Hide Rodney: Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill — First Reading 
Hide Rodney: Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill — First Reading 
[Volume:628;Page:1048] 
RODNEY HIDE (Leader—ACT) 
: 
 It is good to hear from New Zealand First because that party put out a bit of spam during the election campaign in order to have Winston Peters elected in Tauranga. 
Simon Power 
: That worked. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: No it did not work actually. Despite the spam that Mr Peters put out in Tauranga he took a pummelling and lost his seat. Being a bad loser he went off to court said that he would win and told the back bench of his party that it was an open and shut case—and he lost big time. Now New Zealand First is having a whip around to pay Bob Clarkson’s legal expenses. Winston Peters lost Hunua and lost Tauranga twice—the first time he lost with the people of Tauranga and the second time he lost with the High Court judges who released their judgment today. 
The ACT party stands opposed to this bill and we will be voting against it. People dislike spam. Of course people dislike spam but the ACT party is prepared to vote only for legislation that actually works and this bill is feel-good legislation. It might make parliamentarians feel good that they are pretending to deal with spam— 
Sue Kedgley 
: It feels very good to me. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: I know that Ms Kedgley feels good. She feels good when she gets into a pig crate on the front steps of Parliament. She feels good about that but it does not achieve anything. When members come to Parliament they should be passing law that will make a difference but this law makes no difference whatsoever. 
Hon Marian Hobbs 
: What have you done Mr Hide? 
RODNEY HIDE 
: That is very interesting is it not? Marian Hobbs the former failed Minister of Broadcasting who was nicknamed “Boo Boo” by TVNZ yells out and asks what I have achieved. I will tell people what I have done. We got an inquiry into TVNZ going which the Labour Government did not want because it had to cover up Marian Hobbs’ cock-ups and the mess that Steve Maharey made. We got that going and now we hear about the level of dysfunction in TVNZ. That is just a small achievement that I have made since the election. I would love to know what Marian Hobbs has done in her entire political career other than be destructive. [ 
Interruption 
] I can see why the people of Wellington Central tried to vote for Mark Blumsky. I just wish they had made a bit more effort and had delivered. 
Here is the point: this bill does nothing for spam that comes from overseas. I want members to put up their hands and say where the spam they receive in their in-boxes comes from. I ask Ms Kedgley where it comes from. 
Sue Kedgley 
: Nigeria. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Well I ask Ms Kedgley what this bill will do to stop that. It will do nothing. I will tell Ms Kedgley how to stop it from coming: she should stop sending Nigerians the money. If she stops sending them the money they will stop sending her the spam. I know that Green members have a high level of belief in fairies and goblins but they should stop sending money through to Nigeria and the spam will stop. There is nothing in this bill to address the spam that Ms Kedgley receives in her emails from Nigeria—nothing whatsoever. 
Dr Pita Sharples 
: Denis loves the Viagra. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Yes—I am a bit lost for words which is the first time for me in this House! 
The US CAN-SPAM Act made absolutely no difference. [ 
Interruption 
] They are feeling nasty because Winston Peters lost. I can understand that that will make Dr Cullen feel nasty for a day. 
Hon Dr Michael Cullen 
: The case was found not proven—read it more carefully. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Not proven—that is like Mr Benson-Pope’s case is it not? Winston Peters went to court to win but he lost; that is the point. Bob Clarkson bless his cotton socks is the MP for Tauranga and Winston Peters is not. The only reason Winston Peters went with Labour was so that Labour would not stand against him when he had his court case because that is what Labour promised. That is also why we have a Labour Government. Indeed Winston Peters lost his court case and Bob Clarkson bless his cotton socks is the MP for Tauranga. 
The US CAN-SPAM Act made no difference and after the European Commission passed its anti-spam law—Michael Cullen should listen to this—Microsoft’s UK head of information services said: “We filtered out 2.46 billion spam emails today—just as we have done every day for months.” The ITN news source ZDNet Australia said of Australia’s anti-spam bill—and our bill is modelled on Australia’s I tell Mr Cunliffe—that the new legislation would probably do little to stop the flood of overseas spam but that the compliance issues it posed would be a new reality for businesses. 
So the members of Parliament voting for this bill are voting for more compliance for no result because the bill will not stop Sue Kedgley’s Nigerian spam from coming into her in-box. Most of the spam messages we get are from what are called “zombies”—not Labour Party zombies but machines infected with a virus or worm that are sending out mail without the knowledge of the machines’ owners. In fact it could be coming out of Sue Kedgley’s machine and she could be the one prosecuted under this legislation—even though she is not sending the spam. Someone else is sending it from Nigeria where this legislation has no impact. 
Claims that this bill is part of an international effort or of a multi-pronged approach are hollow. Why? In China there is no anti-spam law and no approach towards dealing with the problem. So we will have legislation that will prove costly to businesses that could see innocent people prosecuted and that will not make one bit of difference. As Steve Linford the founder of the Spamhaus Project said about such legislation: “The whole problem with these laws is that they are geared to spammers being honest and respecting laws.” Once again those who flout the laws and those who are overseas sending spam from Nigeria and China will not be affected one bit by what this Parliament does. This is bad law. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: That’s right. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: I am pleased to hear Tau Henare say that I am right and I am looking forward to him voting against this bill. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: We’ll fix it in the select committee. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: Tau Henare says that he will fix it in the select committee. I would love to know how that fix will work. Perhaps Mr Henare could enlighten us on how he will fix it in the select committee. 
Hon Tau Henare 
: Come to the select committee. 
RODNEY HIDE 
: He says I have to go along; he is not giving away his trade secrets. Well I tell people that if Mr Tau Henare has a legislative fix for this bill that will see it stopping Sue Kedgley’s spam coming in from Nigeria the guy is worth every dollar the taxpayer pays him and I commend him. I said before that he is the best thing ever to come out of New Zealand First and we are looking forward to having a few more members come out of New Zealand First in the coming weeks and months ahead because they know that Mr Peters told them a porky when he said that Bob Clarkson had overspent. Mr Peters said: “I am going to win. That’s why I’ll become the Minister of Foreign Affairs and that’s why we’ll support the Labour Party—the Labour Party will not stand against me and I will win back the seat.” 
Well that ploy failed and so too will this legislation. It is bad law and it will not work. The ACT party and its entire caucus—to a man and to a woman—stand against this bill.