Cullen Michael: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
Cullen Michael: Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill — In Committee Third Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:871] 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN (Deputy Prime Minister) 
: 
 I move  
That the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill be now read a third time 
. During a reasonably lengthy Committee stage we were treated to the full array of legal talent on the National Party benches with Mr Richard Worth acting as senior counsel and Mr Lindsay Tisch acting as junior counsel. A number of searching and probing questions were asked such as why the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill was called the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill. The answer to that question is that after considerable effort and despite calls in the past by the National Party for a royal commission on this matter to investigate the title we decided that as it confirms and validates subordinate legislation we might as well give in and call it the Subordinate Legislation (Confirmation and Validation) Bill—prosaic I admit though that title is. 
Lindsay Tisch 
: It was a great question. 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: It was a great question. We then had a number of detailed questions. But what I want to dwell on for a few minutes as this is probably my last speech before Christmas or maybe the second last— 
Hon Members 
: Horray! 
Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN 
: Members might not cheer so much when they hear the last one. 
 Mr Tisch quite rightly pointed out the importance of the fact that every year we have an increase in New Zealand superannuation which this bill validates. I must say I agree very firmly with that. Every year under this Government we have had an increase in the rate of New Zealand superannuation including in 2000 the first year. This increase was well above the rate of inflation. But I do have to remind Mr Tisch very gently—I realise he is a young junior member of this House—that three times under a 9-year National Government there was no annual increase in the rate of New Zealand superannuation. There was no validation of an increase in the rate of New Zealand superannuation because it was not increased. In 1991 1992 and 1999 the National Party did not increase the rate of New Zealand superannuation. It was frozen for 3 years out of the 9 years National was in office. 
So I welcome this conversion experience on the part of Mr Tisch to the virtues of the annual indexation of New Zealand superannuation. I trust he will stand tall within his caucus when his colleagues start arguing that in order to pay for tax cuts they have to freeze the rate of New Zealand superannuation because that is exactly what happened in 1999. National legislated for a tax cut and in the same year for a cut in the level of New Zealand superannuation. The two went together. 
But we will not revisit those arguments at this point. It is cruel and unkind to go through them yet again. We shall save them for 2008. The one thing about them is that they do not go stale in the cupboard. They are always fresh when they come out again during election years. So I thank Mr Tisch for reminding me of that fact. He gave me as the architect of the superannuation fund something to talk about that is close to my heart: the current wage banding for New Zealand superannuation and from 2007 onwards the KiwiSaver scheme.