Hipango HareteHARETE HIPANGO (National): Kia ora Mr Speaker. Nei koutou mā. September 11 20 years ago—or 9/11 as it's well-known globally—was a moment in our living time when our world changed. An act of terror froze the moment in time and the chilling effects of that have been prolonged and have struck at the Western World's sense of security and freedoms with that strike to be counter-attacked. So I take a stand this morning to strike back against acts of terrorism. Jointly with the Government the National Party is supporting the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill. The contributions in the House last night and with more to come this morning come from perception and perspective. The reality is that we have a duty as lawmakers and as legislators and the reality that our world is faced with is that our safeties our freedoms and our security have been under attack. I take this call addressing perspective and perception but also dealing with the fact and the reality that the safety and security of New Zealanders is front and foremost. I was reminded this morning in reflecting on what happened 20 years ago and I distinctly recall being woken by our 9-year-old son. He came to his mother and father and said You must come and see this on TV Mum and Dad." We saw the reality of the strikes on liberty and freedom in New York City which is symbolic with its Statue of Liberty there. We witnessed towers tumbling and freedom crumbling and a strike at the heart of the Western World and at the perception of freedoms and security. It struck me also this morning that 20 years later on 9/11 little did I realise not only the impact that morning had had on the world—global—sense of security but how it impacts and imprints on each of us personally and it struck me that the reason my son happens to be living and working in New York is because of what he witnessed I believe as a 9-year-old child. He's now working in a space addressing world peace and global security. So I come to the purpose of this bill now which is that in New Zealand we deem it a duty and the obligation to better prevent and respond to terrorism and associated activities. We have heard contributions in the House in this third reading of the bill about the impact of the strike at New Zealand's sense of security with the recent events that have occurred most recently in New Lynn and then more recently what triggered a reset of New Zealand counter-terrorism legislation with the Christchurch mosque murders on 15 March 2019. So that is the contemporary realisation of terrorism that is in our world and that is on our front doorstep at home here in Aotearoa. But I also reflected as well that New Zealand's history is one where we do have acts of terrorism that have been perpetuated through the development of our nation. The Māori Party referred to some of those incidents and again we speak from the imprint of what's impacted on our lives and on our whakapapa. So counter-terrorism is a reminder to New Zealanders listening in. We have a history that dates back to Parihaka on 5 November 1881. The Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi has talked about the impact of the Tūhoe raids on his people. That was on 15 October 2007 under a Labour Government. That struck at the heart and the core of the local people's community's sense of freedom but also trust. The contributions this morning have talked about the relevance and the importance of humanitarian rights and responsibilities and that has been front of mind for the contributions and the submissions and the learnings by the members of the Justice Committee. Part of the history of terrorism here in Aotearoa New Zealand also—and I distinctly remember this; I was a law student—was on 13 November 1990. In the Aramoana massacre 13 people were killed. One of those was a police constable on the front line in defence of his local community. And just yesterday we had the New Zealand Police commemoration day of all of those front-line police officers and also employees who have acted in defence of our nation. Then again that moves me to the most recent event of terrorism a strike at the heart of our sense of security here in Aotearoa New Zealand: the LynnMall attack. So the terrorism is real. We tuck it into the back of mind and then it just propels and projects us into this sense of reality when it strikes at the heart of what's happening in our communities. So to hear from the ACT Party saying that there's been insufficient time for this bill to be considered carefully I do not agree with. The history of this and the reason for this bill coming to be is that it's an omnibus bill that is reflecting on the global impact of terrorism as it strikes us on our front yard. So there has been sufficient time because post-9/11 in 2001 the United Nations presented its resolution. That resolution was Resolution 1373 and the history of this is annexed in Schedules 4D and 4E in Schedule 2 of the bill soon to be law. That Resolution 1373 in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 just declared the necessity for member States to cooperate in order to prevent and to suppress terrorism. Then the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 of 24 September 2014 again propelled and projected New Zealand to come up to speed with its legislation because we were behind the eight ball on that And as a result of that there was the commission of inquiry which had been triggered by the Christchurch attack on 15 March 2019. So for the ACT Party to say that there's been insufficient time for the consideration of New Zealand's counter-terrorism legislation is not correct and it is not fact. It is all well and good for members of Parliament to speak about perception and speak about feelings and emotion and that's not to say that we don't feel it or that it doesn't impact or imprint on our lives. But the reality is that we have to deal with facts and the fact is that we have a responsibility as members of Parliament and as a representation of our nation to advocate for the protection of rights and freedoms but also importantly for safety and security. That's what this Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill does. Being an omnibus bill it factors in the counter-terrorism legislation that we've had well and truly entrenched in our country—the Terrorism Suppression Act being but one of those pieces of legislation. The commission of inquiry reported back in November 2020 the relevance and significance of New Zealand to come up to speed and pace with the United Nations Security Council global protections. That is what this Counter-Terrorism Legislation Bill does. We have a responsibility as a nation to provide for the safety and protection of our citizens. In closing I wish to acknowledge my colleague the Hon Mark Mitchell. He's taken the lead on this and he's front-footed it. National has appointed him as the spokesperson for counter-terrorism. He has vast experience on the ground. He would very much have liked to have been on the ground today in Parliament to commend this bill to the House."