Mark RonHon RON MARK (Minister of Defence): Thank you Madam Speaker. Well I'll just take a short call. It's really interesting and I'm absolutely sure that the public who are driving home from work today having had a hard day at work on a Thursday at 25 past five are absolutely glued to their crystal sets listening to this debate or maybe not. Maybe they've flipped to Magic or maybe they've flipped to Coast and are actually doing something sensible like listening to some good music.If one was to just quickly analyse the speeches that have been given thus far we know this: the National Party's opposing the bill because they weren't consulted in the writing of it. We know this—that the National Party is in agreeance with the amendments that have been made during the select committee process which they participated in and they're happy for them to proceed although they're going to vote against them OK? We know that the National Party is opposing this bill because in their eyes their thinking they believe that this is potentially Labour rejigging to give themselves some sort of electoral advantage because it will allow people who haven't bothered to enrol to enrol on the last day. And it might allow Labour campaigners to rush around in a van pick up all these people and get them to the polling booth where they can enrol and vote. I quite well imagine that National themselves will be doing the exact same thing given it's National that's proffered that idea here on the floor this afternoon. So both National and Labour support the Defence Force having the enhanced ability to actually exercise their democratic right. And I do recall listening to a couple of speeches from the other side of the House where they made it very very clear that those women and those men who wear our uniform and who ensure that we continue to live in a free and democratic society a country where they have liberty are forever guaranteed an ability to vote and that their opportunities are not denigrated through what could be described as incomplete legislation or legislation that doesn't offer a system.So in general I can say listening to the debate that everybody actually agrees with what's happening here. There is a debate and discussion around same-day voting—I get that. From the New Zealand First perspective look we would agree that the voting turnout in some parts of the country is terribly poor and we would agree that some people have every opportunity to get themselves on to the jolly roll. They've just got to get off their jolly backsides and jolly well do it. But there are those people who—for a range of reasons—do not get enrolled on time. Maybe they've just returned from five or six years' OE and they've come back they haven't engaged they've forgotten to do it polling day's upon them they rush on down only to find that they're not on the electoral roll and they cannot vote. We will continue to support measures that enhance the opportunity for people to exercise their democratic right. We will support measures that enhance participation on election day. I mean crikey Madam Speaker we all sit there and scratch our heads about what's going on in local government elections and the absolutely appalling—I'm looking at the former president of Local Government New Zealand Lawrence Yule and we've had this discussion so many times. How do we get the citizens of this country to participate in local government elections at the same level that they participate in a general election? Maybe it's got something to do with postal voting. Maybe if we actually had one day where everybody fronted up at local government elections and the day was considered so significant that they had to front up people might do that. There's a novel idea maybe we should vote in local government elections in the same way that we vote in central—no that would be too sensible because that would be consistency that would be easy. I don't understand why we're not doing it.What is clear is we're not moving to electronic voting and that's another message which highlights a contradiction between some thinking in local government and central government. We are all standing here today saying the same thing: we want to enhance participation; we want to make it easier. And I think actually one of the novel things is making more venues available to be used as polling booths—one of them being sports clubs; it is a jolly good idea. Trusts you know the workingmen's club what a great idea actually because on a Saturday—I know this. For those of us who have been mums and dads and have been rushing round on a Saturday trying to get our daughter to the netball courts and our sons to the rugby—or nowadays it's actually the daughters and sons to the rugby—and we are so busy on a Saturday morning fitting in getting to the school to go and vote is an exercise; you've got to work around that. Imagine if all of the families who were going to the Carterton Rugby Football Club to watch the rugby could go there and cast their vote at the same time. I actually think that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool. So if these things are going to enhance or make it easier then that's a jolly good thing. I think the conversation that the Hon Nick Smith raised around 10 extra days of forming a Government being catastrophic and referring back to the time when New Zealand First was negotiating with National and Labour to form a Government in 1996 as being a reason why we shouldn't do this because it took nine weeks well there was still a caretaker Government Mr Smith. Actually it was your Government. Hon Dr Nick Smith: What was Parliament doing?Hon RON MARK: Your Government Mr Smith continued to govern and I think Mr Smith you were still a Minister governing at the time that you were also negotiating and Mr Smith you became the Government again. The sky didn't fall in the waves didn't come crashing over the oceans and destroy the city there wasn't pestilence. We carried on. Why? Because in Dr Smith's own words New Zealand has a proud record of undisturbed democracy and smooth transition of power after elections from one party to another and we have become internationally renowned for the way in which we manage transfers of power and a change of Government. In fact Mr Smith's own comments right at the end of his speech undermined some of this interesting argument in the middle of his speech.I would conclude by saying this: there is much ado about nothing here today. Actually by voting for the amendments and saying that they support them the Opposition is signalling actually that it supports this legislation in the same way that New Zealand First does. I commend this bill to the House.