Heatley Phil: Veterinarians Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
Heatley Phil: Veterinarians Bill — Second Reading In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:952] 
PHIL HEATLEY (National—Whangarei) 
: 
 It is good to see Annette King in the chair. We can only hope that she has read the bill unlike the previous Minister in the chair Jim Anderton. 
I also am intrigued by the miscellaneous provisions that were pointed out by the Hon David Carter. One of the new unanimous clauses is clause 79AA “Protection for members of Council and others” which reads: “Neither the Council nor any committee member committee member employee or agent of the Council is liable for any thing done or omitted to be done in good faith in the performance or intended performance of their functions or duties or the exercise of their powers under this Act.” Why I find this—[ 
Interruption 
] 
The CHAIRPERSON (Ann Hartley) 
: There is just far too much chatter. It is not fair to the member speaking. [ 
Interruption 
] I am on my feet. There was a lot of chatter coming from the member’s side of the Chamber. Would people give the speaker a fair go. 
PHIL HEATLEY 
: When we look at possible appointments to that council like David Benson-Pope and all sorts of others who stumble trip and make mistakes and try to cover them up is it any wonder that we see a protection for members of the council and others which states that they may not be liable. Let us imagine David Benson-Pope sitting as a member on that council. Let us imagine a veterinarian coming before the council and David Benson-Pope tying the vet to a chair and shoving all sorts of veterinary apparatus in the vet’s mouth. If David Benson-Pope was on the Veterinary Council and did that to a vet who was before the council let us imagine the problems he would have if this no-liability clause 79AA was not in the bill. How could we have members like David Benson-Pope running amok on the council—abusing vets and everyone who appeared before the council—and not have this out clause? He could simply say that it was not him it was his press secretary. He could say it was not him that tied up the vet and shoved some sort of breeding device in his or her mouth or anything like that but that it was actually a staff member whom he has referred to the chair of the council to be dealt with in due course. He might not make any further comment but there would be a leak at the weekend in one of the Sunday papers. David Benson-Pope would have this protection clause whereby he would not be liable whatsoever. 
Clause 82 however is a clause made for Pete Hodgson. It is headed “Power of Council to supply evidence for registration overseas”. As we know Pete Hodgson is on his way out; he is one of the old men of the Labour Party. Clause 82(1) states: “The Council may supply to a veterinarian or other registered person the documents it thinks fit for the purpose of enabling the veterinarian or person to seek registration as a veterinarian outside New Zealand.” Of course Pete Hodgson wants a job overseas. The Labour Party is stacking the council so that it might supply the documentation for people like Pete Hodgson to get work overseas. 
What is the quid pro quo? That is what members are asking at the moment—I can hear them. The answer is in clause 82(2) which states that a veterinarian who requests such documents may have to pay a fee. Pete Hodgson will have to give some sort of backhander to the council and we all know what that will be: flu jabs. Only Ministers who send him overseas and give him the permission and the certificates will get flu jabs. Ministers of the Cabinet and members of the council will get the Tamiflu jabs. No other New Zealander will. Pete Hodgson as a retiring old man of the Labour Party who wants a job overseas as a vet will need that documentation to prove that he is a vet and that he can be registered to work overseas. The quid pro quo is that Annette King will receive a Tamiflu jab from Pete Hodgson the current Minister of Health. She was unable to arrange that when she herself was the Minister of Health as it would have been a conflict of interest. 
There is much in these clauses that points to a conspiracy of the Labour Party. The sun is setting on so many of its members such as Pete Hodgson. We heard about Russell Fairbrother and we see people like Rick Barker who took voluntary redundancy and just gave up in his seat in the last election. He lay down and waved the white flag. He gave up. The sun is setting on the careers of all those members of the Labour Party and they are looking for jobs—Pete Hodgson as a vet overseas and others as members of the Veterinary Council.