Andersen GinnyGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour—Hutt South): Kia ora Mr Speaker. Thank you. First of all I'd like to acknowledge the member in charge of the bill Rawiri Waititi and commend him for pushing through an important area. However the bill primarily covers an area that is already being addressed through the targeted change that the Government is progressing in the bill that received its second reading in the House yesterday. I think it's a really interesting point particularly the ability to move between both rolls. I think it's important to note that you always nominate which roll you go on right from the start. You don't automatically get put on any roll but you need to be saying which roll you wish to go on and that's an important right within New Zealand. I think it's been a really interesting discussion through select committee on this issue: the submissions that we heard on the point of being able to change freely between the two rolls the arguments for and against and also the argument on whether or not you should have a three-month buffer as we have arrived at with the bill that will be continuing in its final stages as it progresses through the House. When I think back on the submissions that we received on this issue one springs to mind. There was one guy who was particularly lively who felt it was his right to be on both rolls. He argued really strongly that he had a right as tangata whenua and a New Zealander to be on both the general roll and the Māori roll and in fact get two votes. That was—Hon Michael Woodhouse: Was that Willie Jackson? GINNY ANDERSEN: No it was not Willie Jackson and it wasn't your grandmother either. So I think that it's an important issue that we do need to address. My concern a bit about having that three-month buffer zone in the ability to change rolls is that the statistics that were provided by the Electoral Commission show that the big wave of people who wanted to change from either one roll or the other occurred in that build-up before a general election because that's when people turned their minds to what was happening where they were living and how they wanted to vote. So while there is an argument that people may strategically vote there is also an equal argument that strategic voting is their right and they can choose to vote how they wish to vote. I think that is an incredibly important point. I think it's good to note that wherever possible changes to the voting system should be done in a cross-party manner and that's why personally I was really pleased to see consensus across the House in relation to the Government bill that covers this issue. I think it's good that we are on the same page on the things that affect democracy and how we vote in New Zealand. It was always going to be a difficult task for a member's bill to undertake such a significant change to electoral law. It would also lead to a repeat submissions period for the Justice Committee and would duplicate the public consultation period of electoral reform that the independent review panel currently has under way and is doing. On the Government bill the timing of the Māori electoral roll option does clearly create a barrier for Māori voters who wish to participate in the electoral system and that came through loud and clear in the submissions that we received. I think it's important that we it take seriously that if there are barriers to people voting wanting to vote and being engaged we have to take every action possible to make sure we reduce those. So this bill—the one that is progressing—will remove that barrier and allow Māori to change rolls more regularly if they wish to do so. The member's bill and the reserved provisions in the Electoral Act: the changes made to the Māori electoral option by this bill may also potentially trigger the reserved provisions of the Electoral Act in the same way that the Government bill does. This would mean that should the Māori Party bill make it to the committee of the whole House stage it would also be subject to the same Speaker's ruling as a Government bill and it would be subject to a 75 percent majority requirement if the Speaker rules that the reserved provisions are triggered. So that's another issue to consider in the context of this. It's also good to note the ongoing work in that wider review of electoral reform regarding how MMP is working and regarding that 5 percent threshold and the coat-tailing provisions. It's always good to continually review how we're operating and how MMP serves this Parliament. I'd like to conclude by saying that while MMP comes with its bumps along the way for us to commemorate today having 50 percent of Parliament being comprised of women is largely due to MMP and the changes that that system enabled for a far more representative Parliament to take shape and I'm proud to be part of the changes that have seen that happen. So to finish up I would like to commend Rawiri Waititi and I look forward to the Government bill progressing the idea that he supports as well. Ngā mihi.