McClay Todd: International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill — First Reading 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
McClay Todd: International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill — First Reading 
[Sitting date: 08 May 2012. Volume:679;Page:2003. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
TODD McCLAY (National—Rotorua) 
: 
 It gives me pleasure to rise to speak on this bill the International Finance Agreements Amendment Bill sponsored by our Deputy Prime Minister the Minister of Finance—and can I thank the Minister for his speech earlier. At a time when the global economy faces such great challenges the role of the IMF is all the more important. One needs only look at a newspaper or reflect back on newspaper reports over the last few years to see the important role the IMF has played as the world has moved through the global financial crisis.  
Indeed long before that happened there were countries in the world that needed to seek support from the IMF and in so doing were able to help reform their economies take some of the sharper edges off the recessions that were hitting and help move their countries back on to a stronger footing—on to growth and so on. It is a reflection actually of the work the Government this National Government has done over the last 3½ years as New Zealand was faced by the steepest recession of 60 years. As countries around the world were finding they were having to default were laying people off everywhere and their economies were getting much worse we as a Government took the sharper edges off that recession and made important decisions for New Zealanders to help them get through that. And as we heard our Prime Minister say earlier today we have seen growth over 10 of the last 11 quarters albeit modest in some cases. But compared with the rest of the world at least we have some semblance of positive and straightforward and effective Government.  
Can I say that New Zealand takes its obligations extremely seriously when it comes to our international commitments to the IMF the World Bank and many other organisations that help countries in their time of need. But more than that they help countries to develop and therefore it is important that this bill is brought before us.  
Contrary to what the last speaker David Parker said this measure is timely in coming to the House. It needs to be ratified and put in place here in domestic law. That is always the case with pieces of legislation like this. I do not remember a time at least on looking at my research that this Parliament has not ratified changes such as this. So I look forward to the discussion and debate when it comes to our committee but I think that as this Parliament has never said that one of these changes should be not put in place there may be a more effective way that we can do so. That will be interesting when we look at the regulation-setting powers and streamlining the work of this Parliament but also at keeping accountability here. My colleagues who sit on the Regulations Review Committee would argue strongly that they play an important role in making sure that democracy is done and that there is transparency. So we will have an opportunity to canvass and to talk about it at the committee but I do think in this instance that in as far as changes like this with the IMF are concerned a more streamlined procedure will not necessarily take away from what we have at this time.  
I will just briefly say that the changes to the articles of the IMF do a couple of things: improve the representation of fast-growing emerging market countries at the IMF and double the quota which is the IMF’s main means of raising funds. The 2010 reforms doubled the IMF’s total quota resources to about $970 billion and this bill will provide for regulation-making powers so that future updates to the articles can be made by way of regulation.  
This bill will come to the Finance and Expenditure Committee and as the newly appointed chair I look forward to it being there. We will consult widely on it and we will have a genuine honest and open debate with New Zealanders and the Opposition. But I think we should deal with this in a timely fashion and refer it back to the House once we have listened to all those concerns. It is a pleasure to speak on this and I commend the bill to the House.