Hughes Darren: Copyright (New Technologies and Performers’ Rights) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Hughes Darren: Copyright (New Technologies and Performers’ Rights) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:646;Page:15110] 
Hon DARREN HUGHES (Deputy Leader of the House) 
: 
 I am motivated following the speech made by my colleague and friend the Hon Clayton Cosgrove that very trendy member as he volunteers himself to be with regard to talking about the Coldplay CD. I think it is really important that Parliament does not let the Copyright (New Technologies and Performers’ Rights) Amendment Bill just slip by in its second reading without asking the National Party members to engage in the debate on this bill. So many of the things this bill covers directly relate to National’s daily experience here in Parliament. I know that the bill does contain ways in which we can ensure that intellectual property plays a major role in moving towards a knowledge-based economy. I know those are very big themes for the parliamentary Opposition to try to explore. 
There are two particular provisions in the bill as reported back from the Commerce Committee that I thought were worth the attention of the House tonight. The first is the provision that allows for copying for educational purposes. There is no better example of copying for educational purposes in our Parliament than when the National members come in with their Xerox machine and start photocopying Labour-led Government policy to try to help them out. I want to know from the select committee’s deliberations whether they see these breaches of the Copyright Act as being something that the Parliament should be concerned about. Mr Cosgrove started off—and this got me thinking about it—by noting all the times when the Government has brought policy to Parliament and the National Party has copied it for educational purposes. So many of the things those members have tried to do they used to be against and now are for. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Name 10! 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: The member says “Name 10”. Why is he cutting me so short? Why is he being so unreasonable and trying to bully me and shut me down to mentioning only 10 policies the National Party has copied for educational purposes which the select committee has reported on in terms of this bill? 
Let us start with the educational one. I see the deputy spokesperson on education Mr Peachey over there. Let us start with the interest-free student loans policy. That apparently was the biggest bribe in New Zealand’s political history. Do members remember hearing that? The National Party said at the last election that Labour was low down and that we were stealing the election because we offered that policy to the country. John Key then said “Hang on we lost the election on that.” But that does not quite explain why Mr Key came back into Parliament after the election got up in this House spoke against the bill that gave us interest-free student loans and then carried his motley crew of 48 out into the Noes lobby and voted against the interest-free student loans policy which they have now copied for educational purposes in terms of this bill. So I want to know from National members whether interest-free student loans are a bribe. 
Mr Guy is very quiet. I remember him on the campaign hustings in my area saying it was a terrible bribe and tonight in Parliament having been elected here he says absolutely nothing about it. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: The bellows have closed. 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: Even Mr Brownlee is very quiet but I do not think Mr Brownlee has ever had to worry too much about a student loan. I do not think that is one of the things on this balance sheet he has been all that concerned about only of course because his age meant that was not available as opposed to any eligibility issues in that respect. So he asked me for 10 and I have given him one. I am 10 percent there. 
Then I thought about copying for educational purposes. Throughout history of course we learn from the errors of our ways and what better way than when peoples go to war and are in conflict? The National Party has copied the Labour-led Government’s foreign policy on the Iraq war—I think. I am not quite sure whether it has copied that. It might be one of those copyright changes— 
Charles Chauvel 
: It depends on who they are talking to. 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: It depends on who they are talking to. I thought it might have been a bit like when they copy a movie and we are watching a DVD and all of a sudden someone’s head pops up because it has been filmed in a movie theatre—it is almost a copy. 
Hon Annette King 
: It’s a blooper. 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: Well there are 48 bloopers sitting opposite. But sometimes we think something has been copied and we think it is the genuine article then someone’s popcorn runs in front of the screen and we know it is only a partial copy. So I am not sure whether the National Party’s shifting seats around the Iraq war will come under the ambit of copying for educational purposes under this bill. 
One thing that will though is climate change. That used to be the biggest hoax that had been perpetrated on the country. I remember all the inane immature little jokes that National members made as they giggled across the hustings about a “fart tax”. They giggled and they laughed. They thought it was wonderful to mention such a naughty word and that was their entire approach to climate change. But now it has been copied for educational purposes under this amendment bill and they are in favour of it. 
Well one thing we know about the National Party members is that they love holidays. These people were born not only to rule—they think—but also to holiday. I see Mr Auchinvole laughing because he often works into the early hours of the afternoon. He is one of the more dedicated ones. He thinks he should be the union rep for the National Party. He is so busy working there. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: You know that because you see him on your way home. 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: Mr Brownlee speaks up because he is programmed to interject every 15 minutes and I welcome his contribution to the debate. National members were against 4 weeks’ annual leave for working people even though they take 8 or 9 weeks themselves. They thought it would bankrupt the economy. It was a cost to employers they said. They said the Labour-led Government does not understand business. They said we were piling on compliance costs and doing all these terrible things. They said it would be the end of capitalism if we had 4 weeks’ leave like Australia the United Kingdom and so many of the European Union nations. Now despite their outright opposition—guess what? The National Party policy is for 4 weeks’ annual leave. It turns out that it does not destroy the economy after all while they are busy on holiday. 
There is another thing they copy. During the 4 hours we spent on the financial review debate I heard them criticising Government departments that have employees earning more than $100000. There is one organisation in New Zealand where everybody earns over $100000. They are useless lazy and incompetent but we pay them because it is the right thing to do. I refer to Her Majesty’s loyal Opposition in that regard all sucking up the 100 grand and then complaining bitterly about some departments having some people who earn over $100.000. Who honestly thinks that Sandra Goudie is worth over $100000 of intellectual firepower a year? Who thinks that? Not one member of the National Party put up his or her hand although Gerry Brownlee is worth $100000 a year. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: I raise a point of order Mr Speaker. I am sorry to interrupt the member but he asked a question. He speaks at a very fast clip and as he has explained to the House numerous times such speed is not something I keep up with so perhaps he could just ask that question again. 
Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER 
: Thank you. 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: He wants me to go more slowly than this. I wish I was on a strategy committee chaired by Gerry Brownlee. I think it is a great thing that Gerry Brownlee is in charge of National Party strategy—we are very pleased about it. 
Gerry Brownlee 
: Working well at the moment! 
Hon DARREN HUGHES 
: Oh no the member should just wait. Who thinks the National Party has had a good parliamentary session in the last 3 weeks? Who has been really proud of their leader in the last 3 weeks as they have ducked and weaved? Who has been? Not one hand goes up. Look at them. Chris Auchinvole puts up his hand but one would hardly take his political advice seriously. He is greasing up because he is hoping to be made an associate spokesperson on something. So that is the only reason he would think that. 
What we have seen is that when National Party members have been so very busy trying to decide what their policy position on things has been during the past 3 weeks it has been clear that they need the Copyright Act repealed because they need to copy absolutely everything. The National Party should not vote for this bill tonight because it should not have law on the books that stops it thieving and nicking other people’s policies in our country. 
The National Party makes a big play about its cosy relationship with the Maori Party. I wonder how many of these National MPs have told the Maori Party that all of them except for one voted against the Maori Television Service Act when it came through Parliament. Every single one of them said it was political correctness gone mad because that was the time when all the National Party members used to say “One standard of citizenship and one law for all.” Is it not amazing that all 48 of them now say “Oh that wasn’t us that was just one man—Don Brash. He’s gone now. Tehei mauri ora! Nekeneke mai. We’re are all on board.” This is ridiculous. They all stood there and mocked the Maori Television Service Act when it came through and now they have copied it for the purposes of education. 
There is one other area before Mr Brownlee seeks an extension of time for me that I want to cover. It is the part of the bill that refers to orphaned works. I think it is really important. It is when intellectual ownership is no longer asserted by an organisation and it becomes an orphaned work. I want to know from the next National Party speaker whether that covers their policy on privatisation. That could easily be described as an orphaned work because it used to be National Party creed. But now apparently it has been totally abandoned by the National Party as an orphaned policy. I want to know from the National Party speaker whether its policy on the primary industries is now an orphaned policy because it has totally abandoned that as being absolutely out of tune. 
Mr Cosgrove mentioned Chris Martin from Coldplay. National members were playing cold last week when they got the Fast Forward fund completely wrong. However when that fund delivers right across the agricultural sector for the next 10-15 years one should watch the National Party try to claim credit for all the great things that come out of it but it opposed that last week. National members must be cringing because they know they got every single part of it wrong. Everyone else who should be in favour of it is; even the Hon John Luxton is in favour of it. 
There are a whole pile of National Party policies that I believe it has copied. The National Party has weaved and ducked. It has tried to abandon some policies and to say that they are now orphaned works. I think it will be a bit like that stage show  
Annie 
 where she grows up thinking she is an orphan but her parents turn up in the end. The parents of the National Party are Roger Douglas and the old far-right economic theory where they privatise sell cut taxes cut spending cut the pension do not look after the people and look after all their mates. National Party members should vote against the bill because they are just a bunch of photocopiers. 
Amendments recommended by the Commerce Committee by majority agreed to.