Smith Nick: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Remedies) Amendment Bill — Recommittal In Committee 
Smith Nick: Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Remedies) Amendment Bill — Recommittal In Committee 
[Volume:641;Page:10953] 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson) 
: 
 I want to remind the Committee of the debacle that is involved in this legislation. What we have historically is that in 2002 in a mad rush in a Supplementary Order Paper that was tagged on to another bill we passed and set up the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. That was such a botch-up that the Government needed to come along in 2005 with another bill in the name of the Minister in the chair the Hon Clayton Cosgrove to fix up that botch-up. Then earlier this year we discovered a botch-up in the fix-up of the botch-up from the botch-up! 
So a new bill was introduced and that bill was taken through its first and second readings its select committee consideration and all the way through the Committee stage. Now we have this extraordinary spectacle from the Government whereby we have done something that is done within Parliament only on very rare occasions—we have suspended the Standing Orders and we have recommitted the bill to the Committee stage for the consideration of this Supplementary Order Paper. 
I have a question for the Minister in the chair the Hon Clayton Cosgrove. The Minister introduced the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service under a Supplementary Order Paper and it was a botch-up. He then introduced a bill to the House to fix up that botch-up and it was a botch-up. He then introduced amendments this year to fix up that third series of botch-ups. Are we now to trust that these amendments which were tabled in the House only today have got it right? 
Well I have to tell the Minister that we are once bitten twice bitten three times bitten and we do not believe him. He cannot botch up the law as many times as that and ride roughshod over the legislative process. There is no good reason why the amendments contained in this Supplementary Order Paper 133 should not be referred to a select committee. In debating Part 1 of this bill I would ask the Minister how many mistakes we should tolerate. 
Let us just remind ourselves of the legislation we are dealing with. We are dealing with legislation governing the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service. This organisation was set up in 2002 to resolve the problem of leaky homes. Despite our spending $85 million—$85 million—we have resolved after 5 years only 16 percent of the cases. It has been a failure because 85 percent of those homeowners out there who are waiting for justice and for some resolution of the problem of their leaky homes are still waiting. They are waiting because this Government has cocked up time after time after time with this legislation. 
In this Weathertight Homes Resolution Services (Remedies) Amendment Bill we have a provision to provide for general damages. The interesting part is this. At the select committee stage in 2005 submitters said that the law was not clear and that we needed to make it explicit that we would provide for general damages. What did the Minister and the Government say? They said that they had the law all right and that they needed to ignore that public submission. As a consequence they have got it wrong and that is the reason for the bill. 
I have to say that in my 17 years as a member of Parliament— 
Darren Hughes 
: That’s too long. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: It is a lot longer than the temporary member for Otaki will be here but I cannot remember in my 17 years in this House any area of legislation that has had so many botch-ups. Let me remind members. There was a botch-up in 2002 and a botch-up in 2005 that were to be fixed with this bill in 2007 and at the very last moment we are having to—[ 
Interruption 
] Well the member opposite—I cannot remember her name she is such a non-event— 
Hon Member 
: Moron. 
Hon Dr NICK SMITH 
: Moron—is that her name? The moron member opposite interjects.