Rurawhe AdrianDAN BIDOIS (National—Northcote): Well if anything demonstrates the shambolic nature of this Government it is this debate that we've got today because just before we had a member of the New Zealand First Party stand up and say Actually we would like all people coming into New Zealand to be charged." Now what we've heard from the member Golriz Ghahraman is "Actually no we wouldn't like anybody charged. It's their God-given right to return to New Zealand under a free-of-charge nature." And here we have in the middle of all of that the Labour Party. They've had to manage the shambolic nature of that and that is why we've got the bill that we have here today and we're discussing it in its second reading.Now normally in second reading we're discussing the outcome of the select committee and the submissions that were received in select committee and what changes were made as part of that process. Now let me discuss this select committee report. There were zero submissions in that select committee report. We heard zero people in New Zealand and the impact that this legislation will have on them. I do raise that because this again outlines the shambolic nature of this Government. We are now in second reading. We should be discussing in fact the select committee process and the submissions that came from that to help inform the legislation and strengthen that; instead we are here in urgency discussing this legislation and the shambolic nature of that as we have outlined.So as I said in my first reading speech this is an important topic for New Zealanders both those living in New Zealand but also the one million New Zealanders living overseas. Of course we've all had correspondence from New Zealanders home and abroad and to and fro whether you're for it or against it. But what it comes down to is simple economics. We know that every person that comes home into New Zealand gets managed isolation for two weeks. They get put up in a four- or five-star hotel three meals a day. They get catered for for all of their various dietary requirements. If you're gluten free they'll give you gluten-free meals. You get Sky access. You get a change of your bed sheets every day. You get COVID tests all inclusive. And that adds up to the taxpayer costs of about $5700 per person.As was outlined by Gerry Brownlee that cost has skyrocketed. Already we've spent just under $200 million and the tune of just under $500 million between now and the end of this year. So that cost is going to skyrocket. If you think we're going to be in this position for another year that will add up to about a billion dollars of taxpayer funding for managed isolation. What we have said all along is that we actually think that if you're coming home to New Zealand you should bear the brunt of that cost and help recover that cost because no matter how long you've stayed overseas—and I speak from experience having lived overseas for seven years having paid tax overseas having not contributed to the tax take in New Zealand and I think it's actually very fair. I think most New Zealanders would agree: if you're overseas and you come home you should bear the burden of that cost instead of the New Zealand taxpayer because that right now is what is being burdened. The previous speaker Golriz Ghahraman spoke about the right to come home and the right to access your country—of course that right is intact. All we're saying is that if you want to come home you bear some of that cost that burden. So I don't think that actually your average New Zealander disagrees with that approach. I think that it is fair and reasonable to assume that if the taxpayer of New Zealand is having to bear the burden of that cost—it is a free and fair decision to come back at any time; you should bear that cost and help bear that cost for the New Zealand taxpayer. My colleague was discussing she and Simeon Brown that actually this bill that we're discussing has been watered down a lot. It is a lot about platitudes and being able to go out there and say "Yes we've made action on this." But if you look at the numbers you see loud and clear: the only cost that is going to be returned to the taxpayer from this legislation is miniscule. It's $10 million. So here we have a bill that will cost the taxpayer on average a billion dollars a year and we've got this bill that we're discussing that helps recover $10 million of that cost.Simeon Brown: One percent.DAN BIDOIS: One percent as my colleague Simeon Brown says. So all we can deduce from this legislation is that it doesn't make a big impact to the difference of the cost; this is the Government's way of shoring up their offshore votes for the election. Hon Member: That's right.DAN BIDOIS: Right? To say to people if you're in London—it's to shore up the London vote. If you want to come home don't worry; we'll get you all these exceptions all these exemptions. You won't have to pay—you won't have to pay the burden; it'll be New Zealand taxpayers that will be paying the burden of this cost. Simeon Brown: They're playing politics with COVID-19.DAN BIDOIS: They're playing politics as my colleague Simeon Brown has said with COVID-19.So I think it's a shame—a real shame—that in the second reading I cannot stand before this House and talk about some of the submissions that have come before and talk about the changes that came through the select committee process because all we know is that there was zero submissions to the select committee process and that we've heard from zero—zero—people as part of that. I look forward to the committee as a whole House. We looked to discuss the changes that National has proposed and we hope that the New Zealand First Party because they broadly want to see a strengthening of this at the border consider and vote accordingly because I think the New Zealand taxpayer deserves to have as much cost recovered as part of this process to protect New Zealanders but also to protect future New Zealanders because unfortunately the cost of this burden will bear the brunt on the future taxpayers of New Zealand not the current and not the ones overseas in London that want to come back and retire in New Zealand; they will be borne out of the future New Zealanders that unfortunately will be paying through increased taxes and increased rates going forward.We will support this bill at this stage of course but we look forward to discussing and debating at later stages how to strengthen this bill. We commend this bill to the House.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Adrian Rurawhe): This is a split call."