Henare Tau: Land Transport Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Henare Tau: Land Transport Amendment Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:629;Page:1930] 
Hon TAU HENARE (National) 
: 
 I want to talk briefly on clause 3 about an issue that has been bothering me. In 1960 and around that time sexual abuse and indecent assault were not taken very seriously either by the police by the community or by the nation. Now they are taken seriously thank God. 
I do not believe for one minute that I would want somebody who has had even a 1-month conviction in 1960 driving my daughter around in the dark of night because I am not sure whether he would do it again. He did it once so there is always a chance that he could do it again. Keith Locke says that carnal knowledge is not such an issue these days. Well it is if one’s daughter is 14 it is if one’s daughter is 13 and it is if one’s daughter is 12. It does not matter whether the encounter was consensual. What we now know and believe in society is totally different from what we believed in 1960 and before. Speaking as a parent and as a dad I say that it does not matter how old my daughter is; she could be 45 and I would still not want her to be driving around in the dead of night with some person who has been imprisoned—whether it was for a month or even for 5 days—for an offence that we now take to be serious. We might not have taken that offence seriously in 1960 but we do take it seriously these days. 
I have heard a number of the speeches tonight and before the dinner break and what strikes me is that we are talking about just taxi drivers or just bus drivers. What about women? What about all those people out there who actually think: “Well hang on. I’m actually quite scared because I am the one who has to take the cab. I am the one who has to take the bus home late at night after finishing my 12-hour shift at the Warehouse.” It is those people whom we should be thinking of. There are more of them out there than just those 230-odd people the law is being changed for. Four million people live in this country and we are changing a law for 230-odd people. It is a bad law anyway and I am glad I was not here in the last term because it is not my fault that the legislation was passed; it is the fault of everybody who was here. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Those hopeless members! 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Hopeless members of Parliament and I hear from my esteemed colleague Dr Wayne Mapp that he voted for it. 
Hon Harry Duynhoven 
: Not only that; he was on the select committee. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: He was on the select committee as well. At least he is trying to fix the thing up. There are 4 million people out there and we are changing an anomaly for 230—[ 
Interruption 
] Mr Harawira butts in and says “Shut up.” We are changing the law for 230 people and Hone Harawira is feeling good about himself only because Keith Locke tried to butter him up by saying that his speech was a good speech. Well I wonder what the Greens want from the Maori Party—but that is not what we are here to talk about. 
Out of the 230 people only 175 actually matter because those people got a fine not an imprisonment. I ask Dr Mapp whether I am right. 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Yes you are. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Absolutely thank you for that. So we are fixing up a law for 175 people. For goodness’ sake have we not got anything better to do other than to fix up things for 175 people? We are worried about their careers—their livelihoods. Well hang on what about all the women out there? What about all the young girls out there? 
Hon David Parker 
: We are worried about justice. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Mr Parker says that he does not care about all the women and girls out there. I want to know why we are allowing people who have already had a fine or even an imprisonment— 
Dr Wayne Mapp 
: Especially an imprisonment. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
:—especially an imprisonment—to be driving our daughters around— 
Steve Chadwick 
: Or sons. 
Hon TAU HENARE 
: Absolutely I agree with the member—as far as I am concerned as a parent.