SpeechDAN BIDOIS (National—Northcote): Mr Speaker thanks very much and it's a pleasure to be back in the House here again for the post-Budget debate. As yesterday's Budget alluded to we're in desperate times and we're heading into some dark times for our economy certainly. This morning I received a message from a constituent with a family of five and the husband's losing a job. She's worried about herself being made redundant. She asked me What's in the Budget for me?" and I had to go back to her this morning saying—SPEAKER: Well the member's now going to talk to the bill. DAN BIDOIS: Yes. So—SPEAKER: He might get another chance to speak to the Budget.DAN BIDOIS: Absolutely. So the point of what we're getting at today is that there's a lot we agree with in this bill. As my colleagues have alluded to we are supportive of this bill and the intent of this bill. What we're talking about here is that we are on a matter of urgency in the House we're on a matter of crisis in our economy where the public of New Zealand are facing quite frankly substantially more tough challenges and here we are talking about plugging a $10 million hole. I mention this because yesterday the Budget announced that we are in a substantial deficit for the next 10 years. We're looking at Budget deficits for the next 10 years or so and public debt will be going well to the north of $54 billion. So my question and the issue that we have—SPEAKER: Second warning. DAN BIDOIS: —today is around the relevance of bringing this bill into urgency because as I said we agree with the substantial matters of this bill but there is a time and a place to be discussing this. Should that time and place be the day after the most significant Budget of our lifetime—and no doubt the most significant Budget in my career as an MP? And that is what the point of our discussion today is about. Let me talk about the bill because that's what we're here to talk about. Of course this is about import controls and permits for illegal importers of tobacco and again credit to all those at the Customs Service. They do a fantastic job at this time but what is the message that we're sending to the wider public at this time? When there's job losses when the confidence of business is at an all-time record low and when support for small and medium sized businesses is scant here we are discussing essentially a bill that is going to be putting $10 million back on to the Government's books. So—SPEAKER: When I stand up the member sits down and it shouldn't take me I think for the fourth time reminding the member to come to the bill for him to come back to the bill. If he offends again that's the end of the speech. DAN BIDOIS: OK Mr Speaker—thank you very much. As I've said we agree with the substantial matters in this bill. It is important to in fact crack down on illegal importers. We're supportive of every aspect of this bill but the thing is: why do this in urgency? That is the matter that I wish to discuss in this House today when there are more substantial matters that I think the House should be discussing around the economic stimulus package and the recovery plan and here we are discussing a bill that has a $10 million implication for the public of New Zealand and for the Government's coffers.Hon Member: How much? DAN BIDOIS: $10 million. Ron Mark the member opposite that just sat down spoke about the total excise duties of tobacco in New Zealand. It's $2 billion. So if you divide $10 million back into $2 billion that's the scant percent or the really low percent of the impact of this law on the Government's books at the moment. So I know that we are supportive of this bill and I know that there are aspects of this that are important in making sure that Customs has the powers to regulate this black market activity. But what I'm talking about here is that there's a time and a place and is it necessary for the House to come into urgency and to take up the time of members of this House when there are substantially more important matters to be discussed? That is why I raised with you Mr Speaker the story of the family in my electorate who are struggling at the moment because no one is talking to me about the importance of this bill at this time. So—Hon Member: Except for these people. DAN BIDOIS: Except for these people. It is quite frankly disrespectful to the people of New Zealand at this time that we're here discussing a topic like this—when we are happy to have this discussion—but it is around the timing of that and whether there are more important and substantial challenges and legislative matters that we would like to discuss. And there are around the economic stimulus package that was announced yesterday and there are more important topics around how we're going to recover out of this mess and how we're going to reduce the deficit. That's why we are raising the matters today. SPEAKER: And when I stand up the member sits down."