Smith NickHon Dr NICK SMITH (National—Nelson): Madam Chair thank you for the call. In this amendment in my name members of the National Party wish to add to the functions of the Electoral Commission in section 5 of the Electoral Act 1993 a new paragraph (g) extending it to reporting on these new elements in the bill.The reason members of the Opposition believe that is an important check is that New Zealand is headed into unguided waters uncharted territory with these powers. Remember the Bill of Rights on which our democracy was founded established 330 years ago that members of Parliament could only be removed by the vote of electors not by party leaders. So our argument is that if we are going to introduce these extraordinary new powers into our Electoral Act powers that only exist in a few authoritarian states like Pakistan like Zimbabwe and like Sierra Leone those great bastions in the Minister's view of democracy—if we're going to introduce those provisions at the very least we need to have the Electoral Commission as an independent body reporting to this House of Representatives on how those provisions are working.Now if the Minister's assertions are correct—and they are that no member of Parliament's rights will ever be encroached upon—nobody is ever going to be affected by this. Well he has no good reason to object to this extension of the function.I have found it extraordinary—absolutely extraordinary—that the Green Party has not taken a single call on this amendment or bill. How is it possible that they are prepared to travel to the far ends of the earth to champion human rights and democracy but in their own Parliament in New Zealand will not even take a single call on this amendment or on this bill?I ask the Green members—they are asking this party the National Party to support their amendments to the role of the Electoral Commission. They've got a bill that's being considered at the Governance and Administration Committee that says the Electoral Commission should work on people with disabilities being able to get greater access. We supported that on first reading. I say to Mr James Shaw I say it to Mr Gareth Hughes: cooperation strikes both ways. It runs both ways. If you want our support for extending the function of the Electoral Commission in areas of which you feel strongly—and you do feel strongly about the democratic rights of people with disabilities—we say support us on this amendment that extends the function of the Electoral Commission to protect one of the most fundamental rights of members of Parliament and that is to be able to speak freely and not have some Draconian provision that would allow that member of Parliament to be removed.I invite the Green Party to take a call. I invite them if they really want us to consider their amendments in this House in good faith to consider our amendments in good faith. Their amendments and our amendments need to be related in terms of the functions of the Electoral Commission.I do note already in section 5 the Minister can call for reports on the administration of the Act. I want to say I don't have confidence that the Minister would require the Electoral Commission to report on these new Draconian powers. We know from the way in which this deal has been put together for this whole bill with Winston Peters that we cannot have confidence that he would have the Electoral Commission pick up the voluntary provisions that are provided for in section 5(d) of the Electoral Act where the Minister can require the commission to produce a report. So I say that Parliament having had its faith in democracy so shaken by this obnoxious law should at the very least put this check into the Electoral Commission's role and require them to regularly report to the House on the administration of these new unique provisions giving the power of party leaders to be able to dismiss members of Parliament. We think the Electoral Commission should have that new function in its role.