Seymour David; Faafoi KrisDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT): Thank you Mr Chair. I mean it's the most extraordinary contribution for a Labour member to get up and basically give a speech that says Nothing to see here." I mean actually what he was saying if people didn't follow—what Duncan Webb the Labour member for Christchurch Central who just sat down was saying is "You agreed not to ask any questions about this. It's not fair." Well I'm sorry to say that as a member of Parliament he's actually got a duty not to support whatever the Government that he hopes to one day be part of introduces but to actually stand up and ask questions and scrutinise the laws being put forward on behalf of the New Zealand people. That's what a representative democracy is and I think it's perfectly fair that we have—point of order Mr Chair.Mr Chair members have had to not sit in the Chamber due to the social distancing requirements and we've got Duncan Webb and Andrew Little sitting so close to each other. Now is it actually the case that members have to maintain social distancing at all times in the Chamber?Hon Andrew Little: What a pathetic contribution.CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! [Interruption] Order! Points of order are heard in silence and the Chair is on his feet to rule on the matter. It's a very serious issue. I want to point out that every member should be aware of the rules during a sitting of the House. I also want to point out to members that the whip is the only one that really could justifiably be speaking to other members in that proximity. So I think it's a clear warning to all members to be mindful of that. We've got a fairly full House for this bill and I expect everyone to follow the rules. Thank you to David Seymour for bringing it up.DAVID SEYMOUR: Well thank you Mr Chair. It's very important. The person that people may have heard come through their microphones saying "What a pathetic contribution."—that was the Minister of Health after he was reminded about the public health measures this Parliament has put in place. That was Andrew Little the Minister of Health—Hon Andrew Little: Still pathetic—still being pathetic.DAVID SEYMOUR: And there he goes again. He's yelling—he's yelling—because he got caught out breaking the most basic provisions that he expects everyone—Hon Andrew Little: What a stupid member. He's got nothing to say—nothing to say.DAVID SEYMOUR: We've got a lot to say but we have to deal with the fact—we have to deal with the fact—that the Minister of Health is now shouting at me—CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): Order! The member's been speaking for 19 seconds and has not yet spoken to the clause. So he should do that now.DAVID SEYMOUR: That's fair enough Mr Chair. One minute in Heaven is better than two minutes in Heaven as my good friends—CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): And let's not—I'm going to knock that on the head now OK? The member knows that making a comment on a ruling of the Chair is out of order. He knows that—well he should know it—and therefore I don't want that to happen again.DAVID SEYMOUR: No no no. Well OK I won't make any further comment Mr Chair. But I think it is worth just noting that people have made a lot of sacrifices. This Parliament is half empty because people have to keep their distance and the Minister of Health should know that.But on this retrospectivity what clause 2 says is that the law comes into effect the day it receives the Royal assent and what that means is that usually the Governor-General signs the law usually several days after it has its third reading. Now we still have this committee stage and it looks like it may be a long night—just confidentially—Joseph Mooney: Nothing confidential about that.DAVID SEYMOUR: What was that Joseph Mooney? Joseph Mooney says the secret's out! Well he's a sophisticated man from the Deep South and he's probably got a few clues about what's going on here. But in any case it won't be passed today through the committee stage and then it's not going to be passed through the third reading in time. So here's the question: if this law actually ends up getting passed after the 28th then what happens in the time between 28 October when it says the law comes into effect and when the law is actually passed by Parliament? And this has some very interesting implications. Does it mean that our Parliament is now a rubber stamp and we just assume that Parliament is going to pass a law anyway so you should start following the law on the 28th? Or are we a House of Representatives in a representative democracy—Mr Chair? Mr Chair?CHAIRPERSON (Adrian Rurawhe): Well you've still got 57 seconds.DAVID SEYMOUR: Well Mr Chair your clock is wrong in that instance. But in any case this is very much what I'm talking about Mr Chair. It ultimately comes back to a question of time. The question is: where exactly are we in the space-time continuum with this legislation? It's not actually clear. I mean first of all you look at what's happening to the clock; they don't actually know how long I've been speaking at this point. The Clerk has just gone up to the Chair and they're fiddling with the clock because this legislation actually reverses time! I mean this is a deep metaphysical issue Mr Chair. We've got real problems if the law is passed after the law says it comes into play. Then at what point do people start following the law? At what point did my speech start? Where does it end? Nobody knows! We've actually ripped in half the space-time continuum with this poor lawmaking and I've got a lot more to say about it.Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Minister of Justice): Mr Chair while I have enjoyed the contributions of the member David Seymour around time travel I would like to perhaps make sure for the members who are concerned about clause 2(2) the fact that clause 2(2) that the members are referring to about the date which is tomorrow is actually being deleted from the bill. So the last five minutes have been a complete waste of time and I wish I could go back in time!"