Mark Ron: General DebateText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeMark Ron: General Debate[Sitting date: 16 September 2015. Volume:708;Page:6684. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]RON MARK (Deputy Leader—NZ First): Well let us talk about 1 year on—let us talk about 1 year on. It is 1 year on and what are we looking at? One year on in 8 years of Government and we are seeing headlines like this one in the paper today. New Zealand First wants to start by congratulating the people of Hawke’s Bay—congratulating them on kicking into touch this Government’s ludicrous amalgamation plans and on sending a loud clear message to the Local Government Commission that they did not want a bar of its flawed plans. It is interesting because we asked this question in the House earlier on last year and in response to a question I put about how the people in the Wairarapa and people in the Wellington area did not want to have a bar of the super-city plans the Minister said: “Not everyone agrees with that member.” Well it would appear that the vast overwhelming majority of people who live in Northland who live in Hawke’s Bay and who live in Wellington and the Wairarapa do agree with New Zealand First. In fact it is the other way round: New Zealand First agrees with them and New Zealand First is still standing up for people and listening to the people of New Zealand. That is why we are in touch with what is going on and that is why we predicted three strikes and you would be out National.It is really interesting because one of the people who has written a great deal on this—get a copy of this; it makes wonderful reading—is a former ACT MP and a former National Party candidate and actually still a National Party member: Stephen Franks. This dissertation on the flaws and the fundamental buffoonery and incompetence of the Local Government Commission really is worth a read and I recommend it. I recommend that the senior whip of the National Party gets a hold of Stephen Franks’ document has a read and learns some lessons as to why these amalgamation projects are being booted into touch—congratulations there.What else do we see? We see an all-out attack on the New Zealand flag and even worse than that on nationalism and in pursuit of what? This Government’s underlying desire to become a republic. This Government wants to disconnect the Union Jack from the flag disconnect this country from the monarchy and lead us into republicanism. We actually understand the National Party and where it is coming from. We know that it got rid of some pure nationalists in its party because of its drive towards republicanism—you know good people like Shane Ardern Colin King and a few others and poor Chester Borrows; he’s on his way out soon we know that.But we do not understand the Labour Party which seems to be quite befuddled and bemuddled about wanting to change the flag but not wanting to change the flag and now wanting to promote this thing—this thing. They call it the Red Peak flag and Labour has got the ACT Party and everybody else in behind it. It actually belongs to an engineering and design company in the United States. How the heck people are going to get over the copyright and trademarking of that someone is yet to explain to us. New Zealand First stands firmly—firmly—on the side of nationalism and on the side of this flag on the connection to the Crown and on the monarchy and we will not deviate from that—not one inch. What we will say to this Government is to listen up to the people in New Zealand—listen up to them because overwhelmingly they do not want this Government’s referendum. If there was to be any referendum it should have been: “Do you want a flag change—yes or no?”. The Government would have got a resounding “No” and we could have moved on and saved millions and millions and millions of dollars.By the way New Zealand First is still waiting for this Government to give the full cost of a flag change because no one has talked yet about the coat of arms. We know that the coat of arms at the Supreme Court cost $30000. Well start thinking: medals documents badges parapets of buildings and windows of the Reserve Bank and of all the other ministries all over the country and all over the world. What is the full cost of a flag change National? Because once that figure is made clear to the public of New Zealand they will reject that referendum just as Hawke’s Bay rejected the super-city proposal from this Government and its lackey the Local Government Commission. Thank you.