Tabuteau Fletcher: Electricity Transparency Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeTabuteau Fletcher: Electricity Transparency Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 02 December 2015. Volume:710;Page:8525. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]FLETCHER TABUTEAU (NZ First): It was disheartening to hear the previous speaker David Seymour in his contribution. He spoke about markets and information but one of the first fundamental failures of most markets in any economy and in any market is the lack of perfect information and that is the debate we are having tonight. What is it that we are being asked for here? We are being asked for information so that the consumers can make choices. National Party members have stood up one after the other and told New Zealanders—they have literally told New Zealanders—that they would be better off in the dark. Those members have told New Zealanders that you do not need to know.Pita Paraone: And that is literally.FLETCHER TABUTEAU: They literally want to grow New Zealanders like mushrooms. It is actually unbelievable—unbelievable.There are elements within the sector that have been seen to have spun a story for some of the members here tonight and they seem to have lapped it up wholeheartedly. They have taken it in hook line and sinker. There are elements in this electricity industry that profit from the opaque nature of this electricity market. They are incentivised by and they profit from the fact that consumers do not know what is going on. For National and ACT members to stand up and tell New Zealanders that they should continue to be grateful for not knowing what is going on is unfortunate and an anathema I believe to everything that they presume to publicly stand for.I would like to commend Mr Shearer for this bill. This is core New Zealand First policy so in our mind it is good common sense that this information be out there. This legislation is about protecting consumers. It is about empowering consumers. It allows them to compare and contrast. We were given examples like Flick Electric. The unfortunate reality and the counter-argument that says why everyone does not go down that road is that it is not a national entity. You cannot get in there in different regions; you cannot opt in from everywhere. It is about choice and the reality is that it is not there. As I mentioned the reality is that there are elements that are incentivised to keep these secrets. It is about transparency. This knowledge gives average Kiwi households in particular the power that they deserve to make real and informed decisions.Actually I would like to point out for the benefit of the members opposite that the Prime Minister and the Minister of Energy and Resources are on record saying that transparent billing systems and itemised billing systems are actually a great idea. So I think that side of the House has got its politics round the wrong way tonight. Those members are talking against their leader and the one who gave them the job so those members need to acknowledge that transparency and itemisation is a good idea as they are on record saying that very fact. The National backbench has got its politics wrong tonight.We have heard of the Flick Electric example like I said but what I also want to point out to Ms Dowie is that we also have the likes of Dr Heffernan who is in charge of a big retail company going on record saying that actually this kind of legislation is absolutely appropriate and that this is the track that the industry needs to go down. So I do not think it would resent it. I think the fact that ACT will not support this bill to at least go to its select committee stage because the industry does not know what it wants—well that is what a select committee is for. It is so that we can have those conversations so that we can understand what the pressures are and hopefully get around them. New Zealand First supports empowering consumers—unlike this Government—and so we wholeheartedly support this piece of legislation. Thank you.