Brown SimeonSIMEON BROWN (National—Pakuranga): Thank you Mr Speaker. I stand in opposition to this bill the COVID-19 Response (Vaccinations) Legislation Bill alongside my National Party colleagues. I stand in opposition because this piece of legislation is not needed for New Zealand as we come out of this COVID-19 lockdown. This piece of legislation is not going to unite New Zealand in our fight against COVID-19. This legislation is going to confuse New Zealanders it's going to cause chaos and it's going to divide New Zealanders rather than bring us together.New Zealanders have all played their part in the fight against COVID-19. We've stayed home we've shut our businesses we haven't gone to school we have got our tests—we've done all of the things which this Government has done. We've got vaccinated. We've done everything this Government has asked us to do but now we have come to a point where we are beset with a piece of legislation which is not about saying New Zealanders you have played your part and now it's time for the Government to step back and give you back control of your life." It's about saying "We're going to impose a new set of restrictions a new set of rules and to continue to impose and impinge on your freedoms in a significant and substantial way."Instead of debating these points and this piece of legislation this cowardly Government has not even put it out to a select committee. They're dictating to New Zealanders rather than debating this legislation through a select committee and having the guts and having the braveness of their convictions to actually let the public have their say. Instead we're having announcements and then we're having legislation rammed through this Parliament in less than 24 hours without New Zealanders being able to have their say around what it's going to do. Instead of giving New Zealanders the tools to make their own decisions around their own health they are forcing these decisions upon New Zealand by giving themselves massive empowering provisions under this piece of legislation which will change New Zealanders' way of life for many many months if not years to come.We've had the divisive language from the Prime Minister saying "You can't get a haircut if you haven't been vaccinated." We've got the restrictions around funerals and weddings and places of worship which are highly restrictive which continue to confuse cause chaos and divide New Zealanders. It causes division in our community rather than bringing New Zealanders together. This piece of legislation should be about giving New Zealanders the tools they need to make their own decisions. It should be giving New Zealanders the tools and businesses the tools to say "If you want to do this with a certificate process that's your choice but the Government is not going to dictate to you and your business how you should operate and what rules and what things you should be doing." It should be about ensuring that New Zealanders have the vaccinations the boosters the rapid antigen testing the ability to get the therapies if they get sick—those are the things this Government should be doing.The Government is spending all of its time trying to control and dictate rather than giving the tools to New Zealanders as to how they should be doing. They should be making sure we have the ICU beds. The number of ICU beds in Counties Manukau where I am from has gone up by one—one additional bed—since the pandemic started last year. What has this Government been doing in the last 18 months if they can't even grow the number of ICU beds in Counties Manukau by more than one? That's an absolute failure and that is until we even get to the point around human rights considerations which this Government didn't even consider when announcing this policy and which it only got advice on yesterday morning before the legislation came to Parliament in the afternoon.And that advice was very clear: this advice has been prepared in an extraordinarily short time frame due to the late receipt of a bill that was not in compliance with Cabinet Office guidelines. And it impacts on so many rights and freedoms: the right to refuse to undergo medical treatment freedom of expression freedom of peaceful assembly freedom of association freedom of movement freedom from discrimination the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty—all of these substantial rights and the Government didn't care until yesterday morning. That is an absolute constitutional outrage which I think New Zealanders will not look upon lightly.We live in a free and democratic society. We live in a country where New Zealanders should be debating these issues not having them dictated to us. And this Government has spent the last 18 months sitting on their laurels rather than actually being prepared for this eventuality. Rather than debating these issues they are dictating them and New Zealanders will not look upon this lightly. The National Party does not support this legislation. It will cause chaos confusion and division. We do not commend it to the House."