Collins Judith: Electoral Amendment Bill — In CommitteeText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeCollins Judith: Electoral Amendment Bill — In Committee[Sitting date: 04 March 2014. Volume:696;Page:16307. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon JUDITH COLLINS (Minister of Justice): What a lacklustre performance from that member who has resumed his seat Andrew Little the never-to-be MP for New Plymouth. I have not heard such rubbish talked in this Chamber since the last time he spoke. I have to say that he cannot even read what is in the very bill that his own party supported in the Justice and Electoral Committee. The select committee came back with a report to the House urging a change to in fact make the EasyVote card a little bit more robust in its application. The member who has resumed his seat has said that a poor elector might not be able to pronounce their own name. Like when? When? Or that they will have to do this verbally in case there is a problem and they cannot actually say it. OK well then all he has to do is look at new clause 24 new subsection (2A) where it says: “If an elector is unable to comply with the requirement insubsection (2)(a) because of an inability to understand English or because of a physical disability the elector may comply with that requirement by—(a) gesture; or (b) any other means with the assistance of a person nominated by the elector who is present with the elector.”I can well imagine what has happened in the Labour Party since this report came back. I can well imagine. What has happened is Matt McCarten. That is what has happened in the Labour Party. When the Labour Party was listening to Maryan Street who took a principled view about what should happen in the voting booth and whether or not someone should actually be the person they say they are when they are voting that was OK. The Labour Party then stood on principle along with all the other members including by the way the Green members of the select committee. Then Matt McCarten came in and all of a sudden Andrew Little realised that Labour’s little scheme to go and get lots of EasyVote cards out of people’s letterboxes and give them to people to go take vote and just get away with it was not going to work.Just think about it this way. Here is an example. Which party has had someone convicted of electoral fraud ever? Oh I do not know—it is the New Zealand Labour Party. And when did that happen? Oh when did that happen? It was just a few months ago. In fact I think it was even a few weeks ago. And who was it? MrDaljit Singh JP of my electorate actually who went to the effort of taking 70 people apparently living in one home—Scott Simpson: How many?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Seventy—seven zero in case you thought I said 17. Seven zero people living in the home in Papatoetoe and Mr Singh did this for the Labour Party.Scott Simpson: Really?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: He did. And that would have meant actually that coming up to this next election what would have happened would have been 70 EasyVote cards sent through the computer system through to—guess what—one address.Scott Simpson: How many?Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Seventy cards to one address and I am sure that not all of those 70 people lived in that home. The only party ever to be convicted of electoral fraud is the Labour Party. If I want to have a look at some photos I have got some lovely photos of the Labour Party Mr Phil Goff and all sorts of people with MrDaljit Singh campaigning for the New Zealand Labour Party. I would be very very happy to share those if the members now want to forget. So when we look at this bill the Electoral Amendment Bill which of course came back from the select committee—Hon Phil Goff: That’s just rubbish.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: Mr Goff thinks it is rubbish. I am happy to give him a photocopy—no problem no problem. I am advised that when Mr O’Rourke at the select committee came up with this excellent idea to make sure that they stamp down on fraud in the polling booth he was supported by all the members of the select committee. I do not know whether Mr O’Rourke thinks it is such a good idea now that Matt McCarten is in charge of the left. But having said that—Tracey Martin: He’s not in charge of our left.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: —that is exactly what has happened here. What is that Mrs Martin?Tracey Martin: He’s not in charge of our left.Hon JUDITH COLLINS: I cannot understand a word she says. Never mind—she can gesture for all I care. Having said that we will not be supporting Supplementary Order Paper 417 the amendment of Mr Andrew Little who having fired off the mostabusive and stupid press release any of us has ever seen—and he is actually wrong on every account as usual—then asked why I did not reply to him. It is because frankly I cannot be bothered with someone like him because he actually never even reads the bill that he stands up here in the Chamber and speaks about. He is a useless MP—always has been and he never will be again.