Adams Paul: Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
Adams Paul: Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Bill — Instruction to Committee In Committee Procedure 
[Volume:617;Page:12576] 
PAUL ADAMS (United Future) 
: 
 I speak on behalf of United Future on Part 2 and I was just thinking as I was sitting here as we are bringing this bill on line that I would hope to be in a country where we actually lift the bar on achievement and not lower the bar. I was thinking about our great All Blacks. What if we said to them that they did not need to come out to practice matches now to just imagine that they were going to practice and that it would be good enough to turn up on the day of the game and do their best? All this sort of legislation is lowering the bar. I have found as a sportsman that if we want to improve things we have to lift the bar to achieve. 
We all make mistakes as we heard before and I thought it was interesting that Tim Barnett was the only one from the Opposition parties speaking for this bill. Tim and I would come from— 
Richard Worth 
: He’s from the Government not the Opposition. 
PAUL ADAMS 
: From the Government my apologies. 
Richard Worth 
: He’s going to be the Opposition. 
PAUL ADAMS 
: He is going to be the Opposition. Tim and I would come from different viewpoints on many issues and I find that when we lower the bar and lower the standards we actually get a decrease in society. Society does not improve; it goes exactly the opposite way. 
I am also concerned with what the situation is if people are convicted in New Zealand. They get caught and it is only a minor offence so they leave the country and go to another country. They continue to commit minor offences in that country which leads to more major offences. If they choose to come back to New Zealand after 7 years our police department has no record of the offences in another country. These people can come home and if this legislation is passed they can apply for work here as though nothing had ever happened. 
I do not like that. I do not think that most fair-minded straight-thinking New Zealanders would like that. I have found that New Zealanders are very fair and very forgiving but they do want to know the truth. When they see the Government setting up lies they have major problems with that. 
Let me give members a very real example. For those in the Chamber who have a heart full of compassion for people I do not object to feeling sorry for those who have committed misdemeanours. I know of a person who had somebody working with him selling quite high-priced objects. This person was caught selling something for $100 cash and pocketing the cash. Whichever way we look at it that is fraud. The person was confronted and an agreement was reached that as long as that person handed in his resignation—so the employer did not have to go through all the employment hassles from the daft legislation we have in some of these areas—nothing would be said about that $100 fraud. 
At the end of the day did we help that person? No because unfortunately he went on to another situation where his $100 fraud turned into a $20000 or $30000 fraud. The second employer had rung the first employer to ask whether there were any areas of concern to be aware of. Because of the agreement the answer was no. Therefore the second employer took on the person not knowing that there was a sign of risk. 
I ask members today as we look at this Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Bill what is the difference? What is the difference when a genuine employer is just trying to find out the facts? He wants to work on the truth. It is difficult enough to do that in today’s market as it is and now he will be confronted with a situation whereby a straight answer to a straight question ends up in a legal lie. I ask where on earth we are coming from on that sort of thing. 
As this type of legislation passes I give warning to the Government that there is a groundswell of New Zealanders out there who are sick and tired of this politically correct type of legislation that is feeding lies to the country that is trying to tell people that it is OK to lie and to cover things up and that things that are wrong are allowed to be called right. But I tell members that good old New Zealanders have had enough and are beginning to turn. United Future will not support this bill.