O'Connor Damien: New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeO'Connor Damien: New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 11 August 2015. Volume:707;Page:5573. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon DAMIEN O’CONNOR (Labour—West Coast - Tasman): It is a pleasure to speak on what is I guess an important issue but not an important piece of legislation. If that sounds somewhat contradictory I think the fact is that we are putting the cart before the horse here in my view.In speaking on Part 3 “Miscellaneous provisions” including validation of irregularities I will refer to clause 69 which inserts new section 5. It is about the New Zealand flag. The reality here is that we have not yet decided what the flag should be so I am putting before the Committee one of the options that was certainly brought to my attention. If the New Zealand flag is as described here in new section 5—“… the national flag of New Zealand for general use on land …”—then I guess the inclusion of a sea mammal is probably outside it. Although that might seem a little too cute the reality is that the interpretation of this piece of legislation and of this part is really important. It must reflect the objectives I guess of New Zealand having aflag. What it says in paragraph (b) of new section 5(3) is that the New Zealand flag “is the proper national colours to be worn by all New Zealand Government ships and by such other New Zealand ships …”. The point is that the colours that will be chosen for theflagwill end up being the colours that each and every New Zealander should identify with. I am not sure what they should be.I think black is a good start. I will put before you again this quite innovative flag design here. I do not think it is one of the 40 being put up—I have not to be fair gone through and had a detailed look at all 40—but it does cover a few things. For the current National Government I would suggest it is a perfect representation of what is about to happen because we have the whale above the water with the kiwi and the lamb on it about to do a big dive—about to do a big dive—as is this economy taking with it the sheep and the kiwi. It is a perfect representation of the National Government in power because the National Government is taking this economy into a deep deep dive. It is ignoring all the warning signals showing that we are facing recession particularly in dairy for some time and probably longer than even the whale can hold its breath.I will come back to Part 3 here. It is important that there is widespread support for this legislation and all the details included in this bill. I do not think that is the case. I think that what the Government is trying to do here is pass a piece of legislation that does not have the full support of Kiwis and that does not have the support of New Zealanders who are looking forward and who are asking the questions about the colours that should represent us and the flagdesign that should represent us. Indeed if the Government is so determined to go ahead then put up the flag and then come to us with the legislation that may allow us to utilise the flagin the way that should be intended to ensure that if we insist that the national colours as is stated here in Part 3—“proper national colours to be worn by all New Zealand Government ships”. If theflagdesign is not the right one and the Government as it has done in most areas just bulldozes through with that intention we are all lumbered with it as is the navy as are New Zealand ships and as is every part of our economy.This is not a good piece of legislation and Labour is raising concerns that I hope Minister Bill English will get up and answer. I hope he will get up and explain himself as to why the National Government is determined to push ahead with this waste of money come up with a design and a new focus that the vast majority of New Zealanders see as unnecessary and certainly as untimely. We have bigger issues that the Government and this House should be focusing on not just a flag design. Perhaps the Minister can explain to me why we should not put this design up as a design given that it is such a great representation of the National Government as it is at the moment: taking this economy into a deep deep dive that is going to leave a lot of Kiwis drowning—and indeed a lot ofsheep—because they do not have the proper support.