Mallard Trevor: Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
Mallard Trevor: Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill — Second Reading 
[Volume:667;Page:14692] 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD (Labour—Hutt South) 
: 
 I find this debate slightly hard to believe. I am not surprised that the mover of the Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill failed to read the amendments made by the Law and Order Committee and has the bill doing exactly the opposite of what he claims it does. I have worked closely with Mr Quinn and no level of incompetence on his part would surprise me. 
But what I do not understand is why Simon Bridges who everyone knows is a lawyer of some repute— 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: No he’s not! 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: He is. He was Crown prosecutor in Tauranga and he used to have potential. How can that member sit there with his gob shut and let this go on? Why does Simon Bridges not get up on to his hind legs show a bit of integrity and tell Paul Quinn that the Electoral (Disqualification of Convicted Prisoners) Amendment Bill is not on? 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: Because he’s weak. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Well no there are a number of reasons for that. I challenge that member to get up in this House. In fact I would let him take part of my call if he was prepared to stand up and say he supports the dog’s breakfast that is this bill. Not only was it wrong to do what Paul Quinn tried to do but Paul Quinn could not even do what he tried to do. 
We had a discussion recently about the All Blacks and people who were nearly All Blacks and a team has just been named. I agree with the New Zealand Rugby Union councillor who said that if Paul Quinn had been 2 inches taller he would have been an All Black. He was missing just the top 2 inches. We see in this bill evidence that the member is missing the top 2 inches. Not only did he bring in a bill that was against the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act against international conventions and designed to embarrass New Zealand around the world with its lack of integrity and its stupidity but at the Law and Order Committee he moved an amendment that went from not allowing people to vote to allowing the worst criminals to vote. He is the joker who says it does not matter how many prison officers one kills one can still vote. That is what Paul Quinn’s legislation does. He has tipped it totally on its head. He has made it absolutely the opposite of what he claimed it would be yet he has come to the House proud of his work. It is a good day’s work for Paul Quinn to get something absolutely wrong. 
I will focus on another member and that is Jonathan Young. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Who? 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: I am one of the people who were privileged to be in the House with Jonathan Young’s father. He was a man of enormous integrity who valued Parliament as an institution. He was what might be described as an old liberal. He did what was right and what was fair. He worked through things case by case and he was a good debater. He respected this institution. I saw him get up and give a 60-minute speech on a first reading—a 60-minute speech on a first reading. He would never get up and give the sort of rubbishy 1-minute speech that his son I can tell is embarrassed to give. 
Hon John Carter 
: Yes he did. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: The member was not in the House with Venn Young. 
Hon John Carter 
: I was so. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: In 1984? It was 1984-87; he retired in 1987 I think. 
Hon John Carter 
: Venn was here then and I remember the same 60-minute speech. I was in Parliament then. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Sorry is the member right? It was 1990? I apologise—he was here till 1990. He made a hell of an impression. 
Paul Quinn 
: Get it right. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: Ha what a dag! Paul Quinn has never got anything right in this House—never got anything right. He introduced a bill tried to fix it up and made it worse—he made it worse. 
I might as well explain something to the House as I have explained to a number of my colleagues. I now invite Paul Quinn to every meeting I can in Hutt South. For every single meeting that is on in Hutt South I try to get an invitation for Paul Quinn. It is really important that we get the National Party represented there so people can see the sort of talent that it has! I do it regularly. I think it is fair to say I am becoming a bit transparent. People are telling me not to suggest to anyone else that Paul Quinn be invited to the meetings. 
Hon Ruth Dyson 
: And that’s just the National Party whips. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: It is not the National Party whips but it is the National Party Hutt South executive—what little exists of it. This bill is absolutely typical of Paul Quinn. 
I will go back to Simon Bridges. I ask him whether he supports this bill in its current form. He does support the bill. He is supporting the bill in its current form which would give William Bell the vote which would give cop killers the vote and which would give the vote to people who kill prison officers. I ask Mr Bridges whether he supports the bill in its current form. 
Simon Bridges 
: With the Supplementary Order Paper that is coming. 
Hon TREVOR MALLARD 
: There he goes. He is a bit like the man who chases around after the night cart. He is a bit like the man who chases around after Paul Quinn tidying up what comes out of the horse’s arse. I have never seen legislation put together in a way that more resembles what comes out of the back end of a horse than the legislation that this member Paul Quinn has brought to the House today. But is that something that surprises us? Is anyone in the House shocked? Is anyone here surprised? There is not a whisper—not a whisper. There is not a whimper from the Government. None of the Government members say they are surprised that Paul Quinn has made a cock-up of this size. There is not a member on the Government benches who thinks that Paul Quinn is capable of putting together a decent bit of legislation that at least says what he means. What he means is bad enough but what he does is even worse. Do members know the sad thing? He is actually one of the Government’s better members. Sandra Goudie chaired the select committee and Paul Quinn makes her look good. 
Another area of constitutional outrage is the fact that those members could not get decent advisers at the select committee. They would not get the justice people. Paul Quinn drove the select committee not to hear from people who knew about justice. Paul Quinn stopped the justice people who knew about this bill from giving advice. Why? Because he is embarrassed. He is a sad man. He is a sad man and he is very very embarrassed by this. He does not care about the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. He does not care about justice issues. 
There is a sort of debate going on about the National Party list. I know National has a couple of good new Maori candidates and is trying to get one of them down to work in the Wellington area. Paul Quinn is resisting that like nothing on earth and I am not surprised. Tau Henare might well laugh. Tau might well laugh. He might be involved in trying to get that decent candidate on to the list for the National Party in Wellington. But I welcome my opponent. It is great to have Paul Quinn running against me. Every now and again I get scared that a competent Tory might decide to run in Hutt South but I say this bill alone will be enough for me to run every single meeting in the next campaign. This is the guy who tried to do something stupid and ended up with something worse. He tried to do something stupid. No one had any idea at all that worse could be done but Paul Quinn managed to do that.