Mallard Trevor: Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Mallard Trevor: Taxation (Budget Tax Measures) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:654;Page:4014] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
: 
 This is the part of the bill about closing the mortgage diversion facility for KiwiSaver and I ask members opposite which ones of them campaigned on that provision. Which ones of those members went around the electorates last year saying: “Here is an opportunity and we’re going to close it.”? There is not a whisper not a murmur not a word from members opposite. What they did on this provision as on the rest of the legislation was go around the electorates telling lies. They made absolute promises to leave KiwiSaver alone—apart from a couple of minor changes they said. They were very detailed in their promises on KiwiSaver. Did they promise this? No they did not. It is just like the rest of it. Those members say one thing in the electorate and when they come into the House they do something else. 
Hon Darren Hughes 
: After the election. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: They did it after the election with no notice and under urgency. What the hell is urgent about this? What is urgent about closing off this scheme? Oh a couple of hundred people might buy a house. It will take a month or two and a couple of hundred people might buy a house. What a terrible thing to happen. And we are here. The calendar in the Chamber says that today is Thursday but it is Friday morning. We were here until late last night and we are back here this morning to do something that is supposedly urgent. We know that it is not urgent at all. It is doubtful whether it should happen. Frankly in the end if there was a proper debate if the bill went to a select committee the Labour Party could have come to the point of view that it is a good thing. I think it is fair to say that I agree with the Minister in the chair the Hon Peter Dunne that it was not a core part of KiwiSaver. It was a bit of an add-on to an add-on if he will excuse the relationship with the member. 
Hon Peter Dunne 
: There’s a long story to be told at some point. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: There is a long story to be told and it would have been good if the bill had gone to a select committee. The member is one who has defended generally the processes of this Parliament and generally opposed urgency on important matters so it is somewhat incongruous that he is the person who is sitting in the chair on behalf of the Government. I do not feel too sorry for him. If we sup with the devil we end up with this sort of thing. But that is the position that he is in. [ 
Interruption 
] 
There is a member over there who keeps on chipping in. I came down to the Chamber after watching her on television to try to work out whether what she was saying would make any more sense when I was here. And it does not. At that point after listening to that member I was tempted to move the closure myself. It was such a poor contribution. [ 
Interruption 
] Hang on! We have both members going at once. We have the one who knows how to beat Peters and the one who was beaten by Peters. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: We are debating Part 2. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The member was beaten by both of them. In Part 1 he was beaten by me and in Part 2 he was beaten by Peters. He should get advice from “Cougar Bait” about how to beat Peters. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: There are several points I think I should I reacquaint the Committee with. The first is the use of appropriate titles and names in the Chamber; that is one. The second one is that Part 2 is quite a tight debate. Members who stray from the debate and want to bring in extraneous matters may be tempting the Chair to take an early closure. The member has about a minute to go but this is a timely warning. This is quite a precise and tight debate. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: It is and I am sorry I was diverted. It was such an opportunity to have the two members interjecting at once. 
This is a very narrow debate. It is one that I would not put as one of the most important debates the House will have this year. But it is certainly a debate that should not be held under urgency. Because this bill is not going to a select committee it needs the full attention of the House over an extended period in order to make sure that we all fully understand both this part and the implications of it especially for people who are trying to buy their first house. The urgency process will stop that from happening.