Foster-Bell Paul: Electoral Amendment Bill — Third ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeFoster-Bell Paul: Electoral Amendment Bill — Third Reading[Sitting date: 18 March 2014. Volume:697;Page:16741. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]PAUL FOSTER-BELL (National):Kia ora Mr Assistant Speaker. I take great pleasure in taking a brief call on the third reading of the Electoral Amendment Bill put forward by our excellent diligent and incredibly hard-working Minister of Justice the Hon Judith Collins. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve on the Justice and Electoral Committee chaired by the member for Coromandel Scott Simpson as we have gone through this legislation which is crucial to our precious democracy in New Zealand. I have served overseas working for the New Zealand Government in countries that do not have a stable and well-managed system of voting where you have integrity and measures to prevent fraud. I have seen people fighting on the streets in countries where elections are not free and democratic. It is very important that we protect the integrity of our voting system and take reasonable steps to make sure that fraud is not a feature of our country’s democracy so I fully support the position that the Government has taken.I should also point out that at the select committee there was unanimous support for retaining EasyVote cards as an administrative measure for the convenience of the electoral officials—to make sure it is quick and efficient to count a vote—but I absolutely oppose any idea that an EasyVote card can be should be or is capable of being used as a means of verifying someone’s identity or their entitlement to be able to vote. So it was a little bit rich to be lectured by previous speakers on this measure given that not only did all parties in the select committee unanimously support that recommendation—there was an absolute consensus on the committee—but also this legislation does not remove EasyVote cards which was the implication in some of the previous speakers’ speeches.In specific terms there are other measures that this bill implements that will be hugely positive such as party donations and the treatment of those. Interest-free loans that have some form of non-commercial terms being included as a donation is very positive because in the last few weeks we have seen how donations for electoral purposes be it at general elections or indeed campaign donations received by the Leader of the Opposition can be seen to be difficult non-transparent or problematic. Mr Cunliffe has yet to tell us who his two secret donors were who donated to his slightly tricky trust that he maintained. We would be very interested to learn Mr Cunliffe who those two donors were but this Electoral Amendment Bill makes sure that for donations to parties in a general election those transparency provisions are in place.I have one final point. I do take exception to the implication from Holly Walker the previous speaker in respect of the Supplementary Order Paper that Mojo Mathers put forward regarding assistance to people with a disability or who perhaps have English as a second language that those people are not being properly catered for. Once again there was unanimous support at the select committee for clause 24 of the bill which not only provides for people with a disability being able to use gestures to indicate their name on the roll but also provides for people who have a disability or English as a second language to take a support person to assist them when they are casting their vote. I have a mother who is hearing impaired and needs in some cases some assistance when it comes to interacting with people verbally. I absolutely support this bill as it stands. It will not interfere with her democratic right to cast her vote. Those provisions are in place and I hope the New Zealand public has not been misled by the incorrect statements of the Opposition.