Penk ChrisCHRIS PENK (National—Kaipara ki Mahurangi): Thank you very much Mr Speaker. I shall take a short call on this the Data and Statistics Bill. Others on this side of the House have already indicated that we support it and have given a much better account than I'll probably be able to manage. I wasn't present at the select committee process but I've had the ability to read its report and it seems very thorough and it seems to me that our colleagues on the Governance and Administration Committee have done a good job of identifying a number of changes that would be usefully made. So I thought I would provide some of my observations about that and also a couple more general points which I'll start off with.First as others have said—actually it might have been Damien Smith in his contribution talking about the allocation of resources and this is one of the important reasons that the data is collected. In the case of a census it might not be obvious to those who haven't thought about these things from the point of view of the policy maker or executive Government allocating resources on the basis of per head of population but manipulated—and I don't mean that in the ugly sense but the data being used in a way that makes sense. Of course we need to know where people are and some key basic details about them as well and so of course it's a highly important exercise for that and not merely a matter of interest to obtain statistical data.The other reason that it's so important to get these matters right is that this goes to the relationship between the citizen and the State. The citizen is compelled to provide certain information about themselves which is fair enough in this case providing that the data is used appropriately. But of course that's a heavy caveat and it's been pleasing to hear that the select committee has taken seriously the submission of the Privacy Commissioner and noted certain ways in which it's appropriate for the data to be able to move between different agencies—and in one case actually not a Government agency so much as the courts. So I will just speak to that briefly wearing my hat as National's court spokesperson.I think it's positive that the select committee has thought to propose an amendment to exclude courts from being what is described as an organisation" in the bill. All things being equal an organisation is some sort of arm of Government—and I'm using a phrase deliberately away from agency because courts are different in their nature—and the confidentiality that should attach to court proceedings is preserved by making it clear that whereas other agencies or organisations would be required on request to provide data that doesn't apply to the courts. And I think that's right partly for the reason that I've mentioned around confidentiality but also at a more theoretical level it's a separation of the powers of the judicial branch of Government and that of the executive.On a similar note but slightly different I think they've also made a really sensible suggestion regarding the Chief Ombudsman and the Office of the Auditor-General and also Offices of Parliament whereby those different actors are not required necessarily to provide data. That's recognising the difference between Parliament and the executive but it does nevertheless—it will be the case I think you know if the select committee recommendation is taken seriously that authorisation would be needed if the data was to be used for the production of official statistics. So again bit of a safeguard and certainly the right questions have obviously been asked. So that's very positive.I think the suggestion about the functions of the Government Statistician that the select committee has made in clause 13 and that's concerning the Statistician—capital "S" that's the person performing that particular role—to be permitted to collect data but also to manage data. And I think that reflects that there are a couple of different main ways in which such a person can interact with the data: there's obviously the collection but there's also the management thereof. We've famously heard and it's a truism but true none the less that there's lies damned lies and statistics. Those who are cynical about politics I suppose might come up with a different version of that in relation to Government announcements and press releases. But anyway that's for such cynics to say and wouldn't be anything that I would introduce to the House here of course especially on such a bipartisan bill as this.As I say the committee's done a good job and we look forward to hearing further discussion at the committee of the whole House stage and beyond."