Goudie Sandra: Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee 
Goudie Sandra: Injury Prevention Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill (No 3) — In Committee 
[Volume:625;Page:20285] 
SANDRA GOUDIE (National—Coromandel) 
: 
 In carrying on from my colleague what are the words that Business New Zealand said? It said that the very words used to describe the Government members are “socialisation” and “de-privatisation” because privatisation is anathema to the current Government. The schedules talk about earnings and I note from new clause 36A on Supplementary Order Paper 365 in the name of the Hon Ruth Dyson that the Minister does not have to comply with section 270(2) of the principal Act in having access to the employers account and the residual claims account or to the self-employed work account and that the Minister can direct the Accident Compensation Corporation to attribute in full or to apportion in part to the non-earners account the costs of lump-sum compensation for permanent impairment caused by gradual process disease or infection. That is part of the move to avoid having to have scrutiny of the changes by the Health Committee—to avoid that public oversight. 
What has happened is that the Government has brought in a substantial Supplementary Order Paper so that it can get access to all the funding it can get its hands on to help pay for the costs associated with the changes. I repeat my request for the Minister to take a call and actually explain some of the substantial cost implications in regard to this bill. They are substantial and they have been reiterated already. Perhaps the Minister would like to take a call—or is it far easier to answer the other questions and not the ones about costs? After all this Government does not have a very good understanding of the fiscal implications of its legislation. I think the Holidays Act is a very clear example of that. The Government completely forgot about and did not take into account the cost implications of that Act on the health and disabilities sector. 
In regard to the amendments to schedule 1 of the principal Act I note that under clause 51A on the Supplementary Order Paper clauses 66 and 69 of that schedule are amended to add after the word “spouse” in both places where it occurs the words “or partner”. I just wonder what legislation that is in keeping with. Perhaps the Minister will take a call on that although we know the politically correct response we would get. Is that amendment consistent with all the other politically correct legislation that Labour has been putting through the House and expecting the New Zealand public to swallow? It brings to mind the transgender legislation which has been put on the back-burner being a little too much of a hot potato just prior to the election. The Minister may like to take a call and let us know whether adding the words “or partner” after the word “spouse” is actually consistent with current legislation. After all with all the changes that have taken place who would know? There is so much change that it is a bit hard to keep a handle on it all. 
I reiterate that given the substantial changes in the bill and also given that we have not had a chance to put all the stuff on the Supplementary Order Paper through the select committee the Minister may like to take a call and let us know what the cost implications are. The cost implications are great. We no longer have a choice about accident compensation levies. In my own circumstances we pay huge premiums on our farming enterprise. We do not have a choice. As was said tonight in the Chamber by Government members this move actually expunges it from the record. That further increases the monopolist grip on accident compensation as my learned colleague Dr Paul Hutchison said. Where does one go from there? The terms “de-privatisation” and “socialisation” are the words used with regard to this Government and that can be seen in every piece of legislation that it puts through this House. It is an absolute disgrace to the New Zealand public.