Cosgrove Clayton: Regulatory Reform Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume 
Cosgrove Clayton: Regulatory Reform Bill — In Committee Speaker Recalled In Committee 
[Sitting date: 22 August 2012. Volume:683;Page:4674. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.] 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE (Labour) 
: 
 I want to refer to new section 44A of the Regulatory Reform Bill inserted by clause 11 which I believe is part of the part that we are debating. 
The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch) 
: Correct. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: It is very interesting because in this it talks about recognised agencies persons and classes of persons. Particularly I want to ask the Minister in the chair the Minister of Commerce what the ramifications of new section 44A(b) are because (b) states: “establishes a procedure for the recognition of persons or classes of persons who are to carry out specified functions and activities for the purposes of this Act;”. My question to the Minister—and I take it that the Minister in the chair the Hon Craig Foss is not Mr Banks and we take it that his memory is a lot better than Mr Banks’—is how it is that we can have a Minister of the Crown who has such a bad memory on all sorts of issues. 
This is very germane to this bill. How would he for instance recognise a person or classes of persons who carry out specific functions? How would the Minister for Small Business Mr Banks actually recognise it? Of course as we know through illustrative evidence the Minister—not the Minister in the chair to be fair—struggles to remember his own name or his reflection in the mirror whether he is on a helicopter or whether the brown envelope was a sack or a brown envelope. So I think it is very very germane. I would invite Minister Foss who I am sure has some insight into these things—or he may wish to take some advice from a specialist in amnesia or something like that; I do not know whether the Ministry of Health has those people—to state whether Mr Banks as the responsible Minister is actually accountable and can be held accountable for this particular provision in the legislation. 
I would have thought that in order to establish a procedure for the recognition of persons or classes of persons who carry out specific functions and activities for the purposes of this bill one would have to have a reasonable memory. One would have to know what day it is for instance or what one’s name is. One would have to recognise and remember these persons. I see Todd McClay nodding. He knows that this is an important part of this bill. You cannot have a bill implemented by a Minister who is incapable of remembering the basic facts—the basic facts—of any particular proposition. 
Brendan Horan 
: What time the House is debating his bill. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: My colleague says what type of house he is entering. What he had for dinner. How big the bodyguard was. How big the envelope was. Whether he did declare it or whether he did not. These are all sort of evidential propositions that would lead somebody to believe that a Minister who is in charge of this may not be able to carry out and be accountable for the particular clauses in this section and that is a worry to the New Zealand public. 
That is a real worry because I think especially in our agriculture and our other— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Lindsay Tisch) 
: I am sorry to interrupt the honourable member. The time has come for me to leave the Chair. This debate is interrupted. I shall resume the Chair at 7.30 p.m. 
Sitting suspended from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I want to acknowledge the Minister in the chair the Minister of Consumer Affairs. Sadly Mr Banks is not in the chair. I am sure the ghost of John Banks out of the crypt is emanating around the Chamber somewhere and I am sure he is here. I know he is here somewhere in spirit if not in person. 
Louise Upston 
: Point of order— 
The CHAIRPERSON (Eric Roy) 
: Yes a point of order and the member does not need to tell me what it is. I did give the member a look. He will desist from making references to the absence of people even if it is by implication. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I want to go back to where I concluded which was—I know my colleagues over there are interested in this—where we talk about new section 44A in new Part 3A “Recognised agencies persons and classes of persons”. This is an interesting piece of legislation because this was a piece of legislation developed by the Labour Government. It is akin I suppose to a Statutes Amendment Bill. It is an omnibus bill and it deals with a whole lot of technical amendments. 
The point I made before the break was that the bill if you look at it is actually in the name of—and I can refer to his absence—the Hon Rodney Hide “The Ghost Who Walks”. It is still in his name in the printed version. Maybe there has been a mistake. Mr Chairperson you might want to take advice from the Clerk. But you know he is “The Ghost Who Walks”. It is still in the Hon Rodney Hide’s— 
Hon Simon Bridges 
: Famous columnist. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: I am sorry? 
Hon Simon Bridges 
: He’s a famous columnist. 
Hon CLAYTON COSGROVE 
: Yes apparently so—apparently so. 
What I say is that this is a heavyweight process developed by the previous Government to deal with a whole set of issues but sadly the Minister who inherited the bill the Hon John Banks—bit of an oxymoron that—came and made the same claim as his predecessor the Minister for Small Business who was then the Hon Rodney Hide that he was going to slash through red tape. Sadly this is mere tinkering—mere tinkering. For instance we know that as part of this legislation it repeals 31 spent Acts. 
As I said before the break at the last debate we had some weeks ago—because we know the Government has hidden this. Since Mr Banks has had his troubles it has been “deep six” buried hot riveted and welded down because the Government did not want anything with John Banks’ fingerprints all over it. Suddenly the police have said: “Well we know he’s got a bad memory.” He was not sure whether it was a sack or a brown envelope but he is back out of the crypt in the land of the living. We are going to deal—