to it. 
Again I look at clause 7 relating to the Treaty of Waitangi and to the various instructions given: “In order to recognise and respect the Crown’s responsibility to take appropriate account of the Treaty of Waitangi …” and I see a greater explanation of what is required. Once again I am disappointed that the National Party put up Georgina te Heuheu to oppose legislation that is taking further steps to ensure that all New Zealanders’ records are maintained including those of the Maori people of New Zealand in such a specific way. 
Hon Dover Samuels 
: Outrageous! 
DAIL JONES 
: As Dover Samuels says it is absolutely shocking. This bill is a straightforward piece of legislation. I read the select committee’s report and I saw the provisions relating to private schools and private training establishments—how they were not involved and the suggestions made there. In relation to the references to the application of the bill to universities and to the commercial sensitivity figures I have to say that I would expect that any State-owned enterprise should be happy to release its records after 25 years. I would have thought that they would all move on from there and a lot would happen in 25 years’ time. There would be nothing that one could expect to be commercially sensitive 25 years from now say in a prosperous successful business. But knowing the way Governments and Parliament operate I doubt whether any State-owned enterprise that exists today will exist in exactly the same form in 25 years’ time. We have such a habit of interfering in the way things are run in this country and every new Government seems to feel that it somehow has to improve what the previous Government did. 
It is a straightforward bill and New Zealand First will support it. I really cannot see any need for speaking on it again during the course of this morning’s matters.