Swarbrick ChlöeCHLÖE SWARBRICK (Green): E Te Māngai tēnā koe. Tēnā koutou e Te Whare. I want to thank all of my colleagues for the brilliant contributions that we've had so far to this committee of the whole House stage of the Election Access Fund Bill. I will address all of the concerns that have been raised so far most recently those by my colleague Mark Patterson—#notallwhitemen.So with regard to the statistics here that we're looking at the Office for Disability Issues reports that a quarter of New Zealanders are impacted by physical sensory learning mental health or other impairment. In very practical terms per Ministry of Health data that means that 1.1 million New Zealanders can be considered as having a disability. That is a huge portion of our population. What you find following through those data points is that those who do identify with having a disability are typically also those who are overrepresented in negative statistics such as underemployment.I want to also thank the Office of the Clerk. As was mentioned by my colleague the Hon Poto Williams they went above and beyond to make the select committee process fully accessible—that being having New Zealand Sign Language interpreters. I also want to thank the Governance and Administration Committee—in particular the chair Dr Jian Yang—for accommodating those submitters who needed extra time because of certain communication impairments or otherwise in order to communicate the basis of what they needed to put forward to really have their say in that democratic process.I also want to touch on the point made by Paul Eagle who stated that I wanted to get this bill through as quickly as possible. I think that's probably the case with most members in this Parliament. We want to see these processes expedited as democratically as possible. But it is the case I think it's worth noting that this bill was first drawn actually at the start of 2018. I remember it really vividly because I was at O-Week at the University of Otago and I got the call from my EA Tim Onnes who told me that the Election Access Fund Bill had been drawn. It was really exciting because I had only put it in a few weeks prior with the blessing of former Green MP Mojo Mathers and it wasn't until 16 May 2018 when the Governance and Administration Committee opened submissions. Those members of the Governance and Administration Committee will be aware that we did consistently extend the report-back time with the good grace of the Business Committee accepting that to ensure that we got the best possible legislation that was as functional as possible and really served its purpose.I also want to speak to the point made by the Hon Jacqui Dean who is also an excellent engaged member of that Governance and Administration Committee around her point of that review after the election period. That is a really crucial function of this legislation: to enable the Election Access Fund Bill to review itself through the Minister of Justice and through the Electoral Commission per the amendments from the select committee because it will hopefully trigger in future extensions of accessibility to our democracy and particularly to our elections. That was also touched upon by the Hon Poto Williams who spoke about this bill being a starting point. It was indeed in the second reading of this legislation that I spoke about this being the first step on a very long journey towards a truly inclusive and equitable democratic system.I also want to touch on the point made by the chair of that select committee Dr Jian Yang who spoke about the consensus and working across the parties that we saw in that Governance and Administration Committee. I think that that was only plausible as a result of the goodwill that all members of that committee brought to the table but also their backing of the kaupapa or the intention behind the legislation. I really really want to thank all members in this House. If citizens out there are ever unsure or uncertain about how much the House of Representatives really cares about our democracy you only have to watch the process that got the bill this bill to the place that it is in today.To address some of the questions that have been raised I'll first turn to the question from my colleague Chris Penk who asked about the commencement date. Those were changes that were made—in clause 2 the commencement date has been changed in the report back from the Governance and Administration Committee. Originally the commencement clause read as This Act comes into force immediately after the expiry of the 6-month period that starts on the date of Royal assent." It is now that the Act comes into force on 1 July 2021. This is a commencement date that was arrived at in consultation with and based on the advice of the officials who came before the Governance and Administration Committee. I'll happily put on the record as my colleague Paul Eagle already I believe has that I wanted to bring it forward as quickly as possible. In an ideal world I actually think all members of the committee and all members of this House would like to see this fund in place prior to the 2020 election. But unfortunately the Electoral Commission and Ministry of Justice officials advise us that practically it just would not be possible with the loaded agenda that we're heading into 2020 with that being at least the two referenda should this House decide to put any more—Mark Patterson?—up. But at the very least right now it is two items of referendum and obviously the general election.The reason that we've settled on that defined date of 1 July 2021—the member Chris Penk did mention that there could be any number of elections between then and now. Thankfully I believe we have a more stable democracy than those of what we're seeing in other Westminster models. But that is simply for the sake of having certainty for the Electoral Commission so that they can put that in stone and know a time line that they have to work towards.Speaking to the points raised by my colleague Ginny Andersen who is also on the select committee. She asked about how we can ascertain level of disability and how we would provide for the funding to enable those candidates with those disabilities to overcome those barriers. I believe it's here really important to note that this Election Access Fund this bill empowers the Electoral Commission to administer the funds. That means that the fund is administered at arm's length from any political process. That's really critical not just for the day to day administration of what is supposed to be providing equity to our democracy but also for addressing a number of concerns that were raised across the House in the first reading and throughout the select committee stage and also by spokespeople on disability issues and electoral reform from all political parties in making sure that we got the most robust and fit for purpose Election Access Fund Bill possible.Fundamentally there will be an application process that means that candidates who would like to put themselves forward who identify with having a disability apply to the Electoral Commission and are provided that support from the Electoral Commission which feeds into the question by my colleague Lawrence Yule who is also on the Governance and Administration Committee pertaining to clause 7(2)—that being "The Electoral Commission must not issue a notice under subsection (1) without first consulting persons and organisations that the Commission considers appropriate". The reason that we didn't seek to prescribe who the Electoral Commission should be consulting with in order to put out that notice is because we didn't want it to be too prescriptive. There were submissions on both sides of the fence some people saying that we needed to provide that explicit list others saying that we should leave it open because it is the case that the area or the sector of disability access advocacy is evolving. So it is simply that we have left that open for the time being and its efficacy will be evaluated further down the track with the built-in required evaluation from the Minister of Justice and the Electoral Commission.Now finally in my final 40 seconds to turn to the issues raised by Mark Patterson a wonderful intelligent man about New Zealand First's concerns with regard to the cost of this in particular and whether this is a socialist conspiracy. Mr Patterson I guarantee you when we are pushing the socialist agenda it will be far more explicit. This is not communism by stealth as Working for Families was once described as. It is in fact about improving our very democracy. Kia ora.Parts 1 and 2 and clauses 1 and 2 agreed to.House resumed.The Chairperson reported the Election Access Fund Bill without amendment.Report adopted."