Carter DavidRt Hon DAVID CARTER (National): This is indeed a very very sad day for the international reputation of New Zealand's Parliament and New Zealand's democracy. I have been privileged to be a member of this Parliament for now 24 years. So I haven't done as long as Winston Peters but I've certainly done my 24 years continually without having been kicked out a couple of times from this place. Having spent 24 years here I can tell you that no one comes into this Parliament with all the answers. Politics is a contest of ideas. We see that every day here in this debating chamber as we respect each other's point of view we respect the philosophies and the convictions and most of all until today we respected individual consciences of members of Parliament. But what we're doing today is we're changing all that. We're saying that while there will continue to be a contest of ideas within this debating chamber under this legislation there will no longer be a contest of ideas within each caucus. This sort of legislation puts us in the esteemed company—the esteemed company—of parliaments like Zimbabwe's and Pakistan's. I realised that when MMP came in in 1996 we would continue to do coalition deals for Government. I accept that this particular coalition Government with three parties—the Greens New Zealand First and Labour—is the first of its kind when the party that won the most votes has been sent into Opposition but that's the rules of MMP. But I still express my absolute disappointment with the Green Party that has spent since its inception in this Parliament every chance to rail against this legislation until this particular opportunity and what became clear throughout this debate is that a deal's been done. We know that the deal is the Greens got their oil and gas prohibition ban passed—to affect economies of New Zealand but particularly Taranaki—and in return for that deal they agreed to vote for the Electoral (Integrity) Amendment Bill.I think the Greens hope that this will be forgotten by the time we get to the next election. Let me assure the leaders of the Green Party here in Parliament today that it will not be forgotten by Green members—Hon Tim Macindoe: Or forgiven.Rt Hon DAVID CARTER: —or forgiven. I say that because one thing I know about the members of the Green Party that I know is that they are principled people. I don't agree with many of their ideas at all but they come to support their philosophies and their ideas with conviction and they're loyal to those convictions. They will not be happy to see eight votes cast later on this afternoon to support legislation which the likes of the late Rod Donald would have railed against. I say to the Labour Party members that they equally have been shamefully quiet throughout this debate. We did have this type of legislation once before in 2001-05 brought in again because of another political party leader's inability to control his members and I talk about the late Hon Jim Anderton. But in that particular case there was a strong Prime Minister Helen Clark and she had the fortitude—she had the gumption—to at least set that legislation with a sunset clause to allow it to pass through for the period of 2001-05 when it was likely Mr Anderton could not manage his caucus. That's the difference between the Rt Hon Helen Clark and the current Prime Minister the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern. She could have accepted this legislation was necessary—and I see Marama Davidson nodding her head in agreement—but it could have been done with a sunset clause that expires at the end of this Parliament. But no we have a particularly weak Prime Minister in this case. Then we have New Zealand First for whom we've now sat in this House for 22 hours debating this legislation—for the benefit of New Zealand First as a political party. Not one call I believe was taken by a New Zealand First member to justify it. I know why they were quiet because I think they have a vested interest in this legislation being passed because allegedly they have signed a bond—a personal bond—for $300000 which will no longer be necessary and which will be cancelled once this legislation is passed. The Hon Ron Mark shakes his head and says that's not so but the Rt Hon Winston Peters said it was so. Other members of New Zealand First said they signed such a bond. The odd member of New Zealand First said Oh I can't remember."—can't remember that you've signed a personal commitment to pay $300000?This is the very reason this legislation's before the House and I think is shameful for New Zealand First to be in that position whereby their own personal financial interests are potentially affected by this legislation. I think that the allegation that such a rule existed raised by the Hon Dr Nick Smith should have been contested through a Privileges Committee hearing to find out the truth. I well remember Mr Peters with his "No" sign about the donation received from Owen Glenn and it was only when that went through a select committee process—the Privileges Committee—that we found out that indeed he had not been telling the truth. I want to conclude by saying that I felt so deeply about this legislation that I made a submission to the select committee myself. I have never had to make a personal submission to a select committee in my 24 years here. In making that submission I took the opportunity of drawing the committee's attention to a report of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). I want to take an opportunity to read my comments to the select committee to the House today. The IPU has published a report entitled The impact of political party control over the exercise of the parliamentary mandate. This report is critical of the very law that is being passed in this Parliament today stating that it creates—and I quote—"political party dictatorships". It argues in this report that the free mandate of members of Parliament is—and again I quote—an "indispensable guarantee of parliamentary democracy." It goes on to state that "while party loyalty and discipline are necessary they must never impair the full and effective exercise of freedom of expression and association by any member of that [political] party since these are overriding fundamental human rights."Darroch Ball: Oh it was written 10 years ago.Rt Hon DAVID CARTER: Darroch Ball may want to ignore the report of the IPU; I have no intention of ignoring that report. That report was produced because of other members of Parliament from right around the world being absolutely appalled with the sort of thing that happened in Zimbabwe. I came here as a member of the National Party—as a proud member of the National Party. I wouldn't want to stay in that National Party any longer if my conscience—my ability to express my opinion—was curtailed in that caucus. That's what we're doing today. We're passing a law that will further damage the high regard in which New Zealand's democracy is held around the world. It is a very very sad day for the democracy of New Zealand."