McAnulty KieranKIERAN McANULTY (Labour): Thank you Madam Deputy Speaker. As this is the first speech in this House outside my maiden speech I'd like to take the opportunity to congratulate you on your ascension to this role. You're probably sick of hearing that now but I assure you ma'am that I actually mean it.The fact is that this is a tremendous bill. This is an exciting bill for it is a role of this House to keep pace with the changes and ensure that the very important and central laws on the statute book continue to operate in a way that is relevant to today's world.Whilst the previous Attorney-General Chris Finlayson did make note of his own work which is uncharacteristic for which I am commending him for this Government and our new Attorney-General of course will continue the important work of progressing our bills which makes sense while also progressing those that we have inherited from the previous Government. It is important to do so. We in this House must not be petty. We must not stand here and say You've taken our ideas. How dare you? You've taken our ideas"—Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: I haven't taken anybody's ideas.KIERAN McANULTY: I apologise Madam Deputy Speaker. I apologise. I have fallen at the first hurdle. I am ashamed for myself and my family. Please forgive me. The fact is that I have sat here all day and I have heard arguments from the other side of the House. They have missed an opportunity to explain the relevancy of this bill to the people that it will affect. They have missed an opportunity. Instead of standing here and discussing with the whole House the elements of this bill that are important and the effect that it will have on this country they have stood up and said "This was our bill. You've taken it. It's not fair." and they've sat down again. It is frankly pathetic.I have a list here which I hope you will permit me to read: the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill the Alcohol Advisory Council Amendment Bill the Immigration Bill the Unit Titles Bill the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Bill the Protected Disclosures Amendment Bill and the Land Transport Amendment Bill. This may not seem relevant just as a list of legislation but let me assure the House that as the members opposite stand here and complain that this Government is taking on their bills so to speak I have just read a list of seven pieces of legislation that the National Government in 2008 took upon as their first items in the House. They stand here and they tell the people of New Zealand that this Government is doing something that they would never dream of doing despite the fact that they've done it themselves.For you see this is the normal procedure of the House. When there is a new Government they take on those bills that make sense. They take on those bills that are important to this country and need to be done. If we were to listen to those on the opposite side of the House this Government would not take on this bill and in doing so we would delay something that needs to be done. For the fact is this bill is vitally important. It may not seem like much on face value but actually it will mean a significant difference to the way that this country is run. It will enable easier access to legislation. As previous speakers have said this will indeed be of interest to politicians and lawyers and students. But this actually touches at the heart of everyone in this country. For laws impact everyone's lives.You only need to look at the botulism scare a few years ago and the inquiry that came from that to realise the impact that not being able to access secondary legislation can have on the way this country runs. It was a disgrace that that inquiry was hampered by the lack of access to legislation. This bill is going to change that. It is vitally important to the way that this country runs. So let's give this bill and the people that it will impact the respect by actually giving this the discussion that it deserves. Let's not dismiss this for petty political purposes and try and claim that this Government is not taking things seriously.We have 100 days of activity led by this Government. We have already seen legislation such as the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill (No 2) which will ensure that people who rent are guaranteed a warm and dry home. This is a significant piece of legislation and I'm proud to be part of a Government that has introduced this already.What about the paid parental leave bill? My colleague here Willow-Jean Prime has a young baby.Madam DEPUTY SPEAKER: [Gestures with hands] That means come back to the bill on the Table.KIERAN McANULTY: Oh does it? I apologise yes yes. Jeez this is a great bill Madam Deputy Speaker and I'm just so excited about this coming through the House. As an MP based in Wairarapa I know how important such legislation like this is to the primary industries of this country. I referred to the example of the botulism scare earlier but it is not just that. You see secondary legislation determines the way that our producers in our economy are able to run their business and employ and contribute to our economy. Why would we want to make it more difficult for them to be able to have an understanding of the regulations that determine the way they operate? Why would we want to restrict that? Therefore I pose the question: why would we want to wait? If something makes sense let's do it. It doesn't matter whose idea it is. This is going to be good for the country. Let's get on with it. Let's get behind it and let's support it. I commend this bill to the House.Bill read a first time. Bill referred to the Justice Committee."