Macindoe Tim: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
Macindoe Tim: Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) — First Reading 
[Volume:671;Page:17993] 
TIM MACINDOE (National—Hamilton West) 
: 
 I am delighted to take this call which I know has been eagerly awaited by members opposite. I am delighted that they have stayed around in such great numbers to hear this contribution. But before I speak in support of the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) I will say this: I was on my feet speaking on another measure when the dinner break interrupted me yesterday. Mr Assistant Speaker you were not in the Chair at that time but you were when we returned after the dinner break. So I was remiss at that time in not congratulating you on your elevation to the role of Assistant Speaker—in fact your return to that role—so may I congratulate you now. I say that it is particularly good to note that a fine member of Scottish descent will be proudly wearing a tartan tie—albeit the wrong tartan—in the Speaker’s Chair. I look forward to seeing it. I have to say that being a sept of the Buchannan clan we probably have the most bilious tartan in existence which is why I bring mine out only on very special occasions. I will do so on St Andrew’s Day. 
I will return if I may to the contribution that was made by the Assistant Speaker’s namesake Mr Robertson the member for Wellington Central. He spoke at some length and lamented what he described as a lack of direction and a lack of a plan in this bill. In particular there were some comments directed at the member for Te Tai Tonga. I have to say that the only thing really that was lacking in direction and a plan was Mr Robertson’s contribution. It was very hard to see how on earth he reached some of the conclusions he did about a measure such as the Statutes Amendment Bill (No 2) which has the support of all parties in the House. I make the comment in reply to him that the picture he was talking about in relation to women’s refuges in this country is not as he described. In fact when there was some concern a year or so ago I took the opportunity to go and visit the women’s refuge in my electorate. It was made very clear to me that of course there are always challenges in operating women’s refuges and of course it is essential by the very nature of the sensitive work they do that they operate below the radar but nevertheless they are doing a very good job. They would simply refute some of the criticisms that have been made about them. I acknowledge the contribution that Rahui Katene made on this matter earlier this morning. 
It is good to see that there is cooperation in the House on this bill. Those who are listening or watching this debate at the moment may not be aware of the long history of Statutes Amendment bills in New Zealand. They are in fact a very efficient and effective way for Parliament to operate. I was intrigued when Mr Locke spoke earlier that he lamented the fact that we are discussing this bill under urgency. I simply make the point that of course the primary focus of our urgency at this moment is to enact the very important measures for the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority. The Local Government and Environment Committee is beavering away today in Christchurch as we speak. It is hearing from all interested parties down in Christchurch. I know that they appreciate that opportunity. They are grateful to the select committee for going down there. It is appropriate that we are in a position to continue with the work from the second reading right through the Committee stage to the third reading when the bill returns to the House tomorrow. 
Today is an opportunity for us to make significant progress on a broad range of measures. It behoves us all in this House to remember that when we are inclined at times to waste the time of the House as members opposite frequently do then there will be consequences. Today is our opportunity to ensure that Parliament makes good progress. We did so yesterday and we will continue to do so today. 
We should not be demeaning of this particular Statutes Amendment Bill because as I mentioned these measures have long been used to very good effect in this Parliament and here we have a bill that actually amends 20 different statutes. Those who are listening to the debate might wonder how one does that and why it is necessary and the answer is that it is inevitable that mistakes are occasionally made. They are usually minor drafting errors—sometimes as minor as a spelling error—but it is important that when they are detected they are corrected and this is an efficient way of enabling the House to do so. As has already been mentioned today we are looking at minor amendments to the Wills Act the Charities Act 2005 the Civil Defence Emergency Management Act the Companies Act the Judicature Act the Criminal Proceeds Recovery Act and so on. They are all important measures that have huge implications particularly for professions and for the not-for-profit sector in our community and there are many others as well. 
I want to ensure that we keep on track. If Mr Robertson believes that in undertaking a measure of this type we are somehow lacking in a plan or lacking in direction I invite him to look again at what we are actually doing here. I cannot imagine that there is a single member of this House who would take issue with any of the amendments or any of the changes that are being planned and I therefore take great pleasure in endorsing them and I commend this measure to the House.