Hughes Darren: Taxation (Disaster Relief) Bill — Procedure First Reading Second Reading Third Reading 
Hughes Darren: Taxation (Disaster Relief) Bill — Procedure First Reading Second Reading Third Reading 
[Volume:616;Page:11681] 
DARREN HUGHES (Labour—Otaki) 
: 
 I rise to give my very strong support to the second reading of the Taxation (Disaster Relief) Bill introduced by the Hon Dr Michael Cullen and I do so as a member of Parliament for the Horowhenua district which has been adversely affected by the floods. I know this bill will be welcomed as one of a range of measures the Government is taking to try to respond to the floods in many different ways. This bill is only one thing but of course because it is being debated in Parliament we have the opportunity to put on record the sympathy we feel towards victims of the floods and also to recognise the huge community contribution from around New Zealand that has been made to support people through these difficult times. 
On the Tuesday night of the floods I travelled to Levin where the civil defence headquarters was set up and I saw the photographs that were coming in from the civil defence people from the helicopter early on. The photos showed water right up at the level of the Whirokino Bridge in between Levin and Foxton and those who know that bridge where the spillway is know that it is a huge area and to see it all filled up with water is something I never thought I would see having grown up in that area as a boy. When I saw all the water at that level I knew we were in for a very difficult few days as that water had to go somewhere and as the days went on more and more people were affected across the Horowhenua district. It is only now that we get to turn to looking at some of the structural things we can do to make a difference in that regard. 
This bill will allow the Inland Revenue Department to remit the use-of-money interest on tax payments that are late as a result of the flooding and that could be because records have been destroyed. I have visited milking sheds where the little office the farmer had where all the records were kept had been washed away. There are many other priorities that are difficult for farmers to have to deal with as well as the requirements of the Inland Revenue Department so this bill does give that flexibility which we have been saying all along is what Government agencies have to do. Local members of Parliament from around the district have been very grateful for the way Government departments really have made the extra effort to see what they can do to be of assistance and not just have a straightjacket rule-book approach. 
The support the community has been able to give has been huge. Manawatu College in Foxton was set up as a place for people around the Motua district to use as a relief centre. A whole army of people came to help out those farmers in the Motua area who had to abandon their homes because they were submerged in water. People came together from all walks of life right across the community to see what they could do. They were led by amazing women like Rora Batt who managed to cook breakfast lunch and dinner for farmers. 
I went out one day to deliver lunches to farm workers around the district who did not have time to prepare meals. People like that just got on with it—cooking meals making sandwiches and providing a place where people could go and talk at the end of the day. It really does bring out that strong community spirit. 
Members of the Horowhenua District Council have done a very good job coordinating civil defence and I am grateful to them for the leadership they have shown. I am grateful also to Federated Farmers. Shelley Dew-Hopkins I know has assisted in the Rangitikei Whanganui and Horowhenua areas and has been a very good source of information and support. She has jollied people along when they needed it but has also been a good face and voice in the media for the needs of the farming and rural community. 
In Shannon Geoff Kane has done a good job working in with Richmond Ltd the fellmongery the largest employer in Shannon. It provides 100 jobs in a low-income town. Two-thirds was submerged in water which of course put those people out of work temporarily. Richmond came to the party and kept the workers on the payroll so they could help with the clean-up. I guess when we see corporations doing things like that it shows why it is important for the Government and Parliament to enact this legislation to allow the Inland Revenue Department to be equally flexible. 
Some individual farmers have been hugely affected and that is why I stress that this bill can only be one of a range of measures we need to do. I know that at the moment there are discussions about what assistance can be made available financially in terms of which farms can be made economically viable again. A lot of attention has been given to cattle and dairy farmers with a lot of stock and initially there was huge concern as stock was seen floating down the Manawatu River and so on and so forth. As they have been able to be rescued our attention now must turn to the crop farmers who of course were rather missed out in the initial stages when we were worried about making sure that cows could get milked. A lot of those crop farmers have lost all their economic value. I think of Ian Easton in Shannon who has lost half a million dollars in spuds $400000 in squash and $400000 in onions—all gone. It is very hard to try to find that kind of money—over a million dollars—out of one’s back pocket and those are the kinds of people we need to try to help name. Through no fault of their own they have had their farms totally submerged in water and are facing very difficult times as a result. 
I am grateful for the work that the local members of Parliament have done in each of their electorates: Mrs Pettis in Whanganui Mr Power in Rangitikei and Mrs Turia in her electorate as well particularly around the Ratana community. As Mr Power notes she did a very good job there early on when Ratana was under pressure. The Prime Minister visited many parts of the district on a couple of occasions. I accompanied her to Scots Ferry which was a devastating scene and also across to Feilding. In my own electorate the Minister for Social Development and Employment Steve Maharey the Minister of Civil Defence George Hawkins and the Minister of Agriculture Jim Sutton all made visits to different parts of the area and they were very welcome as well. 
I am grateful for the way the business community has come together. I think of bigger companies like Telecom State Insurance and Wrightson who have all come in with some big donations and also of the smaller companies in the towns like our apparel and textile businesses who have donated a lot of clothing for outdoor workers. Because people need to have treats as well RJ’s Licorice a very successful liquorice exporting company has made lots of lollies available as well and that has been very welcome. It has been a difficult time and that is why it is appropriate that we come together as a Parliament and I welcome the fact that all parties will be supporting this bill. Agriculture is the backbone of our economy and in rural and provincial seats like the ones that electorate members hail from and have spoken about we know how important it is not only to our economy but to the rural fabric of our electorates and our communities. That is why I am grateful to members of Parliament for their support for this bill which is just one measure in the Government’s range of responses to the disastrous floods of February 2004. I support the bill.