Seymour DavidDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Ha ha! Well I'll tell you what Mr Speaker I'm glad that there's some things you don't forget. I hope you had a good dinner break!I rise on behalf of ACT in opposition to this Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Day Bill and I pose the question: is it possible to believe that Queen Elizabeth II was an outstanding leader an inspiration to hundreds of millions of people across the Commonwealth and somebody that we should greatly respect admire and now miss and at the same time be completely opposed to what amounts to a political stunt—having a public holiday paid for by employers up and down this country who have suffered enough. I would say that it's totally possible to honour the Queen and oppose this holiday. In fact for many reasons it is the only consistent and correct position.One reason you might think that is that it's actually what we've done every other time. It's interesting to look at the history of public holidays such as this because there almost aren't any. The only time that there have been spontaneous or bespoke public holidays were at the end of the two world wars in 1918 and 1945. We did not have such a holiday at the end of the 15-year reign of King George VI in February 1952; nor at the end of the one-year reign of King Edward VIII in 1972—although his reign ended much earlier than that; or King George V after a 25-year reign ending in 1936; King Edward VII who reigned for nine years until 1910; or even Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years until 1901. How many times did this Parliament declare a public holiday for the death of those Sovereigns? Not once. So the idea that this is a normal thing to do actually it's unprecedented. It's never been done before and it wasn't necessary even for Queen Victoria when she passed on and this House was sitting.Another reason why you might be in honour of the Queen but not want this public holiday is the cost. I was astonished to hear a member of the National Party say Look we think it's a good idea but we offer our sympathy to those employers who will pay $450 million." Well it reminds me of the great National Party leader and Prime Minister Bill English who once said to Jacinda Ardern "People can't go shopping with your values." Well I'd say to that member that the employers who will be paying this cost can't go shopping with his sympathy. That's simply not good enough.Then I would point to the medical profession or more importantly their patients who will miss out. In an excellent speech by Brooke van Velden on the first reading of this bill—of course it's been rushed through under urgency so it's all happening tonight—Brooke van Velden pointed out that in one district of Wairarapa 488 procedures are being postponed that day. One GP clinic has cancelled 122 appointments on that day. Ian McKelvie: We've already heard that.DAVID SEYMOUR: People who do surgery they plan two months ahead. And I hear Ian McKelvie now normally he's someone very focused on quality healthcare and yet he thinks this is insignificant. For those people who have had the opportunities to have surgery and have doctor's appointments cancelled and postponed when there are record queues for the medical profession to digest the long waiting lists that have emerged post-COVID for those people it's significant.Then perhaps we should listen to the school principals to the educators and communities up and down New Zealand. I've had a number of them approach me and say "This is madness. We've got two problems: kids not coming to school and kids who are trying to make up for lost learning after two years of disruptive disruption caused by COVID-19." Or more specifically the Government's response to it. And the Prime Minister and this Parliament or at least every party in it other than ACT comes along and says "Kids take another day off. And not just any day the Monday in the last week of term before you have a two-week holiday anyway." This is the wrong message and I know one person who would not support that message somebody who was famously careful with her spending who was quick to care for those who were in need of medical treatment or charity and someone who believed in the value of education who would not want to have a sudden public holiday that disrupts all of those things. And that person of course would be Queen Elizabeth II. It is a very unusual way to honour somebody who as we have heard worked every day of her life by saying "Let's have a day off. And by the way for the most part someone else can pay for it." That is totally wrong.Another reason why somebody might oppose this public holiday and yet be in honour of the Queen is that they are opposed to illogical thinking and specifically voodoo economics. We heard it from the Minister of labour Michael Wood unsurprisingly the same guy who thinks fair pay agreements will boost productivity. He said "Don't worry because if we have a public holiday there will be more spending." This kind of voodoo economics is the kind of thing that people repeat ad infinitum on all sides of the House—except in ACT I'm proud to say—that if people spend a dollar on a particular day that's an extra dollar. Well I've got news for people who peddle that kind of voodoo economics. A dollar can be spent once. A dollar that is spent on a public holiday is a dollar that cannot be spent on another day. Someone who goes out for a meal on that day cannot spend the same money going out for a meal on another day. If it was true that having public holidays was a pathway to economic growth then I've got an idea why don't we have a public holiday every day and we'll all be rich? But of course nobody including Michael Wood ever takes the analogy that far because they know it's bollocks. They know it is voodoo economics and it does not make people wealthier. I know one person who always appealed to logic and reason and common sense and avoiding such mythical beliefs and that of course was our fallen Queen Queen Elizabeth II.There is another reason why you might honour the Queen but be opposed to this legislation and it's the timing. You see there was an old joke that people used to make about our country and they'd say "When the world ends I want to be in New Zealand because it'll be 20 years to go where they are." I'm proud to say that since that joke was popular 40 years ago New Zealand has modernised and caught up and become in so many respects a leading country in the world. But this type of legislation will add just a cinch of truth to it again. Our slow response to COVID where we had two months warning of what was happening in the rest of the world were never quite prepared and still haven't properly opened up. Where we have far fewer workers far fewer international students—Camilla Belich there she's shaking her head. Let me give her some facts: in Australia 38 percent of international students have returned pre-COVID levels; in New Zealand 4.5 percent. That's why people in the Epsom electorate are losing their jobs if they work at AUT—they don't have any students. We are finding ourselves behind the world under Labour and the timing of this holiday is such that after the rest of the world after billions of people watched the funeral procession last night—Australia now they've always been a bit behind the world they're having their memorial day on Thursday. And New Zealand well we have to wait for a whole week until the Prime Minister gets home so we can have a day off.I predict—and people on the backbench of Labour should think about this—that the average person in New Zealand when that time comes around will be sitting there thinking "You know what? This is totally ridiculous." Once again New Zealand is behind the eight ball waiting for the political theatrics of Jacinda Ardern at great cost to the real economy being told by the National Party "Don't worry just go shopping with our sympathy." And they will say "This is totally ridiculous." It doesn't help us solve our problems of catching up with the operations in the healthcare system getting kids to school to learn useful things closing the income gap with other countries making sure we recover from COVID. It doesn't help with any of that. And the symbolism is that we're honouring someone who worked every day of her life by taking a day off. It makes no sense. Let's honour our Queen and do it by voting down illogical wasteful legislation such as this. Thank you Mr Speaker."