O'Connor DamienHon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Labour—West Coast - Tasman): I appreciate the opportunity to speak positively about this bill—Labour does support it. But it has raised many issues through the process. I guess that the size of a bill is not necessarily an indication of its importance but the size of the officials report is because there were a large number of submissions brought to the Government Administration Committee—I was not on it—and officials have responded accordingly to a large number of points where amendments have been made. So I would like to acknowledge the select committee I guess for taking on board the wisdom.Anyone who has been to a Fire Service event or in particular a gold service award event appreciates the passion and commitment of people up and down this country to effectively be the front line of emergency management in the vast majority of New Zealand. In the rural and provincial areas in particular we do not have the benefit of paid staff and services that are fully funded. We are relying on volunteers and integration between the Police the Fire Service and often the ambulance. I have to say that in my experience it is often the Fire Service that turns up to an accident particularly on a road that might be 15 or 20 kilometres out of town. Such is the level of response and preparedness of the Fire Service in rural areas.Can I say that the kinds of things that were addressed through the submission process may seem insignificant but to the submitters they were important. I guess it does indicate the haste with which the Government has tried to push this through. One in particular is clause 76 where clarity had to be made—a change was made to the legislation—to ensure that people could not opt out of the levy by insuring with offshore companies that did not have a base here in New Zealand. So a tweak had to be made to make sure that the intermediary in that process would be liable for the levy. It is absolutely essential that the levy that is being imposed is imposed in a fair way that maximises the return to the Fire Service and Fire and Emergency New Zealand. I could not help thinking that its expertise in crisis management as it will be now with Fire and Emergency New Zealand should perhaps be applied to the housing situation in New Zealand. The Government could do well to ask it for some advice.There was another technical issue. I am not trying to be pedantic here but such was the level of scrutiny by the select committee where there was no clarity on levies that could be applied on a pro rata basis where contracts were not for the full-year term and how that could have been applied. That has been clarified.The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch): Levies are in Part 3.Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: Sorry—yes I know. I guess I am referring to the detail that the committee has paid attention to in the bill.Can I say that the mandate of the Fire Service to cover both fire and non-fire services is a very important aspect of it. My experience and that of anyone who spends some time on the road is that the Fire Service is expected to be I guess emergency management at serious accidents. The police get there but the Fire Service is the one that has the expertise and the equipment to actually often extract people. So the title in the bill is appropriate but as was raised by submitters the word service" has been taken out. I know for many people—when I attend gold star events—that the service component their commitment to that is the underlying drive of their extraordinary commitment to the Fire Service. I hope that they see that it is a change in title; it is not a change in intent by Parliament. But it is one of those things that obviously was raised.Can I raise one other important thing—and it is in a general sense—and that is risk management. These are people who are managing risk every single time they go to an event. We have through this Government a risk management regime or health and safety which some say is over the top. I just hope that we do not see the Fire Service or the Fire and Emergency New Zealand people subjected to unfair criticism through their risk management practices."