Cosgrove Clayton: Financial Reporting Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCosgrove Clayton: Financial Reporting Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 19 November 2013. Volume:695;Page:14998. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour): I disagree with my colleague Dr David Clark in one respect and it is simply this. The title of this legislation is slightly incomplete in that it could well be the “Walk the Talk Bill” or the “Practise What You Preach Bill” because if we look at financial reporting in this piece of legislation the Financial Reporting Bill—which we support—we see that this Government has the great habit of preaching to everybody about standards transparency and accountability until it comes to itself.One of the best examples of that—and I do partly blame Treasury for this; it stood by and allowed it to happen—is the fact that the Government in its budgetary documents booked the proceeds from the sale of State-owned assets that it had not sold and it estimated that they would be $5 billion to $7 billion. We know that Bill English ain’t even going to get close or he might get close to $5 billion at best. The Government booked the proceeds from the sale of assets before they had been sold but did not book the loss of dividends from those sales once the assets went out the door. So the Government booked it coming in but did not book it coming out. So these guys are great—even though we support the legislation—at preaching to everybody else about standards and accountability whether it be to a beneficiary or to a flash guy on the high street. It is very very good at preaching about accountability and transparency and standards and even accounting standards until it comes to itself.I have been in business. A number of people in this Chamber have been in business. Can you tell me of anybody in their right mind who would book the proceeds from a sale that has not happened—the Government did not know how much it was going to get; “best guess” was the quote from the Minister of Finance Bill English—but fail to book the loss of dividends that would flow from said sale? That is dishonest—Paul Goldsmith: Well you get interest from it.Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: —and “Goldfinger” at the back knows it. That is dishonest—utterly unaccountable utterly un-transparent and totally dishonest. So I say that maybe this bill should be called the “Financial Reporting (Walk the Talk) Bill” the “Practise What You Preach Bill” or “Do Unto Others” to quote the biblical phrase.Those members ought to actually look at themselves as they pass this piece of legislation. It is right that we have appropriate and high-quality standards in our financial businesses—and generally businesses do actually; they do—and in ourcharitable sector and for those transacting business. But as the Government passes this legislation tonight or tomorrow morning I wonder whether those businesses are looking at how a Government cooks its own books in respect of the mixed-ownership model—$5 billion to $7 billion? No it was $7 billion from the get-go. Then it went to being from $5 billion to $7 billion. Now we think that it will be about $4.8 billion or $4.9 billion.It is $1 billion down on Meridian Energy $100 million down on Mighty River Power and those members get up and they celebrate because they got $100 million extra—$365 million for Air New Zealand—which equates to 36 hours of operating expenditure for the Government. They say: “We got $100 million. We’re heroes.” Yeah! So it has gone from a $1.1 billion stuff-up to a $1 billion stuff-up. “Grab a seat grab a share we are all happy.” and they take the dough and run. But they did not account for it appropriately and they did not live up to their own accounting standards which they preach in this legislation. So I say to the Minister of Commerce that he might want to reflect on that and his own colleagues might want to reflect on that in the passage of this legislation. I am sure that there might be—David Bennett: Yeah who sabotaged the sale?Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE: —one or two people even in Hamilton or the outer-terrestrial areas that that member comes from and there might be a few businesses in his patch that actually look at this and say: “Well if we’re expected to adhere to these standards why doesn’t the Government? Why doesn’t the Government adhere to these standards if we are expected to?”. What business in that member’s electorate would book the proceeds from a sale that had not happened but not book the dividends? I ask the member. Does he know of a business? Oh the old “Billiard Ball”—yes the old can rattled. But there is silence. The silence is deafening. There is no such business. They would be in jail I say to that member as he crawls behind his desk.Clause 1 agreed to.The question was put that the amendments set out on Supplementary Order Paper 376 in the name of the Hon Craig Foss to clause 2 be agreed to.Amendments agreed to.Clause 2 as amended agreed to.The Committee divided the bill into the Financial Reporting Bill and the Financial Reporting (Amendments to Other Enactments) Bill pursuant to Supplementary Order Paper 392.Bill reported with amendment.Report adopted.